LOS ANGELES -- Most people don't expect to find 1,850-square-foot homes for $195.But David McNair of Vancouver British Columbia found one in Manhattan Beach.
"Wow," McNair said Wednesday when he learned that he had won an $800,000 home in an essay contest. "I feel like a lottery winner."
McNair, 55, was one of 3,000 people who paid an entry fee and submitted an essay on why they wanted to live in Manhattan Beach. The judges picked his entry because of the picture McNair painted of the community, said contest organizer Rick Becker.
"It's symbolic of what Manhattan Beach is all about. They (the judges) liked that he talked about the community," Becker said.
The essay offered a hodgepodge of observations.
"Summertime concerts are held at Polliwog Park," it reads. "People come from all over to hear the music till it's dark. This is community at its best."
Although the home is now his, McNair, 55, has said he needs some time to decide whether he will move.
McNair -- who used to live in California -- shouldn't have much trouble selling his new home, if he decides to.
Ben Waldrep, the man who offered the house in the contest, said he is interested in buying back the house.
Though Waldrep is glad the contest is over, he said that if he knew then what he knows now, he would not have organized the contest.
"I have mixed feelings about it," he said. "I've lived here a long time. It's been quite an ordeal for me not knowing if I'm going to stay in Manhattan Beach or go somewhere else."
The contest rules said judges would evaluate each essay based on grammar, spelling, originality, creativity and persuasiveness.
Waldrep hoped to have enough contestants to cover the $800,000 the home had been appraised for, but he got back about $600,000.
Ten percent of the money has been earmarked for the Wellness Community South Bay Cities, a free support program for people with cancer. Waldrep held the contest to honor his wife, Iris, who died of cancer in 1997.
