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An Ottawa couple have called off their “write-a-letter-win-this-home” contest because of a lack of entries.

“House flippers” Connie and Allan McIntosh cancelled their contest in September and are working to refund the $25 entry fees they collected.

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“We weren’t getting enough entries, unfortunately,” Connie McIntosh said Wednesday. “There was a lot of skepticism with people wondering ‘What’s wrong with this?’ instead of thinking, ‘Here is somebody who wants to do something good for someone else’.”

The couple bought the 1960s era house on Bowman Avenue from an elderly widow and say they’ve poured some $350,000 into improvements, including adding marble countertops, redoing bathrooms, replacing the main staircase and adding high-tech appliances. They landscaped the yard, added two decks and a gazebo and outfitted a climate-controlled wine cellar.

Photo by Blair Crawford / Postmedia

When they had trouble selling the house, they decided to hold the contest, modelling it after a similar house giveaway run by a woman in Millarville, Alta., southwest of Calgary. The couple asked entrants to write a 250-character letter saying why they wanted the house and what they would do to “pay it forward” to others if they won.