Warning as flat offered in draw

The couple wanted a fun way to sell their flat

The Law Society of Scotland has warned against people offering their properties as competition prizes.

It follows plans by an Edinburgh couple to sell their one-bedroom flat in a prize draw.

John Millar and Lucy Rickets decided on the idea as a means of cutting out estate agents and making it "fun".

But the Law Society said that without proper terms and conditions there was potential for "disaster" if unhappy competition entrants complained.

The Edinburgh couple are charging £5 a ticket to answer a simple question online, with the correct entries going into a draw.

They are hoping to sell enough tickets to enable them to move into a property with a garden.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to sell their house this way. It has got potential for disaster Stewart Brymer Law Society of Scotland

"If we sold through the traditional means we would have a very small profit margin," Ms Rickets said.

"This would be eaten up by legal fees and moving expenses. We would be back to square one."

To make sure they did not fall foul of the gambling laws, the couple had to introduce the competition element.

Ms Rickets added: "This is the fun part, we are developing ideas and can't wait to try them out.

"We are asking people if they have any good ideas.

"We will put them on our website and maybe try out the best of them."

Terms and conditions

However, Stewart Brymer, from the Law Society of Scotland, said selling property in that way could be fraught with difficulties.

"People can already sell their properties via auction but this is going one step further," he said.

"They would really have to make sure the terms and conditions were valid.

"I wouldn't recommend anyone to sell their house this way.

"It has got potential for disaster."

This is a unique way to sell a property but it seems to have a lot of drawbacks Derek Bowman NAEA

He said problems could arise if one of the "losers" in the draw felt it was unfair and asked for evidence of all the procedures followed.

"Anyone who does want to go down this route should make sure they have a proper set of terms and conditions," he added.

Derek Bowman, a fellow member of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) also warned of the pitfalls.

"If you employ a good estate agent they will more than justify the fee by achieving the top price for your house," he said.

"Someone who doesn't normally deal in selling property won't know the right way to go about things to achieve the best price possible."

He said there could be problems if the ticket sales failed to meet the property's reserve price.

"You would need a lot of people taking part in order to make enough money," he said. "And if the reserve price isn't reached, do they have to give all those other people their £5 back?

"This is a unique way to sell a property but it seems to have a lot of drawbacks."