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Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Kohl's coming to Lodi

• Area shoppers, business owners welcome Kohl's

• Program aims to fill foreclosed homes

• Bikers to host fund-raiser to support Lodi House

• Three firefighters join Lodi department

• Regional Roundup

• Million-dollar home to be raffled off for $150, math answer

• Correction

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (170)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Public health care is a Christian option (57)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (50)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (24)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (18)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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Million-dollar home to be raffled off for $150, math answer

For as little as a $150 and the answer to a simple math question, someone could win a $1 million home in the Tracy countryside.

Instead of trying to sell their Lammers Road ranch house on 1.68 acres, Valerie and Jerry Bahm decided to have a contest and raffle it off.

The raffle seems a clever way to get money for a house in a horrible real estate market, but partly the Bahms are doing it for charity.

The Bahms hope to help out a family that might not qualify for conventional financing by transferring ownership to them, or a family that might not be able to afford a home in this range.

If it's successful, the Bahms say they'll donate at least $140,000 and as much as $346,000 to charities in town, such as the McHenry House Family Shelter and Tracy Interfaith Ministries.

"We just figured we go another route," Valerie Bahm said. "I really hope that whoever wins really needs a house like this."

The couple had their home on the market for $1.675 million back in 2006, but rejected offers to sell it and perhaps now are kicking themselves since the housing market has nosedived.

But instead of selling their home, they're holding a contest and handing it over to anyone who can fork over $150 and answer a simple math word problem.

Entry into the contest is simple. Log onto www.tracyhomegiveaway.com, fill out the entry form, (which assigns contestants a drawing number) pay the $150 fee and answer the question. Contestants who answer the question correctly will be entered into a raffle and the lucky winner will be drawn in June.

The Bahms have set up two bank accounts, one at Fremont Bank and another at First National Bank, Valerie Bahm said. Entry forms and entry fee checks can also be mailed to Tracy Home Giveaway, 25201 South Lammers Road, Tracy, CA 95377.

"All you need to know is how to read and do simple math," Bahm said of the question, which was a requirement of the California Department of Consumer Affairs to be a valid contest. "We wanted to make it so that anybody can enter the contest."

The Bahms bought the place at the end of 2001 for about $645,000, erected a shed as big as the home and all told sunk about $300,000 into the property, Valerie Bahm said. They estimate the three-bedroom, three-bath, 3,800-square-foot home is worth about $1.25 million today.

Jerry Bahm, a retired Navy man, and Valerie, a marketing director for a Livermore inn, want to retire to Texas, where the cost of living is cheaper than it is here.