Inverloch Retirees Plan to Give $20,000 LJ Hooker Win to Worthy Cause
It's not every day someone wins $20,000 just for simply getting their house appraised, but rarer still is it for the lucky winners to generously give away their prize to a charitable cause.
However, that's exactly what the winners of LJ Hooker's national What Are You Sitting On? competition, Martin and Libby Haynes from Inverloch in Victoria, have decided to do with their $20,000 major prize.
As part of the competition, homeowners who had their property appraised by LJ Hooker agencies Australia-wide before April 30 were put into a draw to win a number of prizes including 200 magazine subscriptions.
The major prize of $20,000 was to go towards a renovation, mortgage or home extension.
Inverloch retirees Martin and Libby were on holiday in South Australia early this month when they received the call from LJ Hooker Inverloch Director Allan Mann, notifying them of their win.
"I felt amazed, shocked, speechless. You always hear about people winning lotteries but you never think it's going to be you," Libby said.
After some thought, however, the active members of the local Inverloch community decided they wanted the money to go towards helping people who really needed it.
"It was great to win, and as much as we could do many things with $20,000 - as anyone can - we don't really need the money and thought there would be people out there who could get more benefit out of it," Libby said.
"We would like to put it towards a worthwhile purpose such as a house that's being built where the families of sick children or with disabilities can get respite," she said.
The couple said that a few months ago when they were deliberating about selling, they decided to go to LJ Hooker Inverloch to get their home appraised because they felt the office's professionalism and approach would suit them. They subsequently decided to list the property with the team there.
"It was easy. Allan was very professional and sat down and spoke with us for about 45 minutes. We negotiated different aspects to everyone's satisfaction. Allan has been keeping us informed about open for inspections and everything that's been going on with our property," Martin said.
The LJ Hooker principal said there were many benefits to getting a property appraised even if home owners were not planning to put it on the market right away.
"Appraisals can be good for homeowners because it can give them an understanding of where their asset sits in the market. Some of our clients were very surprised at how much they could get for their property and ended up listing it as a result," Allan said.
He said it was fitting that loyal LJ Hooker Inverloch clients Martin and Libby had won the $20,000 major prize but he was not overly surprised at their plans to use the money to help those in need.
"That speaks volumes as to the people they are. It is a very generous thing to do, but they are generous people,"
Allan said.
