Omaze, the company known for raffling off luxury homes, has revealed it had to scrap a potential prize property in Cornwall after discovering a bizarre local requirement. The firm’s co-founder Matt Pohlson said the house would have obligated the owner to permit a local carnival to be held on the grounds every year.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Pohlson explained that his team of property solicitors examines over 1,000 homes annually before selecting just 12 for the prize draws. Many are ruled out due to unusual regulations. 'When you're buying houses at this scale and this frequency – stuff comes up,' he said. 'There have been plenty of houses we've been close to buying and then there was too much wrong with them.'
Omaze launched in the UK five years ago, having been founded in the US in 2012 by Pohlson and Ryan Cummins. The company has given away homes in Cornwall, Cheshire, Sussex and the Cotswolds, among other locations. It claims to have raised more than £100 million for charitable causes from the raffles.
Each raffle winner receives a fully furnished home, including cutlery and clothes, along with £250,000 in cash and legal fees covered. Pohlson described the desire for a better home as a 'fundamental human desire' and positioned Omaze as a 'company with a purpose'. Past prizes have included a romantic evening with George Clooney and a Lamborghini blessed by the Pope.
The firm has faced challenges before: winner Vicky Curtis-Cresswell could not move into her £6 million Norfolk home because it was built slightly differently from approved blueprints. Pohlson said such issues are common in UK property purchases and that his team is 'well equipped' to handle them.
