I made nearly £3k by dobbing in my neighbours and anyone can do it – now I’m taking my family on a dream holiday

MOST people would walk straight past an empty, rundown home – but not Ben Thompson. He’ll whip his phone out, snap a picture and send it into a handy website which pays for the photos… so far, he’s earned nearly £3k and it’s paid for his dream family holiday. His job takes him to between 80 and 100 properties every day, meaning he naturally notices the tell-tale signs that many of us would simply drive past Credit: Unknown Ben says around one in every five or six properties he reports results in a £20 reward voucher. So far, he’s pocketed £400 in vouchers Credit: Cover Images Water meter reader Ben, 50, from Newport, Isle of Wright, reports empty buildings to the website YouSpotProperty.com, which rewards members of the public for identifying homes that may have been left empty or forgotten. The company will use these pictures to identify possible development opportunities to snap up and buy. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! You could get £20 Amazon or M&S gift vouchers or even 1% of the purchase price of the property, capped at £10,000, depending on if the photos hit the criteria – more on that later. There are more than 260,000 long-term empty homes in England, while the total number of empty residential properties stands at well over 700,000, according to latest government figures. Ben has been snapping empty properties since 2024 – and so far, he’s pocketed nearly £3k. As a water meter reader, his job takes him to between 80 and 100 properties every day, meaning he naturally notices the tell-tale signs that many of us would simply drive past. “I’d read about YouSpotProperty.com on Martin Lewis‘ website a couple of years ago and thought it sounded interesting,” he said. “I wasn’t chasing the one per cent reward at all. I started doing it for the £20 vouchers because they were a nice little bonus.” Most read in Money Ben says around one in every five or six properties he reports results in a £20 reward voucher. So far, he’s pocketed £400 in vouchers. To qualify for a voucher, the property must hit certain criteria – for example, it cannot already have been reported to the website, the photograph should be clear and taken from a public space and show obvious signs that it is empty or neglected, like broken windows for example. “I always choose the Marks & Spencer vouchers,” he laughed. “I’ll often stop for breakfast or pick up lunch when I’m out on my rounds. It’s a nice little treat while I’m working.” But one report turned into something far bigger. While carrying out his normal rounds in Newport around six months ago, one property immediately caught his attention. “The garden was completely overgrown, the place looked run down, there wasn’t a car on the drive and it looked like nobody had touched it for years,” he explained. “You can never be certain a house is empty, so you simply submit it through the website and let them investigate.” Working in the water industry gives Ben an unusual perspective. “I read water meters and visit properties by appointment. Quite often you can tell if somewhere hasn’t been occupied for a long time. The meter isn’t moving, the bins never seem to go out, the garden is overgrown and everything just looks neglected.” “There are quite a few unused homes on the Isle of Wight. There are lots of second homes down here as well, so you do notice them.” HOW TO REPORT EMPTY PROPERTIES If you spot an empty property, take a picture of it and upload it to youspotproperty.com. You will also need to share the address of the property. It can take a few weeks or months to hear back from the team. But you will receive a £20 gift voucher for M&S or Amazon if the criteria is met. You can go on to be handed 1% of the purchase price if the team have helped bring the property back into use. To qualify for a 1% reward, the firm will not have known about the property already, and then leads to a purchase. In May, Ben received an unexpected call from YouSpotProperty.com‘s team to tell him he had just earned £2,500. “They contacted me to say the property had completed and I’d earned the 1% reward – I was quite chuffed, to be honest.” He’s already put his earnings to good use. “My family and I have always wanted to take a barge holiday,” he said. “We’re planning to head to the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal in Wales over the summer. That’s something we’ve wanted to do for years, so this has helped make it happen.” YouSpotProperty.com says it has paid more than £1 million in rewards to members of the public since launching in 2014. Latest government figures show there are more than 260,000 long-term empty homes in England, while the total number of empty residential properties stands at well over 700,000. Housing campaigners argue bringing even a fraction of these properties back into use could make a significant contribution towards easing Britain’s housing shortage. For Ben, though, the biggest reward isn’t the money itself. “It’s nice knowing that an empty house might end up becoming someone’s home again,” he said. “And if I get breakfast at M&S along the way, that’s not bad either.” 'I scored £10,000 after reporting a derelict home' Comment now