HouseGifter.com Opens Its Doors to Give Away One of Life’s Essentials

Pittsburgh, PA, June 22, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Everyone needs three essentials to live – food, water, and shelter. HouseGifter.com is attempting to give away the last to one lucky person by the end of summer (or at least by this time next year). As the name implies, HouseGifter.com wants to give away a house and immortalize every person (or company) involved while conducting an experiment in the self sacrifice of one’s eligibility for another.

The experiment of self sacrifice is based on need. Anyone in their right mind would love a free house, but do they really need it? To many people, it is a necessity they haven’t been able to obtain. An overextended family, a homeless person, a person who recently lost their job, or a single mother all may be in need. It is one of these types that HouseGifter.com would like to see helped. The self sacrifice comes into play with the ones (both individuals and companies) whom already have enough.

The actual house is bought with donation money (in the form of permanent link advertisements). In the process of donating even a single $1.00, though, donators lose their own chance at the house. For each dollar donated, a public entry is created where anyone can participate by submitting it. With each donation, a private entry is also generated worth double the dollar amount which can only be used by a sole individual. Each private entry link is known only to the donator who may give it away to anyone except those closest – preferably a perfect stranger or customer.

Donation links can link to anywhere to generate exposure for an existing business, site, or cause. If the donator doesn’t have anything to advertise, they can create a full page explanation on why they donated that resides on Housegifter.com. All donators get to be immortalized in a housewarming gift to the new owner of the house – a bound manuscript containing every donator.

“The goal is to help,” says Justin Marinos, owner of HouseGifter.com. “There is no amount of money that can replace creating a smile on someone else’s face. I try to leave a tip greater than 20% at a restaurant as often as possible but never stay for the waitperson’s reaction because I can already visualize their smile. HouseGifter.com, for me, is a way to do the same on a grander scale involving more than just myself.”

Donation links will be taken until the ‘House Meter’ (a graph depicting the percentage raised towards the house) on HouseGifter.com reaches 100%. Ten houses on the market at that time will be chosen (five from submissions and five top rated listings listed on HouseGifter.com). Visitors will be able to choose which house will be bid on and once a house is in escrow, the new owner will be chosen from the participating eligible entrants. If the ‘House Meter’ does not reach the 100% mark by July 7, 2008, the total collected (as depicted on the ‘House Meter’) to that date will be given to an entrant in the form of a smaller house, a down payment on a new house, or an existing mortgage payment.

“If the self sacrifice experiment is successful, then we haven’t lost our giving nature. If it can be done once, it can continue to be done… and I will keep going through many rounds of houses as long as it’s successful,” Marinos explains. “Even if a donator’s intention is truly only for advertisement purposes, they will still be contributing to the happiness of someone (or some family).”

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