Texas ranch owners raffling off 76-acre ranch for less than a steak. Here's why.
Jason and Katy Ballard worked a combined seven years to buy a 76-acre ranch in Mason County. The couple is now raffling off the land for around $6.75 a ticket.
For the two attorneys, the acreage bought during the pandemic represented a chance at their dreams: Recreation, camp, and eventually living. The land was also for their homestead business, where they produce grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, and free-range eggs.
"So we've been talking about this homestead expansion for years," Jason Ballard said. "And of course, life, the job that actually pays the bills, everything keeps getting in the way."
The Mason County ranch is more than four hours from Dallas. It is closer to Austin, but still not close enough for the Ballards. The couple said they have an 18-month-old son, Remington — who is just as much a priority as the expansion of their business.
"Watching the sunset there, just watching the butterflies everywhere," Katy Ballard said. "It's really a beautiful, beautiful piece of land."
Why the Ballards are raffling off their Texas Hill Country ranch
The couple said people have even called their local tax assessors, concerned that the raffle was a scam. It's real, the Ballards said. They are conducting the sweepstakes through Raffall.com. Katy Ballard got the idea from a newspaper article. Jason Ballard said he's even bought a ticket in a raffle.
The couple purchased the property for $550,000. Now, they believe their choice will give someone a chance to be an owner who could not have afforded it otherwise, excluding the realtor.
"The traditional real estate market, you're dealing with a small pool of qualified buyers," Jason Ballard said. "And so the reach would be limited."
How the land raffle works and what the winner will receive
The raffle increases their visibility, the Ballards hope. According to Raffall.com, the couple must sell a minimum of 190,000 tickets for the prize to be given away. If fewer than the minimum number of tickets are sold, the winner receives a cash prize equal to 50% of the total ticket revenue generated for the competition. Raffall will receive 10%.
"It's about buying into a dream," Katy said. "And that process in itself is, it's a lot of fun."
The winner will still have to choose between 76.06 acres of Texas Hill Country Ranch land and $300,000 after the drawing on December 23. That person will assume title, responsibilities, and property taxes.
Mason County records show the taxes are current.
"So I think it's really just this message of living simply and homesteading and just owning a piece of the Texas Hill Country really resonates with people," she said.
Part of the Ballards' property was damaged by the deadly Texas Hill flood. The couple said it will be repaired by the time the winner makes a choice. TEXASFUND is the code the Ballards are using to donate 10% of their monthly sales to Texas Hill County victims.