What’s it like to put your house into a prize draw? The Salford family selling £2 tickets for their property
The Reid family have put their Salford home and car in a prize draw ahead of a life-changing trip to Australia - hoping for a quicker sell before they head down under.
Selling a property in the middle of the pandemic comes with inevitable complications.
Unpredictable markets. Guaranteed delays. Head-scratching legislation. Plus the fact that potential buyers might not even be able to step inside for viewings.
Anthony and Gemma Reid know all about it.
After putting their Salford house up for sale and watching two potential buyers walk away, the pair came to the conclusion it probably wasn’t going to happen.
In September, they took down their property listing and put it in a prize draw instead – hoping for a quicker sell ahead of their life-changing move to Australia.
A property prize draw is exactly what it sounds like. The house is placed online – and tickets are sold to members of the general public for £2 a pop. The holder of the winning ticket wins the house.
The whole competition is hosted online on a website called Raffall.
The first and most obvious question here: Is ‘Raffalling’ off your home as risky as it sounds?
Many families would be terrified to swap the tried-and-trusted property market for the kind of raffle-style competition you’d find at pubs, school discos and fairs.
But Anthony and Gemma are living proof that property prize draws can work – calling the experience “amazing”.
“It’s a full-time job and we have to keep on top of things, but now we have some media coverage the tickets are flying out and we hope to hit our sales target,” Gemma told The Manc.
“We would like to thank everyone who has taken part and ask them to keep sharing so we can get someone in their new home!”
The family have thrown in a few incentives along the way to help boost sales – including Anthony getting his chest waxed when tickets purchased tipped over 50,000.
The Reids have even offered some words of advice for the lucky winner.
“Make sure you have some good friends lined up for your celebration party!” Gemma says.
“The kitchen is great for entertaining and barbecues in summer will be amazing, Sadly, COVID stopped us enjoying the garden this year so someone will have to christen the garden with a party.”
The Reids have so many fond memories of their three-bed home. Relaxing together watching TV in the spacious front room. Drinking morning coffee in the shiny kitchen. Eating tea whilst asking their son Max what he did at school. Stretching out on the sofa during dark winter nights and drawing the curtains to watch a movie. Getting into bed for a peaceful night on a quiet road.
They admit they’re going to miss it. But big things are waiting for them on the other side of the world.
“If we could pick the house up and take it with us, it would be great,” Gemma says.
“But sadly we can’t – and it is time to pass it on to another family to enjoy.”
The family will be staying with Gemma’s brother for a few weeks in Victoria when they reach Oz; spending some time with them before heading over to Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney to do the tourist sights.
Anthony already has a few irons in the fire in terms of work, whereas Gemma is hoping to open her own shop selling artificial floral displays (she is currently fully-booked here in Blighty for her Christmas decorating services).
The Reids will board their flight in February – and until then, they want to spread the word about their prize draw as far and wide as possible.
“We have had lots of well-wishers and people interested in following our journey and have a few hardcore followers that are always helping and commenting on threads to get people involved,” Gemma says.
“It is really exciting.
“We intend to fully enjoy the experience and take in new ideas and things along the way and we invite everyone to join the trip and follow our story.”
Fancy being in with a shot of winning a Salford house and car for two quid?
Head over to the Raffall Page for more info. You can take a tour here.
Manchester based quick house buyer Ask Susan says selling your house in this way certainly is a novel idea if you’re looking for a quick sale in an uncertain market place.
Feature
Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig
Danny Jones
This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.
And it was special for lots of reasons.
Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.
You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)
Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.
But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.
You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.
The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.
Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.
Credit: The Manc Group
Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.
Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.
We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.
It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.
We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.
Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.
Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
The Manc -
17th November 2020 
