Although she was not one of the lucky first-time home buyers to have her name drawn in the housing lottery, one woman's name on the list for one of the 98 Harbourside Village Properties has raised questions as to the validity of the list.

The Shadow Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety, Maxwell Burgess yesterday questioned how Juanita Tucker-Bascome's name ended up on the list with other “first time homeowners” when she and her ex-husband were selling their property which was currently being sold in excess of $1 million.

“That person is entitled to if not 50 percent, a sizeable chunk of that house which is being sold in excess of $1 million. If that person was entitled to 50 percent, is it right that she should be allowed to have a property before someone else who will not be coming in for that kind of money,” he said.

Mr. Burgess did raise the subject in the House of Assembly last week when he asked what the vetting process would be for those who entered the housing lottery.

He asked if anyone could confirm without any doubt that one or more of those that won a home that sold for $199`,000 were not already the owners of property in excess of $1 million.

Mr. Burgess queried who chose the contestants and how people could win homes that would not be completed by 2007. A spitting contest followed between Mr. Burgess and Premier Alex Scott and Mr. Burgess was told to sit down by the Speaker of the House, Stanley Lowe after calling Mr. Scott a “duck”.

In his response, Mr. Scott said entrants to the housing lottery needed a certificate to prove they were first time how buyers from the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) list of clients.

However, Mr. Scott did not answer the question concerning names on the list of people who already owned property in Bermuda.

Mr. Burgess said yesterday he knew for a fact that Mrs. Tucker-Bascome's ex-husband, Raymond Bascome, was selling their property and that the “For Sale” sign was still up.

The General Manager of the Bermuda Housing Corporation, Vance Campbell was not available for comment yesterday, while there was no reply at Mrs.Tucker-Bascome's home in Hamilton parish.