RED FEATHER LAKES, Colo. — Sometimes it takes a little imagination to sell a home — or to buy one.

Wesley Ludlow had been unable to sell his four-bedroom, two-bath home because of the stagnant real estate market. So he and his wife, J.J. Rodgers, are sponsoring an essay contest to give away their home on a quarter acre in Red Feather Lakes assessed at $171,900.

With four kids nearing college age, Ludlow and Rodgers want out of their second mortgage. Ludlow is a maintenance worker with the Poudre School District; Rodgers is a personal assistant.

They hope to raise $200,000 by asking for essays of 500 words or less, accompanied by a $100 entry fee.

"Obviously the goal is to pay off the mortgage," Rodgers said. "We need our second mortgage payment to be going to the kids' college fund.

"We just hope it goes to someone who needs it and loves it as much as we did and deserves it."

Essay contests to give away homes are nothing new. Dozens have been held throughout the country dating back decades and most often linked to historic New England properties.

But many contests fail, costing homeowners thousands of dollars in promotional and advertising costs, particularly as such offers become more commonplace.

Rodgers said that if they can't get 2,000 entries, they'll return the fees and go back to trying to sell their home the traditional way.

The family lived in the home for six years, until their children became teenagers and licensed drivers. She and Ludlow didn't want their teens driving up and down the treacherous mountain roads alone, and getting behind the wheel themselves to take the kids into Fort Collins — an hour away — had gotten old.

So the couple built a home in Fort Collins and put the mountain property on the market, where it has languished for the past two years. The couple had planned to list it again in March but decided on the essay contest instead.

Steve Koeckeritz, a real estate agent with Lone Pine Realty in Red Feather Lakes, said sales there tend toward the second-home market and have been affected by the economic downturn.

"I bet they don't get 200 entries," said Terry McNeal of The Group Real Estate in Fort Collins. "It's tough in Red Feather Lakes. That's not a community where you can live easily and commute into town."

The commute may not be ideal, but there's easy access to three lakes, hunting, fishing and hiking and the locale would be perfect for someone with a home business, Rodgers said.

"They can have their cake and eat it, too," she said.