Morning Buzz: Writing skills pay the bills for a new home
Today’s buzz comes to us from KVAL in Eugene, Oregon. A couple in Oregon found a creative way to sell their beach home in this sluggish real estate market. Ray and Sharon Sinclair told TV station KVAL that they were tired of having their $600,000 beach house sitting on the market. So, they decided to give the house away to the winner of an essay contest. Applicants have to pay an entry fee of $200 and write “Why we want to win this house” in 100 words or less.
The couple is capping the contest at 3,000 entries… which means they’ll have received the original selling price of $600,000.
So far, they say they’ve received entries from across the country… and even from other countries. They will actually not judge the essays, themselves. They placed an ad in an Oregon newspaper to find the three judges.
The contest runs through the end of the month, and so far, the Sinclairs have received 2,200 entries.
I’ll show you video of the house this morning. I think this is a pretty smart idea… and some lucky person will win a $600,000 beach house for $200!

They are already at $440K with 2200 sold tickets.
Not bad with no sales commission to pay. If it was a little closer I might consider entering the contest. Then again what does that have to do with it if you turn around and sell it? Huuummm.