Participants are limited to 5 submissions. Each entry must be accompanied by the $200 fee and a unique essay. For example, if you want to submit 3 entries, you must submit 3 unique essays and $200 for each of the entries.

We will use third-party software to help confirm that entries meet the eligibility criteria. Before judging, all entries will have personal information redacted and will be assigned a random number to prevent judges from being able to identify participants. We will be using a panel of 6-8 judges to review and judge the entries.

The judges will be community members from the area in and around the city of Fredericksburg.

The entries that tie will be reviewed and scored again by all judges in the criteria categories of Creativity and Originality. The highest score from this round of judging will win.

The contest will require a minimum of 15,000 entries submitted. In the event that we don’t receive the minimum number of entries, we will still identify a winner. The winner will receive 75% of the amount sold minus the contest's expenses. The winner is responsible for the prize taxes associated with winning the prize. We reserve the right to limit the maximum number of tickets to 20,000.

If we receive more than 15,000 entries, the proceeds from sales between 15,001 and 20,000 will be donated to the Fredericksburg Food Bank and the local SPCA. If you would like to donate to them separately, you can click the "Donate" buttons on our home page, which will direct you to their websites. You can also find them here and here.

All entry fees are non-refundable. If you are disqualified due to not following the rules of the contest, your fee is non-refundable.

The property's title will be transferred to the winner free of any mortgages or liens. A real estate attorney will handle the closing of the property.

The winner will be notified by email and/or phone call within 45 days of the close of the contest. The winner will have ten calendar days to accept the prize. Once the prize is accepted, the winner has 30 calendar days to close on the property and transfer ownership. If the winner does not respond to the prize notification in seven calendar days, we will award the prize to the second-place winner.

The prize is awarded as-is and consists of the residential home, garage & garage apt., and property located at 1200 Prince Edward Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. No warranties or guarantees, express or implied, are made with respect to the condition of the property.

If we don't reach a minimum of 15,000 entries, the prize will be 75% of the sales minus the contest's expenses instead of the property. In this situation, the winner is responsible for all taxes associated with the prize.

Our privacy policy describes how we use and protect personal information. You can find it here.

Yes. All employees of Edward & Lewis, LLC, and their immediate family members and persons living with them are prohibited from participating in the contest. All employees of Word Slinger, LLC, Websites by Kyle, Fredericksburg Food Bank, and the Fredericksburg SPCA are also prohibited from participating in the contest.