Guess the number of fizzy cola bottles in a jar and you could win a luxury London apartment, mortgage-free, with all your bills paid for a year. What’s the catch?
Nothing, it seems, if a local resident’s ‘House Giveaway’ scheme pays off.
IT consultant Adam Trutwein, 26, launched the “how many sweets are in the jar” competition last week in order to fund his move to Australia later in the year.
Unlike other prize draws however, Trutwein will offer the winner not only money, but his entire London lifestyle – all for just £20 per guess. The unique haul includes a furnished Islington apartment worth more than £300,000, a cleaner for a year, a year-long TfL travelcard, £5,200 worth of groceries and £200 a week transferred to the winner’s bank account.
“I’m trying to do something nobody else has done,” said Trutwein. “Clearly I hope that selling my home this way will mean I make more money than I would in a traditional sale – I’m moving to Australia and want the cash. But I also love the idea that as I begin my new life, someone else will be starting their own life-changing adventure in the capital.
“I’ve heard of ‘spot the ball’ competitions before, but I thought guessing the number of sweets in a jar was more exciting and more likely to appeal to everyone,” he added. “There’s been quite a lot of interest in it so far.”
There are 30,000 tickets up for grabs before 30 July, when Trutwein’s bank will use the money raised to pay off the mortgage on his apartment and transfer it to the competition winner.
“I put all the cola bottles into a jar and put security seals on the lid so you can tell if it’s been broken,” he said. “I don’t know how many are in there – nobody does. The jar is in a safety deposit box at the bank at the moment, and they won’t open it until the competition closes.”
Solicitors Turbervilles are on board to ensure that the legal side of his giveaway scheme is up to scratch. “With this type of competition you need to be extremely careful with the law,” explained David Smith, a partner at Turbervilles. “In relation to prize competitions, the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005 are fairly complicated and the Gambling Commission recommends that legal advice is obtained beforehand.
“This is the first sweets-in-a-jar competition I have seen or been involved in,” he added. “I would say that this is an enterprising method of disposing of a property and the ‘lifestyle’ prize package is almost unique.”
If you fancy trying your luck in the competition you can enter at www.house-giveaway.com.
brilliant! i’m definitely going to buy a ticket!!
It’s an ok idea but it’s not really that new – I’ve come across quite a few of these win a house type competitions recently. Just check http://win-house.co.uk lots listed there… Seems like a tall order if you ask me unless he’s got a decent ad budget, maybe I’m missing something but it’s a bit random guessing how many there are in the jar, is that really skill?
I love london but cant lived london london is my dream ;(