Disabled father raffles his home to fund charity instead of paying estate agents

Steve Rooney, a 43-year-old father of four from County Wexford, Ireland, has initiated an online raffle for his family's three-bedroom cottage, pricing tickets at €10 each with a goal of selling 120,000 tickets. The property is described as being surrounded by mountains in the Irish countryside and located approximately 15 minutes from the beach. Rooney, who suffers from ulcerative colitis, a debilitating inflammatory bowel disease that has left him disabled and unable to work, made this decision primarily to circumvent traditional estate agents whom he believes charge exorbitant fees for minimal service. He stated that estate agents typically charge around €20,000 for simply showing people around a house, money he feels could be put to better use. The family's circumstances have been strained by his wife Clora's need to work in Dublin during the week while he manages both his health condition and the care of their four young daughters alone at home. This separation has been described as heartbreaking for the family, who are making every effort to remain together despite the challenges. The raffle proceeds will serve multiple purposes: funding the family's relocation to Dublin to reunite them during the week, supporting Rooney's pursuit of a psychology degree which he studies from home with the intention of becoming self-employed to help others, and donating five percent of the total raised to the Children and Young People's Cancer Association based in Leicester, England. Rooney specifically chose this charity with the hope that the donation could cover their fuel costs for an entire year. He expressed a personal connection to the cause, noting that as a father of four daughters, he feels deeply for children facing end-of-life situations who do not get the opportunity to live full lives as he has, despite his own near-death experiences with his illness. The raffle model represents an alternative approach to property sales that Rooney believes can benefit charitable causes rather than what he perceives as an overpaid real estate industry.

The decision to raffle the property rather than pursue a conventional sale stems from Rooney's accumulated frustration with the real estate industry over multiple moves in the past five years. Having relocated two or three times during that period, he developed a strong conviction that estate agents provide insufficient value for their commission fees. His criticism centers on the belief that agents merely conduct property tours without contributing meaningfully to the sales process, leaving sellers feeling exploited. This experience motivated him to seek an alternative method that would allow him to retain more value from the sale while simultaneously supporting a charitable cause. The raffle format, while unconventional for property transactions, enables him to potentially reach a wide audience of participants who might not otherwise have the opportunity to acquire a home, all while directing funds away from what he considers an unnecessary intermediary. The challenge he acknowledges is marketing the raffle without a dedicated advertising budget, relying instead on word of mouth and media coverage to attract ticket buyers.

The family's personal situation provides crucial context for the sale. Rooney's ulcerative colitis has rendered him disabled and unable to maintain regular employment, creating financial pressures that are compounded by the geographic separation from his wife. Clora's employment in Dublin necessitates her absence during the work week, leaving Rooney to manage his health condition while serving as the primary caregiver for their four daughters. This arrangement has proven unsustainable, prompting the decision to sell the countryside property and relocate the entire family to Dublin. The move aims to eliminate the weekly separation and allow the family to function as a more cohesive unit. Additionally, the funds raised will support Rooney's educational pursuits in psychology, which he views as a pathway to self-employment and a means of helping others, representing a long-term strategy for the family's financial stability despite his disability.

The charitable component of the raffle reflects Rooney's deliberate choice to support children with cancer. He selected the Children and Young People's Cancer Association in Leicester specifically, noting his family connections to both Ireland and England. His rationale for choosing a children's cancer charity centers on his belief that such organizations rarely receive large lump-sum donations and must constantly engage in fundraising efforts to sustain their operations. By allocating five percent of the raffle proceeds to this cause, he hopes to provide meaningful financial relief, potentially covering the organization's fuel expenses for a full year. Rooney's personal perspective as a father of four daughters informs this decision, as he expressed particular empathy for children who face terminal illness without having had the opportunity to experience life fully. He contrasted his own situation, acknowledging that despite his serious health struggles and near-death experiences, he has at least had the chance to live a substantial life, a opportunity denied to many children with cancer.