OMAZE house

[walkinthewoodstoday]

So, I'm thinking of entering this competion. Clearly as much chance of winning as me getting an Olympic gold medal, but I keep reading that these 'amazing' houses have issues. Eg one has been massively flooded and another is so close to the cliff edge that it might be uninsurable and when it falls the owners will have a massive clear up bill. The current one is in Finsbury Park and I've even been sad enough to streetview it. Can't see any obvious issues, so why is it an OMAZE house? Please enlighten me!

[NewHouseNewMe]

@WinterFoxes

But shouldn't this screening come at the point of sale? It's bad practice to sell a ticket to someone you wouldn't allow to win.

I agree with this point actually. When you buy a house, the anti-fraud checks are done before it becomes binding.

Also do they have enough information to do a full background check? For that you’d need NI numbers, previous addresses etc.

[BradfordGirl]

@Flapjackquack

Interestingly the gambling commission says they cannot promote paid entries over unpaid but the minimum you can buy is 15 entries but a postal entry is just one entry.

They also say you can’t make a winner’s details public without their permission but Omaze gives no option, and that you can’t run a competition where a proportion of entries are excluded from winning. I am not sure how Omaze has got round those.

I think Omaze should be reported. They are also not allowed to exaggerate the prize which they clearly are with the supposed valuations of the houses.

[Flapjackquack]

@NewHouseNewMe

I agree with this point actually. When you buy a house, the anti-fraud checks are done before it becomes binding.

Also do they have enough information to do a full background check? For that you’d need NI numbers, previous addresses etc.

Anti money laundering checks when buying a house are completely different. It’s a large amount of money you are handing over so the government want to know where you got it from, and that you are who you say you are. In this situation all you are doing is buying a £10 ticket which may win you a house, from a money laundering perspective it’s not the same thing at all. It’s not the ownership of the house that requires the money laundering checks, it’s the money that buys it in a normal situation. Here you are just buying a raffle ticket. You wouldn’t expect your local fete to background check you would you.

You don’t need an NI number for a background check. Name and address can get you quite far with access to the right systems.

[Mirabai]

@BradfordGirl

I think Omaze should be reported. They are also not allowed to exaggerate the prize which they clearly are with the supposed valuations of the houses.

Well we know what they paid for the Finsbury Park house and we could probably figure it of out for others.

[MibsXX]

I fail to understand why the credit check is needed? surely either you win or you don't? You're not entering to buy the thing

[Heygal]

You will if you own a house already and don’t replace as your main residence (advice would need to be sought)

[joles12]

@Flapjackquack

@greennavy - you will when you sell it unless you move into it and live there.

You would only pay tax on the profit - ie any increase in value from when gifted to you until when you sell it

[Flapjackquack]

@joles12 - I know I just didn’t want to go into the ins and outs of CGT and PPR.

[Notpop]

I actually know someone who won one of the Omaze houses (can't say which one as too outing). They would pay capital gains tax if they sold it straight away and Omaze do give you money towards running costs. Don't know about the prize winners being vetted, but they are a fairly photogenic family with no skeletons in the closet (that I'm aware of 😂)

[NickyT64]

I’ve never understood this- if you’re trying to raise money for charity wtf are you doing giving away million pound houses, cash and a car??? Just donate all that to charity!

[fetchacloth]

@reddA

I hate these adverts and have to switch channels - her voice is so nasal and weird ly slowed down

I hate her voice too - sounds like listening to a bloody robot.🙄
I also wondered if she'd voiced over JML adverts in the past😃

[prh47bridge]

@Flapjackquack

Interestingly the gambling commission says they cannot promote paid entries over unpaid but the minimum you can buy is 15 entries but a postal entry is just one entry.

They also say you can’t make a winner’s details public without their permission but Omaze gives no option, and that you can’t run a competition where a proportion of entries are excluded from winning. I am not sure how Omaze has got round those.

You can enter by post as often as you want. But the important point to make this a legal free prize draw which doesn't need a licence is that the free entry route must be given equal prominence with the paid routes. It is. If you click on the button to enter the draw, the free entry option is listed first and is in the same size, font and colours as the paid routes.

Omaze does give winners the option of opting out of having their details made public. It isn't given as an option when entering, but winners can tell Omaze in writing that they don't want publicity.

I have no inside information, but I suspect that some of the stuff on this thread about background checks is over the top. Yes, they do carry out background checks on winners, but I very much doubt that Omaze exclude anyone with debts or anyone with any conviction. However, I can imagine that they and the charities they support might want to avoid giving a major prize to a convicted rapist, for example.

[PurpleButterflyWings]

I loathe that bloody advert! And that bloody bloody BLONDE woman who fronts it, makes my blood boil so bad that we don't need the heating on! Such a sanctimonious voice, and a sickly and irritating smile that makes me nauseous.

misses point of thread..............

[Flapjackquack]

@prh47bridge

You can enter by post as often as you want. But the important point to make this a legal free prize draw which doesn't need a licence is that the free entry route must be given equal prominence with the paid routes. It is. If you click on the button to enter the draw, the free entry option is listed first and is in the same size, font and colours as the paid routes.

Omaze does give winners the option of opting out of having their details made public. It isn't given as an option when entering, but winners can tell Omaze in writing that they don't want publicity.

I have no inside information, but I suspect that some of the stuff on this thread about background checks is over the top. Yes, they do carry out background checks on winners, but I very much doubt that Omaze exclude anyone with debts or anyone with any conviction. However, I can imagine that they and the charities they support might want to avoid giving a major prize to a convicted rapist, for example.

Fair enough about the first two points. I still think they are shady and operating to the very limits of what they can get away with.

However I disagree on the last point. They should not be allowed to perform background checks and exclude people based on past convictions. I am sure that they don’t want to be seen giving a prize to someone with an unsavoury background but if you are running a competition open to the public, it’s open to the public, its not for Omaze to decide who is worthy and who isn’t. They play up the charity angle a lot but it’s ultimately for their own profit.

[Autumn61]

Which is why she started the sentence with “What’s the phrase ..”

[masterblaster]

1. they don’t give much to charity
2. they are really skirting the rules of “not running an illegal lottery” (you can do a plain paper entry, but your tenner counts as 30 odd entries).

[masterblaster]

Because they aren’t trying to make money for charity, they are making money for… Omaze.

[masterblaster]

@NickyT64

I’ve never understood this- if you’re trying to raise money for charity wtf are you doing giving away million pound houses, cash and a car??? Just donate all that to charity!

The aim is to make money for themselves. People will enter a “charity” prize draw that won’t enter a normal one.

[prh47bridge]

@Flapjackquack

Fair enough about the first two points. I still think they are shady and operating to the very limits of what they can get away with.

However I disagree on the last point. They should not be allowed to perform background checks and exclude people based on past convictions. I am sure that they don’t want to be seen giving a prize to someone with an unsavoury background but if you are running a competition open to the public, it’s open to the public, its not for Omaze to decide who is worthy and who isn’t. They play up the charity angle a lot but it’s ultimately for their own profit.

Yes, they make a profit from it. The net profit from each draw is split so that 80% goes to the charity, 20% to Omaze.

I didn't say I agree with them doing background checks on winners. just that some of the allegations on this thread seem over the top.

Omaze is an American company with a well-established reputation in the USA. They have been operating since 2012, although they only started operating in the UK in 2020. I don't see any particular reason to believe they are shady.

[Unsure33]

Why does it matter if it’s not worth the full price if you won and sold it for 2 million or rented it out you would still be quids in . ?

[Edinburghmusing]

@Notpop were there any problems with the house???

[McDonaldsMcChanel]

If it's "impossible " to sell just put it up for auction and take the money and run!

[Kennykenkencat]

I actually like the Islington house as it is an area I could actually live in.

The others (if I had actually entered) would have been sold immediately sight unseen.

You buy your ticket and if you win, you sell.

There is no such thing as a house that won’t sell. Everything sells, it’s all about the price


If you said you would sell the Islington house for £10 or £100 or £1000 you would have buyers
even £1 million or £2million would attract buyers. You just have written in to the contract that any Council tax, utility bills and all solicitors and agents costs will be covered by the buyer and then put it up for auction straight away.
There is nothing on the rules that state you have to own it for any amount of time.

It is a raffle, you pay your money and if you win great. People on here you would think that winning was some sort of curse.

[Flapjackquack]

@prh47bridge - when I say shady I mean not upfront. They may be within the letter of the law (just) but certainly not within the spirit of it.

[Notpop]

@Notpop were there any problems with the house???

Not that I'm aware of, no