If you’re in the market for a new home, you might not have to come up with the money for a down payment after all. You might just have to be a really convincing writer. Alla Wagner, owner of this Georgian Country Style mansion in Millarville, Alberta, is vacating her home due to poor health and wants to pass it along to a deserving heir. Since her $1.7 million home failed to sell by traditional means, she’s decided to start a “write a letter, win a house” contest wherein applicants are invited to submit a letter answering the question: “Why would moving to this lakefront dream home change your life?” The winner will be the proud owner of a 3,850-square-foot mansion with panoramic views of the Rockies, a one-acre lot, pond, and wine cellar that Wagner calls “a writer’s or artist’s paradise.”
You Can Win This Luxury Country Mansion in Alberta by Writing an Essay
Photo: Write a Letter, Win A House/Facebook
The contest will be open until early April with the possibility of extension depending on how many people participate. The entry fee is $19, and she needs at least 60,000 entries to cover the home’s $1.7 million value. Wagner intends to allow the public to vote on the 500 finalists, and then a panel of judges will narrow those finalists down to a single winner.
Wagner isn’t the first to try this home-selling tactic. In 2015, the Center Lovell Inn in the US held a writing contest to determine its new owner. That situation, however, resulted in complaints that the contest was rigged, the winner preselected, and prompted a police investigation into the contest’s legality.
To enter Wagner’s contest, follow the instructions on the official Facebook page. 
H/T: CNN