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Wife Wins House After Husband Laid Off

AP
posted: 256 DAYS 14 HOURS AGO
comments: 204
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DANVILLE, Calif. (Feb. 25) - Susan Wells was thrilled to learn she'd won a $2 million house in a raffle days after her husband had been laid off from his job. "I'm floored," said Wells, who bought the ticket as a surprise to celebrate the couple's 16th anniversary. "I can't believe this has happened. Needless to say, my husband is very surprised."
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The house is in upscale Marin County, just north of San Francisco. The couple already own a home in Danville, a suburb south of San Francisco, and if they don't want to move they have the option of $1.2 million in cash.
They're still deciding what do, but Brad Wells, who had been a sales executive for a Silicon Valley high-tech company, said the winnings are definitely a boost.
"I got laid off on Wednesday and the company went bankrupt on Friday," he said. The couple got word of their win on Saturday. "It's been a really rough ride for the last year. This gives us an unbelievable lift."
The raffle was held by Community Action Marin, which netted about $1.3 million, down from $2 million last year, the first time the event was held.
"In this economy, we're still very pleased," said Russ Hamel, director of development for the group, a private social services organization.
There were 29,000 tickets sold and prizes in addition to the dream house included $200,000 in cash.
Susan Wells said the couple is celebrating by having dinner with their neighbors.
"We're bringing a very good bottle of champagne," she said.
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Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-02-25 02:02:02

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TEREESE3

06:19 AMMar 04 2009

I would take the cash and pay off the house I have

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(0)

Joseshema

06:16 AMMar 04 2009

Unless the house value was recently estimated it may only fetch half that in todays economy. Also with no job how are they going to pay for taxes, upkeep and the other bills ?

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Mmaria1003

06:14 AMMar 04 2009

WTG, thats what you call luck, they should take the money and get settle. I could not win a door prize or if there was drawing i was the only one it . I still would not win hehe. I am so happy for them.

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PerryTsang

11:04 PMFeb 28 2009

Actually it is the beginning of a major problem for this family. Where are they going to get the money to pay for the income tax on the winning. This winning is taxable as it is considered as income. The family has to either take the cash prize instead, or sell their current home so to have the cash to pay for the taxes. The value of the house is 2 million. If estimate tax rate is 40%, you are talking about $800,000 in tax payment. If they take the cash of 1.2 million, the tax is only $480,000. I don't know how much their current home is worth, but my guess is they would do much better taking the cash.

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JINX1105

07:19 PMFeb 28 2009

Take the money. If you take the house, you'll owe on property taxes, huge insurancec bill, and a 40% prize tax on the actual appraised value of the home. Don't forget to include the huge electric and water bills you'll incur as well. Should you take the money, then it's 25% in taxes and the rest can be invested - wisely.

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(2)

sTeVejRhUmPsMeN

06:54 PMFeb 27 2009

If they're smart they'll take the money because they won't be able to afford the property taxes and the upkeep on that property.

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(3)

BRY2254

06:30 PMFeb 27 2009

Take out a big loan! And then wait, the goverment will take care of it. And you will get a huge tax break!

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(4)

MADELUCK1

06:27 PMFeb 27 2009

Take the house and geta low intrest loan while you find another job.

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(3)

Mzhuf

05:58 PMFeb 27 2009

Goodie, goodie for you! I'm waiting to see how much Obama sends my way!! lol

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(3)

Crysta192

04:43 PMFeb 27 2009

it's a nice house but i think they should take the cash, and boy i tell you some people have all the luck in life haha.. I'm happy for them good luck to them .. Now all we need is some good luck to the rest of us , where is my money now lol .. wink wink : )

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(5)

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Susan Wells was thrilled to learn she\'d won a $2 million house in a raffle days after her husband had been laid off from his job. I\'m floored, said Wells, who bought the ticket as a surprise to celebrate the couple\'s 16th anniversary. I can\'t believe this has happened. Needless to say, my husband is very surprised.