Drawing for $50 house postponed a second time

Learning curve, tough economy reason for delay

By ELISABETH HULETTE, Staff Writer

Published 01/02/09

If you've been waiting to win the Edgewater house that's being raffled off for charity, hold on tight to your ticket.

Joshua McKerrow — The Capital Tom Walters is raffling off his historic Edgewater home along Solomons Island Road for charity, at $50 a ticket. The drawing date for the home at 1 Poplar Point Road has been pushed back to Jan. 23, and the last day to buy tickets is Jan. 21.

The drawing, which was supposed to be held Wednesday, has been pushed to Jan. 23 to allow time to sell the necessary number of $50 tickets. It was the second time organizers had to bump the event. Originally, it was supposed to be held in September.

"We unfortunately had to extend it," said Tom Walters, the house's owner. He added that the ticket sales target has been lowered from the original goal of 31,500 down to 27,000. As of Wednesday, about 22,000 tickets had been sold.

The last 5,000 tickets are necessary to cover the sales price and closing and other costs, he said. But hopefully, with the holidays over and the appearance of some last-minute buyers, it'll happen, Mr. Walters said.

"It's looking really good right now," he said. The last day to buy tickets is Jan. 21.

Mr. Walters and his wife decided over the summer to raffle off their home, a 4,400-square-foot house dating to the 1840s, and give the proceeds to a charity.

They picked We Care and Friends, a local nonprofit organization that helps rehabilitate drug addicts and alcoholics. The organization should receive$150,000 from the raffle - money that founder Larry Griffin said is needed this year more than ever.

"This family is like angels to us," Mr. Griffin said. "We don't know what's going to happen in 2009. There's a lot of folks out on the street."

The drawing was also pushed back partly because the project has been a learning experience for everyone involved, said Delores Hawkins, administrative assistant for We Care. Small snafus have cropped up and been solved over the past few months, like figuring out how to process credit cards and checks and getting government approval. A problem with getting valid e-mail addresses from every buyer was finally solved last week, Mr. Walters said.

"This has been a way, way bigger job than I imagined," he said.

As it evolved, the project took on a life of its own. It has been profiled on CNN, ABC and "Inside Edition" and in newspapers including The New York Times. Mr. Walters was interviewed by a morning television show in Australia and by reporters in Germany and Switzerland. People in those countries actually bought tickets in the raffle, he said.

And as the economy unraveled, stories started coming in from people who are putting their faith in their chance to win. One woman who bought a ticket had lost her house in Hurricane Katrina; another family had suffered a string of illnesses, Mr. Walters said.

"What we didn't expect was the hope they've been getting (from the raffle) in a tough time," he said.

Everyone who bought a ticket was notified of the new drawing date, which will be held at Westfield Annapolis mall. The winner will receive the house free of mortgage or liens and will not be required to pay any closing costs.

To purchase tickets, visit www.fiftydollarhouse.com, or call 443-758-5164.

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Is this legal? - January 23, 2009

How is this raffle (occurring today at the Annapolis Mall at 5:00pm) even legal? The Anne Arundel County Criminal Code on raffles states, "Title 13 - Section 405. Raffles. (a) In general.- A bona fide fraternal, civic, war veterans', or charitable organization, or a volunteer fire company may conduct a raffle in the county for the benefit of charity if: (1) the raffle is conducted to further the purposes of the organization; and (2) no individual or group of individuals financially benefits from the holding of the raffle or receives any of the proceeds from the raffle for personal use. " Seems to me, all the proceeds will not go to the charity and the current owners will benefit greatly...??