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Darby house that Susan Dagnall has put up for sale.

READER FEEDBACK

Want a house? Put it in writing

By WILLIAM BENDER
Philadelphia Daily News

benderw@phillynews.com 215-854-5255

In the market for a house, but can't qualify for a mortgage?

Keep reading. Then start writing.

Susan Dagnall is prepared to give you her three-bedroom rowhouse in Darby, Delaware County.

All you have to do is write an essay of 1,000 or fewer words describing why you want it. And it has to be good. Better than at least 800 other essays.

Dagnall, 57, a technical writer and editor who lives in Berks County, has had trouble finding a buyer for her old house at 314 Golf Road, so she decided to start an essay contest.

"Mortgage lending has really tightened up in the last year or so," Dagnall said. "If you thought it was hard before, it's much harder now.

"That makes it harder for me to sell the house if I can't find a buyer that qualifies."

Dagnall heard on the radio of a family in another state that ran an essay contest to sell their house.

"I wanted to get a reasonable return on my investment, and, at the same time, I wanted to give a person the opportunity to acquire the house," Dagnall said.

"This is a contest of skill, not a game of chance."

Contestants can print out the entry form and rules at Dagnall's Web site, and view a home inspection report and pictures. The entry fee is $100. It is open only to Pennsylvania residents 18 and older.

The two-story brick end-unit, which Dagnall bought in 1985 for about $40,000, is a fixer-upper that needs plumbing and wall repairs.

But, hey, it's a $100 house.

What do you expect?

"Even if they gutted the house and started from scratch, the land itself would be worth more than $100," Dagnall said.

At least 800 essays must be submitted for the winner to get the house.

If fewer essays are submitted, the winner will get the proceeds from the contest, minus expenses and outstanding taxes.

The essays must be postmarked by Jan. 31, 2010 and received by Feb. 15, 2010. They will be reviewed by a panel of anonymous judges. An open house is scheduled for next month.

For more information, visit dagnalldarbyhouse.com.

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Comments

Posted 05:27 AM, 10/30/2009

barretina

Wow that's a cool idea! I wonder about the legalities of setting that up...it would be interesting to know how many entires she has!

Posted 08:27 AM, 10/30/2009

jackpaul

Awesome lady. This is the coolest thing I've heard yet!

Posted 12:08 PM, 10/30/2009

GodofSports

Good idea, but too bad the house is a piece of sh?t.

Posted 12:31 PM, 10/30/2009

MacDaddy

The neighbors looking to sell their homes must love this. At least da winner will knows how to reads and wrights.

Posted 12:59 PM, 10/30/2009

philly girl

Wanna bet she claims she didn't receive the minimum 800 essays? Then she can look like a big sport without actually having to give away her house for only $100.00.

Posted 01:25 PM, 10/30/2009

philly girl

Before you all start writing in to let me know what a moron I am, I'm beating you to the punch. Uh, duh, what was I thinking with my original comment?! I get it now. She stands to receive at least 80 grand for this dump, twice what she paid for it ... and, I repeat, it's a DUMP!! Yeah, it's a lucky break for the winner, especially if he or she can fix up the house without paying professionals to do it. But, the fact remains, she'll still get at least 80 grand when she never would otherwise for a house in this deplorable ghetto condition. She's doing it because there's something in it for her. Stop acting as if she's so awesome, generous and magnanimous. If she were, she'd be doing something similar to what my parents did back in the 1950's with our rowhouse in SW Philly when we moved out of state. The real estate agent was a schmuck, the place was vandalized from top to bottom, inside and out, my parents wound up donating it to MBS parish and got nothing more out of it than a tax write-off. And, believe me, we were far from rich, they could ill afford to lose that house.

Posted 02:29 PM, 10/30/2009

jasmine68

Hope she pays the property taxes before she 'gives' it away.

Posted 09:32 PM, 10/30/2009

everydayguy

Something's fishy here. She should be able to at least get a reasonable price. Either the place is a total disaster ($100 means she can get rid of it without technically walking away) or this is a big publicity stunt, which phillygirl is suggesting.

Posted 11:59 PM, 10/30/2009

eduby12

This has been done many times before. It is a clever way to "sell" your home. In many cases, the current owner does not get enough entrants to reach their price (in this case 800 and $80,000). Check out: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/aug/24/business/chi-re-essay-contest-0824aug24

Posted 01:34 AM, 10/31/2009

extremeteam

I've got three words describing why I wouldn't want a house in Darby. "State Of Emergency."

Posted 10:33 PM, 10/31/2009

rdecredico

Manipulative and hardly news.

Posted 03:31 PM, 11/04/2009

suz

I saw it on tv. It looks disgusting inside and unliveable. She presented herself as doing a favor or that someone would be 'lucky' to get this house, but in reality, someone would have to gut it and spend a ton of money. I would be the truth is it's in a bad area and not even professional renovators want to touch the place. At least she'll get her $80,000 out of it though, which it's not even WORTH. Ugh.