Buy Me A House For Christmas

Seems like a tall order, I know. What do I think you are? A millionaire? No, but that's okay. Don't worry; the house I want isn't that expensive. I think you could totally afford it. It's just eleven dollars. That's right $11. And no, it's not a doll house, or a dog house. It's an eleven dollar house.

Really.

You can read about it here.

So, in case you're not the link-following kind, here's the excerpt from the home page I linked to:

My name is David Stockburger, and I have been re-building this house in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for the past two years, trying to bring some new life to an almost 100-year-old house with an interesting past. At one time it was owned by one of Alberta's 10 Greatest Citizens. Years and many owners later, it was condemned and threatened with demolition by the City of Edmonton.

My wife and I want to award it as a prize to someone, mortgage free, completely renovated, and ready for the winner just to move right in. If you won, you could definitely say that your house was worth more than what you paid for it, not something everyone can say in these anxious times.

There have been lots of house "essay contests" in the United States, but this is one of the few, if any, ever allowed in Canada. The $11 entry fee might also be one of the lowest fees of any of these contests ever, where $100 and up seems to be more typical. The contest is open to residents of Canada (excluding Quebec) and the United States, where permitted by law. This isn't a lottery or a raffle. We plan on reading every entry and then picking a winner deliberately, based on the entries received (assuming we get enough entries). If we don't get enough entries, everyone who is officially entered in the contest will get their entry fee back.

We'll take essays, life stories, anecdotes, artwork, poems, songs, videos , family photos, whatever you think it'll take to convince us that you're the right person to own the house. Where else could you win a house for just $11 and for being you?

So, how are you going to buy me this house? You could do it in a few ways... I guess you could enter the contest, pay your $11 entry fee and say that you wanted me to win the house. Or you could write a stellar essay and win the house and give it to me. Or you could write a really bad essay and contribute to the minimum number of entries they need in order for the contest to run so I can win the house. Oh, and it doesn't really have to be an essay. It could be just a quick email, so you don't have to put a bunch of time into it. Check it out.