Acton home offered as prize in essay contest

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Looking to break into the housing market? A red brick, 3-bedroom home at the end of a quiet street in Acton could be yours for $125.

Cheryle Greenly is “selling” her home using an essay contest. And she thinks it’s well worth the price, “It’s a 1903 century home. It’s 66 by 220 feet deep, it has as you can see these gorgeous old oak trees.”

For a $125 fee, would-be homeowners can submit up to 500 words on one of two topics: why you’d love to live in Acton or why animal rescue is important to you.

Greenly is hoping to fund a rescue farm for old and vulnerable dogs with the proceeds of the contest. She’s been rescuing dogs for years but has had to turn several away because she lives in a residential area.

When her malamute, Kiera, died this spring, she decided to finally fulfill her dream of starting a rescue farm. And for that, she needs capital. A traditional home sale would leave her short.

The house is worth $600,000 but in order for the contest to be a go, Greenly says she needs enough money in entry fees to purchase a farm and retrofit it with a kennel and dog runs. She’s aiming for 10,000 essays but says she’ll run the contest as long as she gets enough entries to fund an adequate rescue, “There’s a ton of people out there who for example say, well 10,000 essays at $125 dollars that’s $1.25 million. Yes. But it’s a fundraiser.”

Greenly says she’s already received a number of moving essays. When they’re submitted, a trustee blanks out any identifying details before passing them on to her. Greenly then scores them based on a number of criteria outlined in her contest rules.

If enough entries are submitted to green light the contest, the top 25 essays will be read by a panel of three judges and they’ll choose the winner of the house.

It seems like a win-win situation, but contests like this can get complicated. A couple in Aylmer, Ontario attempted a similar competition a few years ago but didn’t have enough entries to proceed. An inn in Maine was sold by contest this past summer. The winner has since been hounded by other entrants who think they should have won.

But Greenly hopes the altruistic aspect of her endeavour encourages people to enter not just for a shot at a bargin basement price on a home, but to help dogs in need.

The contest closes December 15, 2015. If she doesn’t receive enough entries, hopefuls will get their money back.