I won £2,000 for snitching on my neighbour’s house… it paid for my holiday to Barbados, here’s how you can do it too
A WOMAN who won £2,000 for snitching on her neighbour’s house has splashed the cash on a holiday to Barbados.
Brits can get frustrated looking at properties that stand empty and derelict as rent and housing prices sky-rocket.
But a savvy woman took action herself and made a staggering sum by just putting her neighbour’s empty home to good use.
Riyan Springer, of Reading, scooped thousands after sending a picture of the property to a real estate website.
The 30-year-old saw a YouSpotProperty advert on social media offering cash rewards for spotting derelict properties.
She told the MailOnline: “I saw YouSpotProperty on my social media feed a number of years ago and thought, this is a good idea, but so far-fetched.
“As in it just sounded too good to be true.
“The idea of a solution fixing old wrecks just sitting there empty (while giving payoffs to spotters) was something I’d never heard of before.”
All she had to do was send a snap of the property address in Reading, Berkshire.
The semi-detached mid-century abandoned house was in decaying conditions with an overgrown hedge and dingy torn nets in the windows.
Riyan said: “I thought, I wouldn’t want to live next to that, so let’s see what happens if I recommend it.”
A week later, she received a £20 Amazon voucher and then she got a call saying the home had been sold.
And a few months later, the customer advise worker was left in shock when the firm said she was getting £2,100 as a reward.
She said: “I was chuffed with that so getting a call from YouSpot two years later was a complete and utter surprise!
“I was sat at my desk and I took a call which I don’t normally do while I’m working when Katie from YouSpotProperty broke the good news – I had won the one per cent spotters fee!”
The decade-old website hands cash to hundreds of people every year who report empty and derelict houses.
The firm pays one per cent of the purchase price to the spotter as a reward.
In Riyan’s case, she received £2,120 of the £210,200 the company paid for the property.
The lucky punter is now treating herself to a stunning holiday in Barbados this month.
The company, which bought the property from the previous owner, is now set to transform it.
Under the scheme, if the property you find meets the eligibility criteria, then you are sent a £20 voucher for either Amazon or M&S.
But if the firm goes on and buys the home, then you get a 1 per cent share of the property value, up to £10,000.
For a property to qualify it must be privately owned, not up for sale and had no planning permission applied for recently.
In England, there are currently more than 250,000 properties standing empty or derelict.
HOW IT WORKS
If you spot a property that you think meets the criteria all you have to do is go to the YouSpotProperty.com website and upload some details about it, along with some photos.
The company’s criteria are: The property must be privately owned, not up for sale and had no planning permission applied for recently.
If those conditions are met, you’ll be sent a voucher worth £20 for either Amazon or M&S.
Should YouSpotProperty go on to purchase the home, you then get 10 per cent its value, up to a maximum of £10,000.
Many Brits have already pocketed free cash for spotting empty properties, including a woman who made £6,500 by snitching on her neighbour’s grim home.
Levinia Gluck raked in the cash after she decided it was about time a home in Hendon, London, was lived in again.
Elsewhere, a dad pocketed £4,000 by simply blabbing about his neighbour to the council.
Tony Jordan, 61, a former London fireman and taxi driver, had come across the house on his walk to his local bus stop with the property visibly derelict and with an overgrown front garden.