'I thought we were going to end up homeless - then our lives changed forever'
Whilst constantly stressing about money and her living situation, Ramona, who is a teaching assistant, entered a property raffle through Tramway Path. After spending just £40 on a ticket, the mum-of-two was left trembling with joy after being told she had won a whopping £500,000.
Now, she and her two children are preparing to move into their dream home mortgage-free, a three-bed house complete with a big garden and a safer environment to grow up in.
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'As a single mother, the last few years have been very tough,' Ramona said. 'Our landlord wanted to sell her flat and if we had been asked to move out, we might have been homeless.
'I was studying at the time and didn't have a permanent job. At one point, the landlord gave me a Section 21 notice but then thankfully backtracked.'But I was still spending my days constantly worrying about our living situation changing and the pressure of securing work was hanging over my head."
Ramona said she couldn't believe her luck when she got the call that she had won the large sum of money. 'When I got the call to say that we'd won, I couldn't believe it – I thought it was a scam caller at first," she said. After reading about Tramway Path in the news - a London-based business run by brothers Daniel, Jay and Will Twenefour, with the aim to help people get on the property ladder - she dreamt about one day winning the prize.But when the draw finally came around, life got in the way and Ramona missed the official announcement. It was her son who noticed the missed calls on her phone.
"I almost missed it – with the hectic schedule of life, the raffle just completely slipped my mind. After dinner, my son noticed the missed calls on my phone, I had no idea who they could be from," said Ramona.
'I was very sceptical at first – you read a lot about scams online so you never know what to believe. But then I saw the announcement video on Instagram and the emotion just flooded out of me.'I was left trembling with tears of joy, I'm so grateful for this opportunity to give my kids a better life. The area we are moving to gives my kids the chance to have a better future and grow up in a safer environment.'I'm forever grateful to God for this, my prayers have been answered.'One of Ramona's main goals whilst house hunting was to find an area for her kids to get a better education, quality of life and safer environment. The family will be moving into their new home in Kingston-Upon-Thames next month.
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