Spanish house lottery sets a new trend

THE first house to be sold in Spain by lottery could be just the start of things to come.

Unlike the famous ‘El Gordo’ Christmas lottery, where the winners of the world’s biggest lottery payoff get a share of a €2.5 billion pot, the winner of the ‘lotohome.es’ first ever property lottery has won a house.

The €90,000 property, which is located in Calle Esperanza, Segorbe, just north of Valencia, was offered for raffle with the tickets priced at just €10 each. They were sold to vast numbers of people, some as far away as Australia and Florida, who became increasingly interested as word spread via social media that tickets could be purchased from kiosks and selected shops in Valencia, or online.

Pepe Bolumar, 35, became disheartened with trying to sell his late grandmother’s house the traditional way. So after a family discussion, they decided to sell it via a lottery. The administration required was a little more than they had originally thought, due to Spanish tax and lottery laws, plus the sheer weight of paperwork, and seemingly endless amounts of red tape. But finally they became the first family to raffle off a house.

The family, which estimated that it had made the €90,000 value of the house plus an extra €10,000 after administrative costs, will now act as consultants for others who want to offer their home through a lottery.

“We were the first to do this in Spain but it could benefit others,” said Bolumar, who believes it offers benefits to both the vendor and the lottery winner. “If you’re trying to sell your home and it’s not working, this might be the solution for you,” he said.