HOUSE raffles have boomed in popularity – and they could be the key to you becoming the owner of your dream home for just a few quid.

These property competitions are prize draws, which you can enter for free, or by buying at least one ticket.

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The winner is then drawn at random on a specified date and is given the advertised home as a prize.

Of course, the chances of winning are slim, but if you’re one of the lucky ones, scooping your dream home can be life-changing.

Simon Williams, 41, scooped the picturesque cottage in Devon and £100,000 cash to spend after entering the Omaze Million Pound House Draw.

While Rose Doyle, 73, and husband Tony were able to move out of their three-bed council house in Birmingham after winning a £3million mansion in Cornwall.

But before you buy a ticket to win your dream home, it’s important to bear in mind the pros and cons.

Consumer expert Martyn James said: “There’s nothing wrong with having big dreams or fantasising about getting a brand new house of a big cash payout. But bear in mind that lotteries are a form of gambling and as such, can be addictive to many people.

“So set yourself a maximum spend and never go over it – and be realistic. Whenever you gamble, the house always wins.”

We round-up all the current house raffles – and how you can win a property worth up to £4million with just a £2 ticket.

£2million home in Devon – Omaze

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A stunning three-bedroom coastal home in Devon worth over £2million could be yours in Omaze’s million pound house draw.

One lucky winner will get the keys to a beautiful contemporary home and entries start from as little as £10.

This two-tiered West Country residence comes complete with countryside views, a guest annex and a heated pool.

In addition to the property itself, the Omaze winner will receive £250,000 in cash to help them settle in.

The winner has the option to move straight into the property, or they can rent it out, or even put it back on to the market.

An estimated monthly rental income is around £4,000, according to Omaze.

Additional costs including stamp duty, mortgage fees and conveyancing costs are also covered.

The house also comes fully furnished.

The cost of entries starts at £10 for 15 entries and goes up to a costly £150 for 320 entries. The full details are below:

• £10 – 15 entries
• £25 – 40 entries
• £50 – 85 entries
• £150 entries – 320 entries

Omaze has guaranteed a minimum donation of £1,000,000 from the draw for suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

The Draw closes on Sunday, October 27 for online entries and Tuesday, October 29 for postal entries.

£4million home in Surrey – Raffle House

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Raffle House allows people the chance to win either their multi-million pound dream home.

You may have heard about Raffle House, which was established in 2017, but might not know what it entails, or how to get started.

The company operates by selling raffle tickets for a small fee and then selecting a winner randomly.

The current Raffle House prize is a £4million property in Surrey, complete with £200,000 of furnishings.

The kitchen and family room overlook and have access to a garden terrace, perfect for alfresco summer mornings.

The dining room and living room both have huge glazed sliding doors, perfect for taking in the sun while keeping warm.

There are five bedrooms in total, with the principle featuring its own private bathroom.

If all this wasn’t enough, there’s also a private gym.

As with the Omaze draw, there’s no Stamp Duty or fees to pay for the winner.

If you want to be in with a chance to win, the draw closes at midnight on Thursday, October 31 and it costs the following to enter:

• £10 – 15 tickets
• £25 – 50 tickets
• £50 – 150 tickets
• £100 – 500 tickets

£450,000 apartment in London – Raffall

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Homeowners and organisations can pay to host their own raffle on a portal such as Raffall.com.

Users have a web page which advertises their property, the maximum tickets they will sell, the price and the closing date.

Raffall draws the winner at random.

If the owner doesn’t sell enough tickets to make the raffle a success, the platform gives 75% of the money as compensation to the winner and keeps 25% for commission and costs.

The two-bedroom apartment in Catford, south east London is valued at over £450,000 and is being raffled by Kerb Appeal Raffle through Raffall.

Once a neglected and rundown property, the apartment has undergone a dramatic transformation.

A brand-new kitchen and bathroom has been installed, plus it has a striking glass banister in the entrance hallway, and stylish, trendy interiors ready for immediate occupancy.

Entries cost £2 and the raffle draw will take place on Friday, November 8 at 12pm or when the last ticket is sold – whichever comes sooner.

£1.2million Town House in Somerset – Raffall

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This seven bedroom property in Frome, Somerset, is also being raffled off by Raffall.

There’s no stamp duty, mortgage or conveyancing fees to pay and you chose to rent it out, sell it on or move in.

You could earn £3,500 per month by renting the property out, according to the raffle’s host Taylormade.

The property measures 3,000 square and has oak wood flooring, bespoke lighting, high-end fittings, premium wool carpets and encaustic tiling.

It is set in a generous plot with a the stone walled garden, which is perfect for entertaining.

It can be accessed directly from the main dining kitchen area through two sets of glass doors.

There is also road parking, with space for four cars.

Entries cost £5 and the draw will close on Saturday, December 7 at 11pm, or when the last ticket is sold – whenever is sooner.

In addition, 10% of the host’s revenue goes directly to the charity Busoga Trust, which brings clean and safe water to rural communities in Uganda.

£850,000 home in East Sussex – Raffall

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This Idyllic Country House in Sedlescombe, East Sussex, is set within large gardens close to the historic town of Battle.

It has its own heated swimming pool and is close to beaches in Hastings, Bexhill-On-Sea and Camber Sands.

Plus, there’s no stamp duty, mortgage or conveyancing fees to pay.

Tickets for this raffle cost £5 and 5% of the host’s revenue goes directly to Alzheimer’s Research UK.

The draw ends on Friday, 10 2025 at 5.30pm or when the last ticket is sold.

£25,000 narrowboat – Raffall

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It’s not just houses that pop on these rafffles, you could even be in with the chance to set up home on a narrowboat.

The boat, called Sloe Patrol, has been restored over a four-year period with a new fully fitted kitchen, a bathroom with a shower and a bedroom with an extending king size bed and storage space.

The raffle’s host – James Posner – said that while the boat is currently worth around £25,000, he expects its value to increase to £40,000 over the next few years.

The raffle ends on October 16, or when the last ticket is sold.

Tickets for this raffle also cost £5.

Houseboats are exempt from stamp duty, and if you have a residential mooring and you fill fall into the lowest council tax band.

What should you check before entering?

National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team advises entrants to make sure they are aware of the terms of the raffle before entering.

The advert should explain what happens if not all tickets are sold. It should spell out if a lesser cash prize is offered, when the raffle closes and when the draw will take place. 

If the date of the draw keeps changing the organiser is struggling to sell tickets.

Check the odds of winning. Competitions that specify the number of tickets they need to sell give you a chance of working out the odds.

Look for hidden bills. Lots of adverts state that stamp duty and legal fees will be paid for. If they don’t you need to foot the bill.

Check you can afford the maintenance and council tax for the house too.  

Before handing over your cash, read past reviews of the organiser’s raffles, look at how long they’ve been established and whether there have been previous winners. 

If it’s a homeowner hosting their first raffle, then it’s a case of buyer beware.

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NESTLE is making a huge change to Quality Street tubs and it will divide shoppers.

For the first time ever, the iconic chocolate brand will be launching paper tubs.

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Starting next Monday, customers can find Quality Street in the new packaging at 60 Tesco supermarkets.

Nestle claims the paper tub, adorned in the signature Quality Street purple, boasts a luxurious design and feel, further enhanced by gold foil embellishments.

The tubs feature a “re-close” mechanism that ensures the lid can be securely sealed even after opening.

Once shoppers have enjoyed the Quality Street chocolates inside, the tub can be conveniently disposed of in household recycling bins.

This introduction is part of a trial, and Nestlé will be gauging the product’s popularity among shopper.

Jemma Handley, Senior Brand Manager for Quality Street, said: “We’re looking forward to seeing what Quality Street fans make of the paper tub.

“A lot of care and hard work has gone into the trial and we’re proud to be the first major manufacturer to trial a paper tub at Christmas.”

This isn’t the first time Quality Street has introduced new packaging aimed at enhancing the product’s recyclability.

In October 2022, shoppers were left outraged when Nestle axed the iconic brightly coloured plastic and foil wrappers that had encased its famous chocolates for 86 years.

In an effort to become more environmentally friendly, Quality Street chocolates have since been wrapped in a more subdued form of waxed paper.

However, the introduction of new paper tubs does not signal the immediate discontinuation of plastic and metal Quality Street tins.

Shoppers can still buy 600g plastic tubs of Quality Street chocolates at most major supermarkets.

Tins containing over 800g of the festive chocolates continue to be available too.

NEW TINS FOR 2024

Nestlé, has already launched a new version of its 813g Quality Street tin for sweet-toothed customers this winter.

The £12 tub features all the usual classic flavours and plays on Quality Street’s Halifax heritage – where it was first manufactured in 1936 and still is.

The 813g Quality Street tin is available now across a host of retailers nationwide including Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, B&M and Sainsbury’s.

Shoppers can pick up the new 813g tin for £12, £1.48 per 100g, which can obviously be reused after all the chocolates have been eaten.

However, if you’re not fussed about the nostalgic tin, you’ll pay less going for a different tub or packet.

Shoppers can pick up a plastic 600g tub from Tesco for £6 – £1 per 100g.

You can also pick up a 357g sharing bag of Quality Street from B&M for just £4 – £1.12 per 100g.

Nestle has also brought back a Quality Street fan-favourite for the second Christmas in a row.

The coffee creme flavour chocolate was last seen in Quality Street tubs over 20 years ago, until the chocolatier reintroduced it last year.

Nestle has confirmed that the sweet treat will be available once again this Christmas.

However, fans won’t find the iconic flavour in the usual Quality Street tubs.

Instead, the coffee-flavour fondant wrapped in dark chocolate has joined the 11 other Quality Street sweets at pick and mix stations across selected John Lewis stores in the UK.

They are also available in a limited-edition cracker at Waitrose and John Lewis stores for £5.50.

Tesco shoppers have been rushing to get their hands on Celebration tubs with just one iconic flavour in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, customers have been left in shock after B&M launched its new Christmas range.

EBAY is set to ban private sales of a popular product in the UK, citing increasing safety concerns.

The move will come into effect on October 31, with only “eligible business sellers” allowed to continue offering the item on the platform.

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The clampdown focuses on e-bikes and their batteries, following a sharp rise in incidents involving battery fires.

The London Fire Brigade reported 155 e-bike fires so far this year, a jump of 78% compared to 2022.

E-bikes, equipped with electrically-assisted pedals and battery power, have surged in popularity, but their safety has come under scrutiny.

In one tragic case, a man died when a battery pack he was charging overheated and ignited, leading to a house fire.

The UK’s regulatory body recently classified e-bike battery packs as “dangerous products,” further intensifying calls for better consumer protection.

An eBay spokesperson said: “Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay,” adding that the firm would audit sellers to ensure they meet CE mark safety standards for listed products.

The charity Electrical Safety First has praised eBay’s decision but insists new laws are necessary to safeguard consumers across all online platforms.

A spokesperson said: “We are encouraged to see eBay take proactive steps in an attempt to reduce the risk of substandard batteries entering people’s homes, as they pose a serious risk of fire if they fail.

“Whilst this voluntary move is welcome, we continue to call for online marketplaces to be legally obligated to take reasonable steps to ensure products sold via their sites are safe.

“We hope the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will mandate this.

“This legislation must also be used to prevent battery fires by introducing mandatory third-party certification for e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries to stop poor quality products from entering the market.

“It should also introduce more robust standards for conversion kits and regulations for charging.“

The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, currently progressing through Parliament, could eventually make these obligations law.

For now, eBay’s ban on private e-bike sales is seen as a crucial step toward reducing fire risks associated with the product.

Despite the impending restrictions, nearly 3,000 used e-bikes are still available on eBay, highlighting the challenge of managing the growing demand for these vehicles while ensuring safety.

Meanwhile, earlier this year a man was forced to flee through a bedroom window after a house erupted into flames when an e-bike battery exploded.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service was able to confirm that a lithium battery in the ebike overheated and caused a severe fire.

The fire service reminded e-bike owners to use the correct charger, never leave the device unattended and allow the battery to cool before charging.

Elsewhere, in another tragic case, the grieving boyfriend of a model killed in a horror e-bike flat blaze told how he tried to battle through flames to save her. 

The 21-year-old was forced to jump out of a window naked when smoke billowed through his flat in London.

A fireball erupted through their home when on New Year’s Day 2023 when a dodgy ebike battery exploded.

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Scottish Widows has launched a flexible income protection product to help bridge the gender protection gap.

The product has been designed to be simple and easy to understand for established protection advisers, holistic advisers and those who may be new to advising in this area.

Research by Scottish Widows found that just 8% of people in the UK have cover in place if their income stopped suddenly.

Meanwhile, 42% of UK adults worry that their household wouldn’t cope if they were unable to work.

The data also revealed a gender protection gap with 29% of surveyed women saying they could not afford protection compared with 23% of men.

Over a quarter (29%) of women surveyed said they would expect to rely on a partner’s income if they could not work.

Scottish Widows’s intention with its new product is to build financial resilience for clients against financial shocks in their moment of need and enable a greater number of advisers to incorporate income protection into their recommendations.

The launch enhances the suite of products available through the recently digitised Scottish Widows Protect platform and via the UnderwriteMe Protection Platform portal; the product will be available on other protection portals in the coming weeks.

These latest developments provide advisers with a streamlined application process, an accelerated underwriting journey, and a better client experience.

As part of the launch, Scottish Widows has joined the Income Protection Task Force (IPTF), formalising its long-term commitment to open dialogue on ways to extend income protection across the country.

Scottish Widows protection director Rose St Louis said: “Life doesn’t always go in a straight line and an unexpected adverse health event can have a significant impact on our ability to remain financially stable.

“This is where products like income protection can come to the rescue and have a meaningful impact in reducing income ‘troughs’ if you’re unable to work due to illness or disability.

“Launching income protection is part of our effort to help customers feel prepared, no matter what life throws at them.

“Our research shows women are less likely to have protection, and we want to be part of the solution towards closing the gender protection gap while also making it easy for established protection writers, as well as those new to protection, to write this type of business.”

If there’s one thing that consistently worries the financial advice sector, it’s the looming capacity crunch.

The statistics are well known: a recent Investec survey found 49% of financial advisers and planners intended to retire within the next five years, while 35% aimed to retire by age 50. And this is only the latest in a long line of such findings.

So, why aren’t these numbers being replaced? Again, it’s a familiar story: in some cases, young people see financial advice as not relevant to them, as something “stuffy and old-fashioned”, in the words of the LIBF’s John Somerville.

These initiatives are a great starting point, but they should act as a spur for a much bigger push

Others may feel, incorrectly, that they lack the necessary skills. Or they are put off by the routes to qualification, seeing them as arduous and expensive. Or the advice firms themselves are reluctant to invest in new talent.

But the overwhelming problem is a lack of awareness. According to the CII’s Claire Bishop, “Often, it’s just not something that’s on the radar of people at school, university or college.” The same is true for careers advisers.

This is despite the opportunities financial advice offers in terms of role diversity, opportunity, location, salary and self-employment. It is a sector that suits a wide range of talent and abilities; as Bishop puts it: “There’s an assumption that it’s all about maths. And it’s not. It’s about helping people and understanding people.”

All of the schemes agree that collaboration is vital

And, while no one would describe it as an easy profession, research last year by Dynamic Planner revealed that nine in 10 advisers under 30 would recommend financial advice as a career. There aren’t many other professions that could make that claim.

So, it’s time the sector pulled together and did more to promote itself. If financial advice is so rewarding, why don’t more people know about it? And, if everyone in the profession is agreed that we have a problem, why not collaborate more on the solutions?

Fortunately, there are plenty of initiatives out there that are doing just that. This month’s cover feature highlights four of them: CII’s virtual work-experience programme with Springpod; the New Talent Alliance; The Verve Foundation’s ‘We Are Change’ initiative; and Future Financial Adviser.

In some cases, young people see financial advice as not relevant to them, as something stuffy and old-fashioned

All of these are promoting opportunities to young people and assisting them on their journey. All of them are helping to push financial advice into the spotlight. And all of them agree that collaboration is vital.

However, we need to do more. These initiatives are a great starting point, but they should act as a spur for a much bigger push.

So, if you know of a project that is addressing the adviser gap, or you have any thoughts that aren’t addressed in our feature, we’d love to hear from you!

Tom Browne is editor of Money Marketing. Contact him at: tom.browne@moneymarketing.co.uk

This article featured in the October 2024 edition of Money Marketing. 

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