The couple spent eight years renovating the home.
The couple spent eight years renovating the home.
Jon Nurse
  • British couple Jon and Annmarie Nurse are raffling off their vacation home in Garfagnana, a rural region in Tuscany, Italy.
  • The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home is worth $517,000 (£400,000), and raffle tickets cost $32 (£25) each.

  • The couple plans to donate up to $64,600 (£50,000) from the raffle ticket sales to The Children’s Society, a charity based in England and Wales. 

  • “This could be a truly life-changing opportunity to have your very own Tuscan retreat with a beautiful private pool – and it’s yours to do what you want with it,” Jon told Insider.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A British couple is hosting a raffle that will give one winner the opportunity to own a picturesque home in the Italian countryside.

Jon and Annmarie Nurse are raffling off their $517,000 (£400,000) vacation home in Garfagnana, a mountainous region in Tuscany, Italy that’s two hours from Florence by car.

The raffle is open to contestants from around the world. Tickets went on sale on September 9 and cost $32 (£25) each, and the raffle closes on January 29, 2021.

Jon and Annmarie thought of the idea to raffle their Italian vacation home while they were under lockdown orders in the town of Poole in Dorset, England.

"There was a lot of news about people struggling and we just thought, 'You know what, why don't we do something where we can make a bit of a difference?' and the one thing we had was property," Jon said. 

The winner will not only own the Nurse's four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Tuscany, but the couple said they are planning to cover all transfer taxes and legal fees, as well as flights within Europe to Italy. They'll also pay for a car rental and accommodation while they sign forms to transfer the home's ownership to the winner.

The raffle's winner can relax in the home's large outdoor pool.
The raffle's winner can relax in the home's large outdoor pool.
Jon Nurse

The Nurses bought the home 11 years ago and spent the past eight years renovating it, adding details around the house such as windows made with local chestnut wood accents, and vaulted ceilings. The home is fully furnished and has a private swimming pool and gardens. 

"We basically made it modern, but kept with the original features of the property," Jon said.

While the couple has rented it out to guests in the past, they never imagined they would raffle it off entirely.

"This could be a truly life-changing opportunity to have your very own Tuscan retreat with a beautiful private pool – and it's yours to do what you want with it," Jon told Insider.

The home has unbeatable views of the Italian countryside.
The home has unbeatable views of the Italian countryside.
Jon Nurse

Jon told Insider that the couple plans to donate up to $64,600 (£50,000) from the raffle proceeds to The Children's Society, a charity based in England and Wales. 

The winner of the Nurse's Tuscany house will be picked by a random computer generator on February 1, Jon said.

The property has beautiful gardens throughout.
The property has beautiful gardens throughout.
Jon Nurse

The raffle will no longer accept entries after 20,000 tickets have sold, which Jon said they did to ensure that each person has a better chance at actually winning. 

You can enter the raffle here. 

Read the original article on Insider