Get an estate agent — it’s no contest
Former City trader Andrew Paul spent more than £200,000 offering his house as a prize. Now he’s trying an estate agent
It wasn’t exactly the A list who descended on the Kent village of Ightham for a party late last year. Among the 200 guests to walk the red carpet were the singers Lemar, Lee Ryan of Blue and Lloyd Daniels, one of last year’s X Factor rejects, as well as Guy Portelli, a sculptor who appeared on Dragons’ Den. Held in the one-acre grounds of Acorns, a contemporary five-bedroom home, the evening featured a marquee, canapés and a free champagne bar.
The night’s events were not so much a celebration as a last attempt by Andrew Paul, the owner of the house, to get shot of his property. Last summer, the former City trader came up with a novel way of trying to offload the house, which had failed to shift after he put it on the market for £1.3m this time last year.
With the help of promoters, consultants and a legal team (solicitors’ fees alone set him back about £200,000), Paul, 39, set up what he called the Win a New Life competition. For £20, contestants could enter a “spot the golf ball” competition. The prize? Not just Acorns, with its designer kitchen and cinema and games rooms, but Paul’s £160,000 Aston Martin DBS and £200,000 motorboat.
Divorced, with a young son, Paul said he was keen to leave behind the painful memories associated with the house, which he bought for £875,000 in July 2006, and start a simpler life with his new fiancée, Jade Brock, 22, who is pregnant — as well as giving someone less fortunate than him the chance to live his jet-set lifestyle.
Despite the headlines generated by the competition — which prompted an American producer to suggest a reality television show — Paul failed to attract enough interest. (He needed to sell at least half of the 200,000 tickets to fulfil the terms of the competition, which could have brought in £4m.) So he gave away a “nice cash sum” instead, and, just over two weeks ago, reverted to a more traditional method of selling his home: he instructed Strutt & Parker estate agency.
“I lost quite a lot of money,” admits Paul, who is planning to rent in the Sevenoaks area while he “regroups”. Of the competition, he says: “The pain and cost involved is horrendous, and gaining public trust is difficult. If you want to sell, an estate agent is probably the best way.”
Philip James, a partner at the Sevenoaks office of Strutt & Parker, is now marketing the house, which is valued at the much lower price of £1.15m. “I think people only try such unusual methods when they are desperate,” he says. “But we’ve had a lot of interest already, and it is a lovely house — the only issue being that a tiny corner of the property backs onto the A25.”
Paul is not the only one to have tried — and failed — to sell his house with a competition.
In the past couple of years, as boom turned to bust, other homeowners saw this as the best way of getting the highest price for their property.
In 2008, the owners of a £1m house in Cheltenham, featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, launched a “spot the frisbee” competition. They didn’t reach their ticket target, although they did pay out an £80,000 prize to one of the competitors. Their home then went on the market in the conventional way.
Henry Pryor, an independent property expert, is sceptical about such schemes. “It is still surprising how many people think they can dispose of a home in this way,” he says. “Of course, the lure of winning a property for the price of an entry ticket is exciting to many, but that sensation is tinged with regret that this is being done solely as a business by sellers who have usually run out of other options.”
Those who think they can just design a competition, set up a website and sell a few tickets should think again. For a start, there is the law to consider.
Establishing clear terms and conditions for the competition, such as the opening and closing dates, is key. Participants must also be required to exhibit a degree of skill, whether by answering a question or “spotting a ball”. If not, you may fall foul of the Gambling Act 2005, which makes it illegal for individuals to run a lottery for personal gain.
Then there are all the practicalities. “You have to think of all the press interest you’d need to sell tickets, and that you might have to move out of your house to protect your privacy, as well as doing house tours and interviews, and providing photos of every room,” says Elizabeth Tagge, managing director of BlueIce Communications, a property PR consultancy, who has come across several such schemes. You’ll also need to find a promoter, set up payment methods online and be prepared to refund competitors if you don’t sell enough tickets.
Yet Paul appears undaunted by his experiences. On his website, winanewlife.com, he thanks players for their support — and says he plans to run another competition in the future.
Strutt & Parker; 01732 459900, www.struttandparker.co.uk
Writers name
Emma Wells, The Sunday Times 07-02-2010
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