Underground house to be 'given away'
AN UNDERGROUND home which failed to sell despite a starring role on TV show Grand Designs could be given away to someone who signs up to Twitter.
Tim Bawtree's house in Oxford Walk, Cheltenham, won acclaim when it featured on the Channel 4 show in 2007 – but hasn't sold in the current climate.
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get this for free: Tim and Zoe Bawtree with their children Fraser and Hugo in their underground home
The £800,000 property will be given away if a website linked to the Twitter page fills up with enough paid-for adverts to meet the asking price.
Owner Tim Bawtree, 38, a software company boss, said the money would be raised not by the house's army of Twitter entrants, but by the advertisers who will hopefully buy space on the house's homepage.
The page is similar to the Million Dollar Homepage, which made student Alex Tew a fortune when advertisers bought squares on a giant grid.
The Twitter site aims to "drive traffic" to the advertising homepage, and encourage enough companies to sign up to pay for the house's asking price.
Tim needs 90 per cent of the blocks to be filled – at £200 a block – in order for the "give away" offer to be activated.
Tim needs to raise £820,000 to cover the price of the house, costs, and a donation to the Services' charity Help for Heroes.
A winner will then be chosen at random from the Twitter membership.
Tim, a father of two, said: "Similar things have been done, but there was no hook.
"The hook here is that people can win a house for free, which will drive traffic from Twitter to the home page.
"People have promoted house competitions on Twitter, but there was nothing where Twitterers exclusively could win.
"This house is like nothing else. You feel secluded even though you are in the middle of a town. Friends say it's like being on holiday at home."
Tim tried to "give away" the property last year by using a competition question with a £25 entry fee. Thousands entered but the competition was abandoned when a similar house sale scheme in the West Country fell foul of the Gambling Commission.
Tim changed the competition to a Spot the Frisbee game, which his lawyers advised him was safe. But the new idea failed to take off.
To sign up for the house's Twitter feed, visit www.twit- ter.com/pixhome
11 Comments
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by rafiefar
Sunday, July 24 2011, 10:30PM
“I am still waiting for second prize in the spot the frisbee competition whne they switched the rules and changed it to a competition.....
despite many e mails and a phone call I am still waiting
shame on you Tim
Rachel Rafiefar”
by Jess, Stroud
Friday, June 12 2009, 3:30PM
“I had no problem with getting my refund for the old lottery, you can email them on tim@thecheltenhamhouse.com
Think the new competition is good idea hope is works out for them, you cannot blame them for trying.”
by H W, Cheltenham
Friday, June 12 2009, 2:47PM
“He needs to realise that actually most people don't want to live underground.”
by c,lynn, cheltenham
Friday, June 12 2009, 11:51AM
“thought i was the only one waiting for a refund from the origanal competition!any one want to win the debt!”
by Arnold, cheltenchester
Friday, June 12 2009, 10:32AM
“The echo should not bother with promotional stories of this kind. It's a sales and marketing job, not news!”
by Anon, Cheltenham
Friday, June 12 2009, 10:23AM
“So when this fails to raise the money, like the abandoned competiion what will happen the the money.
I'd like to see the Echo ask him just what he has done with all the money from that competition. He certainly has never given any of it back.
Strikes me this is just another way of him lining his pockets. How long before its cancelled and another scheme invented.”
by Richard, Cheltenham
Friday, June 12 2009, 9:18AM
“Exit fantasy land and enter the real world by putting the house up for auction. It will then realise its true value in todays market and the owners will have their cash (if there's any left after deducting the mortgages and expenses) within 28 days.
Alternatively put it on the market at a realistic guide price of say £625,000”
by Charles, Cheltenham
Friday, June 12 2009, 8:59AM
“I think most people are sicking of reading about the Bawtree's and their ridiculous underground house, that quite frankly, should never have been allowed to be built in the first place. Why don't the echo do a big feature on the abandoned 'win the house' competitions and those people who are still owed money from it.”
by P, Chelt'.
Friday, June 12 2009, 8:49AM
“Not Again!!!!!
Please Echo stop giving this couple with their suspect ventures free advertisment.
Tim Bawtree is still owes a lot of people money and has not published his expense accounts as he promised to do from the last competition.
In his own words he has taken over £30,000 in expenses for running a spot-the-frisbee competition. MP's have been sacked for less!
Like the last comment.....People, please do your homework as the Echo isn't doing any!”
by sam, Cheltenham
Friday, June 12 2009, 8:42AM
“Here we go again with the Bawtrees next egotistical, self agrandisment, money spinning project.
For anybody thinking about giving this couple any money, I suggest you do your homework and research both the couples business backgrounds.
Shame on The Echo for continuing this farce.
BBC radio 4 have been slightly more investigative in their dealings with the Bawtrees. I expect more will follow.”