For the Sudbury Kinsmen, spring is all about fresh starts.
That’s the big reason the local service club shifted its 38th annual Showcase Home Sweepstakes – this year’s top prize is a Zulich-built home on Hazelton Avenue – to the warmer months.
Mary Jane Drury is helping to coordinate this year’s event.
“The warm weather and spring is the beginning of something,” Drury said. “And we want to be in on that beginning.”
“For a lot of people, the beginning of a year isn’t January 1. That’s just a continuation of winter,” she said. “The beginning of the year is when people can get outside, when the days get longer, and the weather gets warmer.”
The longer spring days, plus the more hospitable weather, will give the public a few more hours of daylight to tour the home and let their imaginations wander, Drury said.
“We wanted to give the public more opportunity and more time to come and see the home on their own timetable.”
The Kinsmen home, proudly built and sponsored by Zulich Homes, is the fourth on Hazelton Avenue that the Kinsmen have raffled off.
And so far, the Showcase Home Sweepstakes has raised millions of dollars for the Sudbury community.
Tickets for the sweepstakes are available starting April 29, and a bit earlier – April 24 – for online customers. One ticket is $100, three for $200, and six for $300.
And for the second year, the Kinsmen are also running a 50/50 draw. Tickets for the 50/50 are $10 each, or a package of three for $25, or five for $40.
The end goal, Drury said, is to help raise money for local charities. But doing that is a team effort.
“It couldn't be done without the support of our sponsors and without the support of the purchasers,” Drury said. “It takes both.”
“Our sponsors can give us all the donations they want, but we need the community’s help in buying our tickets.”
But people looking to buy tickets sometimes have questions about what to do with the winnings if their lucky number is drawn.
One common question: if I win the home do I have to live in it?
“Once a home is awarded to the winner they do not have to live in it,” Drury said. “Any prize won can be sold if the winner wishes to do so.”
“In Ontario lottery prizes are tax free and winners are not obligated to live in the home. You could choose to sell it immediately and incur no tax.”
That leads to the second most common question: is there a capital gains tax on the property if I sell it?
“Winning real estate is considered a lottery prize, not a capital gain,” Drury said. “And lottery winnings are not taxable in Ontario.”
For more information on this year’s Kinsmen Home Sweepstakes, visit their website by clicking here or by calling 705-688-0366.