British couple raffling Cyprus villa, some of proceeds to go to charity

[memory man]

A British couple from Somerset in England is offering their Paphos villa as a prize in a raffle with 10 per cent of hoped-for receipts going to three different charities in the UK.

Villa owner Joseph Moretti said that for £2 a ticket, entrants only have to answer a question online for a chance to win.

He and his wife Fi, want to raise £40,000 to support three charity causes; the RSPCA, the National Autistic Society and Freddy’s Fight for Life, a charity established to help a four-year-old. The couple wants to help raise the £100,000 needed for the child’s surgery in the US to remove a fibroma from his heart, according to the Somersetlive website.

On the website, Moretti said they couple had bought the Paphos villa in 2012 and have spent every summer on the island since. “We are reluctantly parting with it as we need to realise the funds for a new venture,” they say on the website.

“Instead of selling it the traditional way, we thought we would do something a bit different, and allow anyone the opportunity to own their own property in this beautiful country – whilst helping some worthy causes in the process, Moretti told Somersetlive.

He also says on the raffle website that they had chosen this method of marketing for three reasons:

the timescales involved in marketing a property abroad, the opportunity to raise additional funds for good causes and “to give anyone a serious chance of owning a villa in Cyprus!! The odds are far better than the National Lottery.”

The raffle is open until February 1, 2018 but will be moved forward if they have not met their target of £40,000 goal. They hope to sell 200,000 tickets to cover the value of the property and all associated purchase costs, such as stamp duty, land registry tax, purchaser’s legal fees, and to complete any last minute jobs to ensure the house “is as perfect as possible for the next owner”.

The villa in the Paphos village of Kathikas is described as having three double bedrooms, three bathrooms and an open plan ground floor and a pool.

According to Somersetlive, Moretti assures the raffle is legitimate after securing legal advice.

The Cyprus Mail was not immediately able to establish whether raffling houses in Cyprus is legal or not. One property expert said he did not know. Licences to raise money for charities is the responsibility of the interior ministry. However, the raffle is organised in the UK so it’s not clear whether there would be legal implications in Cyprus.



For details on the raffle: http://www.winacyprusvilla.co.uk/

Entries can also be sent via snail mail to: Win a Cyprus Villa, 2 Hector Stones, Woolavington, Somerset, TA7 8EG.

http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/08/23/briti ... o-charity/

[Dominic]

Sounds like a marketing ploy to me.

[WHL]

I think someone tried to raffle a house some years ago but pulled out when they were told it was illigal in Cyprus.

[WHL]

I seem to remember it was stopped because it came under gambling. So I can't see this couple having any luck with their raffle

[trevnhil]

This property was raffled off in the North of England and the winning ticket was drawn only a week or two ago..

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ling-manor

[memory man]

This is a quote from Antonis Loizou FRICS

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Antonis Loizou FRICS said that it is not possible to raffle a house in Cyprus if the raffle was being set up in Cyprus, as a licence would not be given out. He said one person had tried it before – there was a case in 2015 – and he was simply not given a licence to do it. Mr Loizou noted that since raffling houses is relatively new phenomenon there is not a lot of expertise on the ins and outs. “It’s a grey area,” he said. “No one has touched it yet.” In this case, he said the raffle is being organised in the UK under British law so he did not see implications if someone in Cyprus won the villa. “I imagine it would be OK,” he said, adding that the transfer of property would probably be made as usual at the land registry as in any property transaction as long as the required fees were paid.

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[Mark]

At £2 per ticket, it equates to £400,000, grossly over ambitious!

[memory man]

Woolavington couple continue their Cyprus Villa raffle push ahead of Christmas

Fancy winning a holiday for Christmas? Because one Woolavington couple are offering a Cyprus villa as the prize in a charity raffle.

As previously reported, Joseph and his wife, Fi Moretii, are aiming to raise £40,000 to support numerous charity causes, namely donating £12,500 each to National Autistic Society and RSPCA.


But the main aim is to raise £15,000 from the raffle’s funds to Freddy’s Fight for Life, a charity set up to support a four-year-old with a rare cardiac tumour.

For £2 a ticket, entrants must answer a question online for a chance to win this stunning villa.

With Christmas coming up, the couple believe a festive push will kick start ticket sales as they target 20,000 ticket sales before their February 2018 deadline.

While discussing his fresh promotion push for the charity raffle, Joe Moretti said: “The prize draw aims to raise £40k for 3 great causes as well - so by buying a ticket you will be helping to make it a great Christmas for others too - including the family of Freddy Vallender, a 4 year old from Joe and Fi’s village in Somerset who needs life-saving surgery in Boston.”

Based in a village in Paphos, the exotic villa has three double bedrooms, three bathrooms and a large, open plan ground floor with living area, dining area and kitchen.

The Cyprus villa promises to be a great gift for relatives who are always difficult to buy presents for.

The winner of the villa will have the holiday house transferred to them with all costs paid for. The exotic accommodation can be used as either a permanent residence, holiday home or holiday let.

For a chance to win a villa and support a number of charitable causes can visit their website at: http://www.winacyprusvilla.co.uk/.

Alternatively, entrants can send a letter or postcard with the answer to: Win a Cyprus Villa, 2 Hector Stones, Woolavington, Somerset, TA7 8EG.


http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/wool ... lla-625140

[Maverick]

Well, I've had a go... You never know...