Humraz was originally
conceived as a method to help struggling first-time buyers have the chance
to own their own home at a time when property prices were spiralling.
Our basic premise in designing Humraz
was to minimise risk and maximise opportunity.
In Humraz, we have
developed a mechanism that has the potential to benefit many different types
of individuals and groups; from people hoping to own a home to organisations
and good causes that are in need of financial support.
My family and I have very strong values and ethics,
these underpin all aspects of our company and we are very protective of them.
So much so that Humraz has been entirely funded
by us to ensure there are no loans or private investors that may risk us compromising
our values for profits.
We are also very selective about the lots we offer.
Each lot is carefully chosen from the many enquiries we receive and added
to the site by members of our team. Sellers do not pay us a fee
to use our service and, for items we offer directly, we have agreements with
highly prestigious organisations such as Harrods and Orient
Express.
For auctions that are not for charity,
we limit the number of people who can participate based on how much is needed
to cover costs and bidders are charged only once enough people want to take
part.
In these auctions, it is our policy to ensure
that a small proportion of people have the opportunity to take part
for free.
For good cause auctions, we allow
as many seats as possible to be booked so that we maximise the donation to
the charity and each auction is capable of raising considerable funds via
a lot of small contributions.
In fact, it is possible to raise more money for
charity using Humraz than via conventional auctions
that rely on a few very wealthy people locking horns in a bidding contest
(e.g.
Wanna Have Lunch With Warren Buffett?) and it is not the people who can
pay the most who benefit.
Humraz has given
us the opportunity to be part of something that is fun, exciting and fair
to all involved - bidders, sellers, charities, our team and our business partners.
For me personally, I have the joy of working with my very talented daughters and an excellent team, the chance to feel good about helping people realise their dream and the pleasure of knowing that we are able to support good causes as an integral part of our business.
Over time Humraz will continue to develop and evolve but our ethos will remain the same.
I hope you benefit from and enjoy our service.
Asmat Monaghan
Chief Executive Officer