House taken off market

A Millarville resident who put her million-dollar home up for grabs in a writing contest is no longer taking offers as the contest runs its course.

Alla Wagner spearheaded Write a Letter, Win a Home on Jan. 5, a contest inviting people to write creatively what owning her home would mean to them and pay a $25 entry fee for a chance to win it. She aims to raise funds to match her asking price of $1.69 million. Initially, Wagner planned to take offers for the home, which she put on the market last summer, if one was worth taking and refund people their $25.

She’s since realized it would crush people’s hopes.

“I won’t sell my house,” she said. “So many people are counting on this. Twenty-five dollars is still a lot of money for some people.”

Confined to the upper level of her two-storey home since suffering from a back injury in June, Wagner is pouring over letters from around the world who hope to make her 4,000 square foot house home.

It’s on an acre of land with three bedrooms, three full and two half bathrooms, a partially finished walk-out basement with a wine cellar, three vehicle garage and a mountain view.

Monthly, the taxes run almost $600, the insurance about $700 and the utilities around $350.

Wagner said she attempted to sell her home for $1.699 million, planning to downsize to a bungalow due to her physical limitations, but didn’t receive one offer since last summer.

She came up with the idea of the contest after reading about similar contests.

“It’s a creative writing contest about how the house could make their life different or better,” she said. “I’m very excited for the person that’s coming in here and the day we get to exchange ownership.

Wagner is flooded with about 1,000 letters daily, in varying languages, ranging from people pleading for her home to those accusing her of not being a person, saying there’s no house or that it’s a pyramid scheme.

Others tell her it just won’t work.

“People expressed concerns about the rules and laws around it but I’ve done all of my homework,” she said, adding she has a lawyer assisting her.

Others are saying she will sell her house if she gets an offer. Wagner said that’s not true.

Millarville couple, Rob and Christine Lederer, who never met Wagner, said they wish her the best.

“I really hope she recovers a sustainable amount of money for her lovely home,” said Rob last week. “It’s a wild idea.”

Wife Christine said whoever wins the home will be moving to a great place.

“We’ve lived here for 27 years and it’s a beautiful place to live,” she said. “They will be living in the most beautiful part of the world. It’s sad she will have to leave.”

Wagner, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia and has been in constant pain since her back injury, said she’s taking a bad situation and turning it into something good.

“It’s a way out of my situation,” she said. “It’s a chance to do something unbelievable and do something for someone.”

Wagner is spending hours reading the letters, getting little sleep in the meantime. Her son Christopher moved into the house months ago to assist her.

“I have a really good family and friends,” she said. “Even my neighbours have been shoveling snow.”

Some people sent Wagner money despite not entering the contest. She plans to give it, as well as five per cent of the proceeds from the contest, to the Calgary Women’s Shelter.

She said the shelter is what got her on her feet when she moved to Canada from Armenia in 1984.

Her English was weak and she was soon on the streets of Calgary before people directed her to the shelter, Wagner recalls.

“The Calgary Women’s Shelter helped me find my life in Canada,” she said.

Wagner went from being homeless to owning a million dollar home and running her own business decades later.

When the Write a Letter, Win a House contest ends on April 5, Wagner will narrow the entries to 500 for a panel of judges consisting of realtors and neighbours to choose one.

“I want my neighbours to choose the finalists,” she said. “It’s their neighbourhood.”

If there aren’t enough entries by April, Wagner might extend the deadline another month or two.