You could win a $1.7 million mansion by writing a standout letter

Broke English majors, take your places. A homeowner in Alberta, Canada is selling her $1.7 million (CAD) home via essay contest.

Alla Wagner is searching for a new owner for her 5,000 square foot home, which, according to a report from CNN, has "three bedrooms, three full baths and two half baths, in addition to a wine cellar, panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and a pond." Not bad.

Here's how it works: Entrants must write a short letter (maximum 350 words) explaining why they should get the house, then mail or email it to Wagner along with a $25 entry fee. Once Wagner collects roughly 68,000 entry fees -- enough to cover the house's value -- she will publish a group of semi-finalist essays on social media so people can vote for their favorites. Then, the 500 entries with the most votes will be whittled down by an "independent panel of judges," who will select three finalists. These three finalists will then be interviewed. One of them will get the house.

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The contest began on Jan. 5, and Wagner plans to run it until April 5. If there are nearly enough entries by then, she'll extend it another three months. If she's nowhere near her goal, she'll cancel the contest and refund everyone's entry fees.

As of Friday, Wagner had collected around 5,000 entries. The contest is getting more attention, though, so 68,000 may not be too far away. If you want a $25 mansion, better get that entry in.

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