On May 31, Special Olympics Washington is planning on giving one lucky winner a $5M Lake Sammamish mansion. Spanning over 10K square feet, it includes 5-BRs, eight bathrooms, a 7,500 bottle wine cellar, a home theater and guest cottage. Sound too good to be true? The Seattle Times was thinking the same thing when it dug a little deeper into the rules and regs.
What they found was a provision in the rules stating that the grand prize, which is a choice between the stately home or $4M, will only be made available if 75,000 raffle tickets are sold.
That annotation isn't mentioned up top or in brochures and with good reason. Similar raffles elsewhere have come and gone without hitting that crucial marker, therefore making it unlikely the house will actually change hands.
The Times also notes that the home might end up being more hassle than prize. The winner would be on the hook for income tax based on the value of the home and annual property taxes of $55K. There are over 1,700 other prizes available as part of the raffle and, perhaps, one of them might leave you better off anyway.
· Win dream house? Fine print in Special Olympics raffle suggests prize uncertain [Seattle Times]