User:Marctissington

09:40 - 31 December 2006 What do you do with your home when you can't even give it away?That is the dilemma facing Marc and Liz Tissington who were hoping to dispose of their cottage through a Spot the Ball competition.

To the Tissingtons, the idea seemed foolproof. People could enter the competition for £3.50 a go in the hope of winning a two-bedroom home in Congleton worth £173,000.

And if 62,000 people took part, entry fees would cover the cost of the property and the competition. But with just days to go before the competition ends next Sunday, the couple are set to lose money.

Decorator Mr Tissington said: "I am not too sure of the exact amount of tickets sold but we are nowhere near breaking even with our outgoings. The take-up has been so bad that we're tempted to give the money back, call it a day, and be left with a £10,000 bill. But we would be letting those who have bought tickets in good faith down, and ourselves. We will keep going until the last day of the competition, and if that means losing money on what we thought was a good idea, so be it."

If the couple sold enough tickets to cover their expenses, it would mean no more than 2,858 people entered the competition.

The Tissingtons, who moved to Camborne Close, decided to launch the Spot the Ball contest in June after the centrally heated home, at 4 Bath Vale Cottages, had been on the market for 18 months.

Mr Tissington came up with the idea of raffling the house, but once he looked into it he found Spot The Ball was the only legal way to allow people to compete for it.

He is dismayed more people have not entered the contest.

He said: "With over seven million people without the means to get on the property ladder, and a week does not go by without the media telling us that it's so difficult for the young, low income, etc to buy, we just can't believe that this genuine competition is floundering so badly.

"The only people who are excited about this project are the people who have entered and who genuinely believe in what we are trying to do. Liz and I are fed up with trying to help others get on the property ladder.

"We are fed up with putting a positive spin on everything we do, we just want to stand on the tallest building and shout out 'Come on you miserable lot, buy a ticket'."

The couple, who have spent £10,000 on lawyers, website designers and marketing, are unsure what to do next.

The winner of the competition will be chosen by independent judges in January.

But unless more people enter via the couple's website www.winourcottage.com they won't give the cottage away.

Instead, the winner will receive 40 per cent of the cash generated with two runners up getting five per cent each.

Any remaining money will be deducted from the asking price of the house.