‘By chance, did you win a cottage in Ireland?'
She told him more about the contest; he thought it was a scam. What were the chances that she had won a worldwide raffle competition based in Britain with just three tickets? But when she received an email from Raffall, and then from Collins herself, Spangler realised it had actually happened.
'Imelda's first email mentioned how I must be in shock, but she's excited for me,' she recalled. They spoke a few hours later on WhatsApp. 'It was a great experience to be able to speak directly to her, and helped to make things real.'
Moving to Ireland would be something of a homecoming: Spangler's grandmother emigrated from County Mayo, in western Ireland, and her great-grandfather's family hailed from Sligo, a town about19 kilometres from the house. Collins, 52, was thrilled to hear that Spangler had roots in the area. 'I truly feel my home was meant to be hers,' she said.
With a newborn, a new home and a new academic venture, the Spanglers are now beginning to sort out how and when they'll take possession of the house, from the legal red tape to the tax implications.
'My husband and I have talked about someday, when we are out of the military, getting property overseas and splitting time between [there and] the United States,' she said. 'But that was obviously a future goal.'
Fortunately, they have some time. Property transfers in Ireland typically take around three months to complete, said Stelios Kounou, Raffall's CEO. The company acts as a go-between for hosts transferring their goods — which range from sports tickets to cars to homes — to the winners. In this case, Raffall will supply the legal team to oversee the due diligence for the company and for Collins. As part of her contest offer, Collins will pay for Spangler's attorney and the Irish stamp duty on the transaction.
Kounou said that Raffall's solicitors have begun the paperwork in Britain.
'The contracts are handled by the lawyers much like a traditional property sale,' he said. 'The key difference is that, since the property was won rather than purchased, the winner doesn't have the same rights as a buyer — similar to how it works at auction. Once both parties are happy with the terms, the transfer of ownership and release of funds take place simultaneously, all managed by the lawyers.'
For Collins, who decided to raffle her house after reading about another Irishwoman who had raffled her Dublin apartment, the closing of the contest brings a huge sense of relief. When she launched her raffle in October, she set a goal of selling 150,000 tickets via Raffall. At £5 apiece, that would come to £750,000, or about $1.53 million. Not bad for a house she bought for about $230,000 in 2022.
She monitored her ticket sales every day, spending nearly €25,000 (about $44,000) out of pocket for advertising and marketing. 'I accepted that I probably wasn't going to succeed, but I am an optimist and was going to remain hopeful until the very last minute,' she said.
If she fell short of 150,000 tickets, as per Raffall's terms, she could give the winner 50 per cent of the revenue and keep 40 per cent and the house, or give the house away and keep more of the revenue for herself. Until a few days before the May 20 draw, she was unsure she'd meet her goal.
But in the end, Collins said, 206,815 tickets were sold, grossing £1,034,705 (about $2.14 million). Besides the 10 per cent to Raffall, she has about €2600 to pay in affiliate fees, plus a 33 per cent capital gains tax, 1 per cent of the value of the house for stamp duty, and fees for her lawyers and the Spanglers' lawyers.
'There are days I am still in disbelief that it happened and it actually happened to me,' Collins said. 'I don't want to say I believe in miracles, but I always try and give it a go to see what happens. I'm over the moon.'
She and Spangler anticipate meeting at some point for the handing over of keys. While they wait for instruction from the attorneys, Collins is sure of one thing: 'There will be a big deal when the keys actually get transferred. I will make it very special.'
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