Omaze

[Yel]

I'm sure someone told me off for being negative about an omaze house. But this seems to confirm what I've always thought; these prizes are houses that had issues selling.

I'm not sure why omaze bought it for 3.8million in 2021 seeing as it had been up for sale for 2.5 million in 2018 and couldn't sell it then? Some kind of dodgy tax write off? Someone requiring a mortgage wouldn't have been able to buy it.

 

[Wee Nora]

Was reading this earlier, it said the winner handed the keys back and asked for the cash alternative. I wonder if he got it?

 

[Sure…Media!]

It’s unbelievable that something like this could be sold via a competition where consumer laws just wouldn’t apply like a normal transaction

 

[Megansnarkle]

It’s unbelievable that something like this could be sold via a competition where consumer laws just wouldn’t apply like a normal transaction

Consumer laws don't apply to house sales, it's caveat emptor, which is why the conveyancing process is so important.

It's been fairly common knowledge since the first Omaze house (that had historical flooding issues) that some of the houses have issues which make them less desirable than the headline price tag might suggest. But with most of them, the potential gain is still worth it. Even if you sold most of them way under the Omaze valuation you're obviously still way better off than you would have been otherwise. Obviously that isn't the case if the house is at risk of falling into the sea...

 

[Rosie glow]

Always thought it was dodgy

 

[Mitzymooface]

Has there been issues with any of the other properties? I entered the draw for the house near Harrogate which was literally my dream house and location but I did wonder how they get these amazing houses all the time and are they actually making money??

 

[Megansnarkle]

Has there been issues with any of the other properties? I entered the draw for the house near Harrogate which was literally my dream house and location but I did wonder how they get these amazing houses all the time and are they actually making money??

The Cotswolds one was right next door to a stone quarry, I'm not sure about others, the Yorkshire ones have looked ok. I think someone on the Norfolk one pointed out that the land that had been owned by the owners opposite the house that is between the house and the sea view doesn't seem to be part of the giveaway so presumably you could find that your sea view disappears if someone builds on it.

 

[Mitzymooface]

The Cotswolds one was right next door to a stone quarry, I'm not sure about others, the Yorkshire ones have looked ok. I think someone on the Norfolk one pointed out that the land that had been owned by the owners opposite the house that is between the house and the sea view doesn't seem to be part of the giveaway so presumably you could find that your sea view disappears if someone builds on it.

Interesting… thanks!

 

[emmer_moans]

Just the advert music alone annoys me 🫣

 

[Remotecontrol]

Always seemed sketchy to me

 

[kev1974]

How ten of 14 Omaze homes that have been won were put up for sale

EXCLUSIVE: Of the 14 stunning properties that have been won, just three are still lived in by the people who scooped their bricks and mortar - or in many cases, modern steel and glass - jackpots.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I mean this is totally unsurprising. Of course most of the winners have to sell up.

It's all very well to be handed a fancy house but the trouble is you don't win the lifestyle or earnings needed to support such a big and fancy house at the same time. Manicured gardens need constant attention, swimming pools are absolute money pits to keep in safe working order and looking nice and blue - they need chemicals and cleaning carried out every month - and there'll be a hefty council tax charge with properties of these sizes, due straight away. The property will need security while you're not living there as well. Few people will be able to instantly cover all these costs if they're still working at Tesco?

The trap in many cases is that Omaze tell them they have won a £3m house or whatever so they think that's what they must sell it for, or close to. Whereas if they just flogged it off straight away for £1m, regardless of what it might really be worth, they would still be £1m up on where they were a few months earlier.

Better to just take Omaze's cash and not the house (I think that is possible?)

 

[iieee]

This is from a few years ago:

Family's £2,500,000 new home won in prize draw 'built in valley that floods'

It was the top prize in a competition but it may come with a catch.

metro.co.uk

 

[Megansnarkle]

How ten of 14 Omaze homes that have been won were put up for sale

EXCLUSIVE: Of the 14 stunning properties that have been won, just three are still lived in by the people who scooped their bricks and mortar - or in many cases, modern steel and glass - jackpots.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I mean this is totally unsurprising. Of course most of the winners have to sell up.

It's all very well to be handed a fancy house but the trouble is you don't win the lifestyle or earnings needed to support such a big and fancy house at the same time. Manicured gardens need constant attention, swimming pools are absolute money pits to keep in safe working order and looking nice and blue - they need chemicals and cleaning carried out every month - and there'll be a hefty council tax charge with properties of these sizes, due straight away. The property will need security while you're not living there as well. Few people will be able to instantly cover all these costs if they're still working at Tesco?

The trap in many cases is that Omaze tell them they have won a £3m house or whatever so they think that's what they must sell it for, or close to. Whereas if they just flogged it off straight away for £1m, regardless of what it might really be worth, they would still be £1m up on where they were a few months earlier.

Better to just take Omaze's cash and not the house (I think that is possible?)

This.

I don't think there is a cash alternative for the house that a winner can opt for instead. I do think people when selling are greedy, I think it was the Kent house that was put up for MORE than the Omaze value! Selling just after a draw is likely to be difficult. I'm surprised that more people don't take advantage of the fact that there has been a lot of publicity for the house and let it out as a holiday rental for at least part of the year and do that for a few years (or just use the cash lump sum for maintenance for a few years), then sell up with a track record of holiday lettings and having the story for buyers that although they've enjoyed the property, their circumstances now mean they're selling.

 

[kev1974]

This.

I don't think there is a cash alternative for the house that a winner can opt for instead. I do think people when selling are greedy, I think it was the Kent house that was put up for MORE than the Omaze value! Selling just after a draw is likely to be difficult. I'm surprised that more people don't take advantage of the fact that there has been a lot of publicity for the house and let it out as a holiday rental for at least part of the year and do that for a few years (or just use the cash lump sum for maintenance for a few years), then sell up with a track record of holiday lettings and having the story for buyers that although they've enjoyed the property, their circumstances now mean they're selling.

I think unless the property you're letting is in a town that's well set up for holiday lets, like Whitby or places in Cornwall, then holiday letting is really quite hard these days. In Whitby you've got about four full service holiday let agencies who are vying for your business and will do everything for you, from advertising the place on yorkshirecottages to the weekly cleans/changes, any maintenance that comes up, deal with keeping deposits from customers that break things, maybe even help wth tax and accounting issues. Outside of towns that have made holiday lets a massive industry and have those agencies, you've got to arrange all that yourself, on top of keeping good accounts etc. Don't underestimate just the weekly cleaning part, they need holidays and sick cover too.

Again these are random people that win these properties, if you're not the kind of person that is good at finding decent cleaners, maintenence people, bookkeepers etc then running a successful holiday let isn't easy.

You also need a load of money to furnish the place, I am not sure if it is true but I read that the furniture you see on the Omaze pictures is just rented, so when you get the property it is either empty or they give you an (expensive) option to carry on renting the furniture that's been put in. You cannot just head down to Ikea or the British Heart Foundation second hand furniture shop to kit out these luxury properties.

The best bet if you win is just to get shot of it as soon as possible and before the maintenance/security/council tax bills start racking up, and enjoy whatever you can get for it, even if that is 1/2 or 1/3 of what Omaze claimed the property was worth you're still a winner.

Of course, this is a problem I'd quite like to have

 

[Mitzymooface]

The Devon house looks nice I wonder what the catch/issue is there? I’ve become very cynical reading this thread

 

[kev1974]

Not Omaze but a similar property raffle gone wrong.

Prize of a £2m house was not awarded because only £200,000 of tickets were sold and somehow (they claim) they'd spent that all on marketing, so she only got £5000, which they say is from their own pockets so she was lucky to even get that.

Woman who won £2million house competition 'only received £5k'

The competition said it had made a loss and that its terms and conditions were 'very explicit'

www.nottinghampost.com

They've deleted the website (and the facebook and instagram) but it can still be seen in the google cache

Of course no accounts for the competition company have been filed so nobody can verify the claim that it was all spent on marketing ...
Companies House

 

[iieee]

I think Omaze have a similar get out clause that they will offer a cash alternative if the required amount of tickets aren't sold.

 

[kev1974]

The Mail has refreshed their "almost all the winners sell their houses" story

The Omaze property winners whose dream has turned into a nightmare

Entering a draw seems to be 'win-win' as the Omaze website says. But the Mail has discovered that most properties go on the market within 12 months.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I mean, yeah, the folks that win are fundamentally not equipped with the ready cash to maintain or pay the necessary taxes etc on such big properties.