A Dublin family is raffling off their suburban apartment at £15 (€17.50) a ticket to help raise money and awareness for mental health charities in Ireland.
Keith Mooney and his wife Lisa are raffling their three-bedroom Lucan apartment worth €360,000 tomorrow in just under 36 hours.
The lucky winners will receive a fully furnished apartment with no mortgage, legal fees, or stamp duty in addition to an extra €10,000 in cash, while there will be dozens of bonus cash prizes if all 40,000 tickets are sold for the draw. There are roughly 17,000 tickets available for the draw, Mooney said.
Keith Mooney
Keith said that he will donate €100,000 of the money raised to suicide prevention charity Pieta House in honor of his brother Stuart, who died on Christmas Day 15 years ago after struggling with mental illness and addiction.
"A lot of people who raffle off their property tend to give about 5% to charity. We're looking at giving 10% to charity as well as the extra bits in terms of trying to spread the love to as many people as possible," Keith told IrishCentral.
The three-bedroom ground-floor apartment spans over 1,500 sq ft and boasts balconies in the front and back and Keith said that it would represent a life-changing prize for whoever wins next February's draw.
Keith Mooney
He pointed to current market rates in Ireland and said that it is almost impossible for people to buy a house at present without moving back in with their parents to save money on rent.
His raffle offers people an opportunity to own their own home for "the price of a takeaway pizza".
"Anybody who looks at the photographs will see how well-kept it is and how spacious it is," Keith said, adding that the property is perfect for any young family.
Keith and Lisa Mooney have lived in the apartment for 13 years and raised their two young children Adam and Callum there. They are looking to move into a new home with an extra room so that Keith can take care of his parents if the need arises.
"I would just love an extra room to have the comfort of having the space there for my mam or dad if I needed it."
Dozens of people have reached out to Keith with touching stories since the draw was launched, detailing how they've been left homeless by soaring property rates.
"I wish I had about 50 apartments to give away. There are so many people who would be genuinely deserving of it," he said.
"It would be amazing to see a young family come in and change their life, but realistically if you buy a ticket, you've got a chance. I'd love for somebody to really appreciate the win."
The property is worth €360,000 and would yield a monthly rent of €2,200 if somebody decided that they didn't want to live in it, Keith said.
Keith Mooney
The Mooney family has sold 23,000 tickets for the raffle so far and told IrishCentral that the winners will receive a cash prize if they don't sell enough tickets.
The prize money currently stands at a minimum of €270,000.
The family has enlisted the help of Irish comedian Enya Martin, who lost a friend to suicide two years ago, to help sell tickets for tomorrow's draw and raise money for Pieta House.
For more information about tomorrow's raffle, visit Raffall.com.
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