A Colorado woman who won a $1.2 million home in Edgewater, Md., in a $50-a-ticket raffle has sold the property to a local church for $450,000 in cash.

Winner Karen McHale said she was eager to unload the 6-bedroom home before Dec. 31 so she could avoid paying $300,000 in 2009 income taxes.

The buyer is Unity by the Bay, a church that has outgrown its former home in a strip mall. To expedite the sale, McHale made a $200,000 tax-deductible contribution to the church.

In the end, McHale says she will keep $200,000 after paying state and federal taxes.

Source: Baltimore Sun, Emma Brown (12/08/2009)