Owners offer farm for $100, convincing essay

COLEBROOK TOWNSHIP, Ohio – One hundred dollars and a darn good story: That’s all Rose and Dennis Wallace want in exchange for their 431/2-acre farm.

The Wallaces intend to hand over the deed to the winner of an essay contest they’re sponsoring. Put the right words together explaining why you would want the humble homestead, and the Ashtabula County property is yours with no strings attached.

The contest – which law enforcement officials said is perfectly legal – started seven weeks ago. It ends when the 3,000th submission with a $100 entry fee lands in P.O. Box 186 in Orwell.

The Wallaces would raise $300,000 through the contest, a payoff far greater than what the property could fetch in today’s sagging market. The Ashtabula County auditor’s office values the property at $170,000, according to online records. A real estate agent estimated its value at $250,000.

Rose said the contest money will be enough to pay off their mortgage and provide a down payment on their next house.

“People are leery when they hear about it,” Rose said of the winner-take-all contest. “But this is for real.”

Dennis nodded in agreement. “Somebody,” he said, “is going to get this farm for $100.”

Rose, 54, and Dennis, 59, a retired postal worker, said they hope to see a young family win the contest. They raised three children on the farm after buying it 14 years ago. Before that, they lived in Cleveland and Sheffield Lake.