Vote for me to own a home for free

It all started when Ralf Schirg tried to refinance the St. Paul house he purchased in 2007 only to find out that despite having made a 20 percent down payment, the value had dropped so far that he didn't have enough equity to seal the deal.

That got Schirg thinking about all of the people who can't sell homes because they are underwater (their mortgage is for more than the home is worth), but need to move for what he calls "normal" reasons - job opportunities, a growing family, downsizing, divorce.

Next, his mind raced to all of the people who want to own a house but can't get a loan because of tight credit or other issues caused by the economic downturn.

"What if everyone gave a little bit to help a person like that out, to get out unscathed," he thought, while simultaneously helping "a lot of people who could really need or use or want a house?" he wondered.

With that thought, the idea for homediggety.com was born. Bear with me: the idea is hard to explain.

Schirg created the site to bring together people who wish they could own a home with people who wish they could sell. Sellers list their houses for the price they need to pay off the loan. Home seekers create a profile and ask their social network to pay a small-ish sum in the $20 - $100 range to vote for them as the best person to own the house.

If enough people campaign to own the same house and convince more than a handful of their friends to pay for a vote, the purchase price for the house will eventually be met.

Here's an example: if someone needed $200,000 to get out of a house none the richer (or poorer), 8,400 people would each have to cast a $25 vote for various candidates Schirg would get a $10,000 fee. That seems impossible for one person to garner that many votes. But maybe 840 people could each find 10 people to essentially donate $25 for their chance to be chosen.

Still confused? Here is a YouTube video that explains the very basics.

Honestly, it seems a bit far fetched that the patent-pending concept, launched in December and described by Schirg as American Idol meets old-fashioned raffle meets a gift registry, will make a dent in the negative equity issue. In the U.S., one in four borrowers owe more than their house could be sold for in the marketplace.

But some people are giving it a shot. Schirg has a Realtor who has listed some properties on the site and a handful of individuals are asking for your vote.

I'm not sure how many people will sign up because a site offering up free homes for enough votes screams "What's the catch?" or "Is it a scam?"

But who knows? In the Craigslist era, in the Twitter decade, this just might take off.

Schirg, who came to the US from Germany at age 18, thinks in America, an idea like this just might work.