Eco-home owners put their house up for raffle
IT is one of Cheltenham's most innovative buildings.
So it is fitting that the owners of the underground house at 12 Oxford Walk have come up with a unique way of selling it.
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Tim and Zoe Bawtree have decided to give away their home in a competition.
The couple, whose trials and tribulations were broadcast to the nation on Channel 4's Grand Designs this year, wanted to create the perfect eco-home in their back garden.
But just six months after moving in they've decided to move out – and have come up with a novel way of beating the housing slump.
They are putting their house up as the grand prize in a competition open to the public.
Everyone who enters has to name the horse which won the Gold Cup at Cheltenham this year.
They then pay £25 to enter the competition and the winner gets the house.
The condition of sale is that enough people enter the competition to raise the £1 million price of the house.
Tim said: "We put the house on the market for three months and although we had interest and even buyers it did not sell.
"It's not the right time with a slump in the market and so we spent time researching other ways to make a sale.
"Friends and family thought we were crazy at first when we told them.
"It's not a lottery but a skill-based competition.
"We have employed professional services including solicitors to oversee the process and we are planning to announce the winner on January 1 next year."
The three-bedroom house has a wealth of advanced technological features, according to estate agent Savills Cheltenham.
It's been built using a highly-insulated polystyrene and concrete construction and is illuminated with a Rako wireless mood lighting system.
The contemporary bathroom has invisible jets, light therapy and a rain shower. And the kitchen boasts three ovens, a built-in coffee machine and electronic touch drawers and cupboards.
The house boasts what is one of the best HIPs ratings for energy efficiency in the town and has been acclaimed for its architecture.
The couple are in negotiations with a celebrity to make the New Year draw and it will be announced to the world on TV and via a webcast.
Zoe added: "The next three months will be nerve-racking. We hope people will enter the competition. They could find themselves with a mortgage-free step onto the property ladder or a luxury second home."
Ten per cent of each ticket from the competition draw will go to Cancer Research UK.
"Like many, we've both lost friends and family to cancer," said Zoe.
Once sold, the couple hope to start work on a new property in the county, which will also be built below ground.
Tickets are on sale from tomorrow at www.winthecheltenhamhouse.com
75 Comments
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by Mike Wilson, Winchester
Monday, November 17 2008, 12:28AM
“I don't know which lawyers are advising these people. Whoever it is, does not know the law.
The fact is you cannot enter the 'competition' unless you get the answer to the question right.
You cannot pay your entry fee unless you get the question right.
So, when you buy your entry, you are, by definition, NOT COMPETING with anyone else.
There is NO WAY anyone else who has entered could have the question wrong.
Therefore, this is a lottery that requires you to answer a question BEFORE you an buy a ticket.
Make it a genuine competition - and insist people part with their £25 at the same time as answering the question.
You might find you get a lot less entries if people realised it was a genuine competition.
Like that couple in Devon, you are going to find out the hard way that your scheme is a lottery.”
by R Stornaway, UK
Wednesday, November 05 2008, 4:22PM
“Jonathon, Suffolk Square, Montpellier
This chap from "Montpellier" would appear to be from the PR company behind this daft raffle. Shame he doesn't disclose that in a more direct manner.”
by robin, wales
Wednesday, October 01 2008, 3:05PM
“this is brilliant, get rid of your house and give someone who may never have the opportunity, to get a decent pad any other way, to get one for twenty five quid, this is good old british inovation at its best, the do gooders and naysyaers shouldn't be given the time of day, its their sort who have shackled the majority of us in the past, and now we can't even defend the home that we win if someone breaks in. It's about time the british started admiring this kind of spirit, instead of trying to kill it.”
by Jonathon, Suffolk Square, Montpellier
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 5:01PM
“I think some maths classes are required here. Whatever the street value (assuming it is over £25) makes it worthwhile. Less than five packs of cigarettes, a decent flutter on the nags, or two big buskets at Colonel Fried Chicken. A no brainer!”
by Philip, Bath Road
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 4:41PM
“Following Andy's somewhat churlish note I would have thought a Tewkesbury resident would be more than aware of the vagaries of market forces and what people are prepared to pay (flood plain or not). I have to say I'm getting fed up with some of the negative remarks (perhaps the credit crunch is making some more mean/envious). When I look at Cheltenham prices, and I often do, I think the pegged value of circa £800k is not unrealstic. Let's face it Cheltenham is whatever your views a desirable place in which to live. The view of what is and what is not a Grand Design is admittedly subjective, but I really think Andy should get a life and be more positive. No doubt he'll find another way to place his well earned cash, perhaps a share in an estate agent or a bank or other such liquid asset?”