About the Omaze house draw…

[BrokenToy]

…that I’m constantly seeing adverts for.

I don’t get it. What does a family on min wage/benefits from Liverpool (for eg) do with a 4million quid Cornwall beach house? How do they run it? You can’t just sell it, houses of that value sit on the market for months/years (and I suspect are the reason they go up for these competitions).

Every time I catch the advert I think this. They also offer a £50k cash prize alongside but that would only see you through about a years worth of bills etc really. We’re on a decent income but every time I see it I think hmm ok we could sell/rent this house and live there, but even then we’d drown in energy bills, maintenance of the swimming pool/tennis courts, you’d need a gardener for the huge grounds, really I’d need a full time cleaner as the house would be too much alongside ft jobs.

Surely you need a millionaire income to fund a house like the ones they give away? Am I missing something?

I assume that those that don’t want to upsticks or sell it etc wouldn’t pay to do it and would just do the lotto or something instead.

I sometimes do it.
The one in Cornwall would be perfect as I already live here but can’t afford to buy.

If I couldn’t afford to live in it then I’d sell it.
If it’s worth £4mill and you sell it for £1mill even, you’re still £1mill better off than you were before.

I think the houses that go on this are because they can't be sold on the open market for some reason (made entirely of glass, on a crumbling cliff face, TPO on the oak that's falling toward the house etc) and it's a clever way of making the asking price. Sell 200,000 tickets at £10 each and you've made your 2mil and someone gets your unsellable house for a tenner.

Not quite the same but I know someone who won a top end sports car (think it was a Ferrari) in a competition draw, he had to have photos taken for promotion/advertising and there was a clause that he couldn't sell it for 18 months. Don't know if Omaze apply a similar rule.

The houses in Fulham, Wimbledon, Cotswolds etc would have sold no problem. The Cornwall house has amazing views even though it’s ugly.

Tulips27

‘Secondly, and this is the main reason, if you read the terms and conditions they vet who can actually win; it's not a fair competition. If someone wins but doesn't pass their requirements they will choose another winner! 😮’

What?!?!

@ChitChatChatter

Yeah, I was really shocked:

From omaze.co.uk/pages/official-rules-uk

10b:
"Except where legally prohibited, Omaze reserves the right to conduct background screenings or security checks, at its discretion, on a Potential Winner and any Potential Winner guests [...] Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any Potential Winner and any Potential Winner’s guest(s) based on the results of such background check (or the background check of Potential Winner’s guest(s), if applicable), if Promoter reasonably determines that awarding the Prize(s) to such Potential Winner and/or Potential Winner’s guest(s) might reflect negatively on Promoter or any of the Prize Draw Partners"

Fuck that shit

The whole thing is an absolute con. They've got around gambling laws by having people answer a question, if they don't sell enough tickets there's a clause in there about pulling the raffle and no one getting a refund (unless they have been told to remove that clause) and what they raffle off is not as good as it seems i.e. properties that no one wants to buy etc.

Yeah no-one would want to buy house.

I'd spend one week in it, with family (maybe 2) then sell it for 3million. would imagine that it would be snapped up. These homes are not sustainable for an average person to be able to maintain, upkeep and afford. I've always thought they were daft prizes

I just googled the Fulham one. It was sold for £2.8m in December so I think the winners got a pretty decent ROI.

Seems an awful lot of hassle to
Me!

I’d just get a couple of lodgers, I’d be fine!

What are the requirements? Do you have to be a photogenic family with a good sob story?

I’ve been looking at fantasy houses recently and they stay on the market forever. I suppose you could sell it for a knock down price, but even then, most people will scroll past-how much do they cost to maintain? I’ve persuaded my Dh recently that when we retire, we need to downsize, not upgrade, I don’t want some country pile that costs a bomb to run, lovely tho I’m sure it would be.

The clause about background checks just means that if you win, then it turns out you were just released from prison after serving a 15 year stretch for fraud*, they reserve the right not to award you the prize, as it will reflect badly on them.

• • other crimes are available.

The one I keep getting reminds me of the one that was on Grand Designs.

I have never bought a ticket as I always thought it was a “scam if I’m being honest as you can’t buy a ticket for cash as it has to be done online.

A friend of mine didn't win the Omaze house, but she did win a very expensive luxury holiday - she was a bit gobsmacked to say the least!

My question is,
Where do they get all these Fabulous amazing Dream houses that we see on Tv in their advertising campaign.?
I’m sorry if I offend anyone as that’s not my intention ,but is there a “clause “written anywhere that states if you win one of these fabulous houses you must live in it and pay all bills for a specific length of time before you can sell it.?.

This is exactly the kind of post that I needed during my sleepless night! I can't believe I had never asked these questions myself. What a preposterous thing the wholesome thing is when youbactually pick it apart and think about it. Before this, I had been thinking about 'bees around a honey pot' and picturing angry bees trying to rescue their honey so I may actually be insane.

What I don't like is the way they involve charities to make the whole thing legit. i mean.. if they are donating to charity it must be OK then?
If you read the small print they only donate a very small amount by comparison to the charity and this is what puts me off.

These people have no imagination.

I'd take a bet that they earn nowhere near the profits of Camelot.

I work for a charity and refuse to get involved with them (or similar, high value raffle companies). They use the charity's brand and loyal supporters for their benefit - they have to clear costs including marketing and admin costs before the charity starts seeing value.

Omaze get the majority of the publicity, using charity beneficiaries and celebrity supporters, to push their own brand with a passing reference to the charity. For the work the charity needs to put in to sell enough tickets, I don't see the value at all.