Millionaire picks lucky tenants to get half price rent
Rupert Hunt, the owner of a Grade II-listed, 6-bedroom house in Spitalfields, has finally whittled down more than 7,000 applicants to find two housemates. He was offering to rent rooms on a 'pay what you can afford' basis - and his new housemates have struck an impressive bargain
After advertising his search for sociable party-loving housemates, Rupert received 7,251 applications from people whose ages ranged from 17 to 68. He even found three of them on his doorstep - as they tried to make an impression.
Given that he is the founder of SpareRoom, he unsurprisingly used the whole process to generate publicity, carrying out a series of 'events' to narrow down the candidates, and filming them for YouTube.
It's why the process sounds as much like a reality show as it does a sensible way to find people you'd like to live with. Rupert held a SpeedFlatmating event, and a house party for the final few. He even managed an embarrassing pregnant pause after being asked who he would pick to live with him.
He insists, however, that this wasn't a competition or a reality show - it was a genuine hunt for a flatmate - which is reflected in the fact that one of his housemates in particular is relatively camera-shy.
He finally settled on two. Ivanka der Merle is a 27-year-old editor originally from South Africa, who spent six years living in five different rooms and claims she never had the chance to unpack. Colin Ho is a 27-year-old musician from Sydney in Australia, who particularly likes having the chance to play Rupert's grand piano.
The pair are taking advantage of Rupert's pay-what-you-can afford deal, and will pay £500 a month each - well below the market rate for the area. He, however, is happy with his end of the deal, claiming: "After another short stint between housemates, rattling around the house on my own, it's been a good reminder that living with the right people beats living on your own."
He has released a final video of the three of them in the house, talking about their life together - and the great deal they're getting on the rent. He says he hopes he has inspired people to consider living with housemates.
There will be those who can see from his series of videos that there are lots of lovely people who would be very easy to live with. There will be others, however, who are reminded of the price they'll pay for sharing the rent.
