Thousands of Brits enter Omaze to win dream home – but there's a catch

2023-04-15

As tens of thousands of Brits enter prize draw for £4.5m Omaze Cornish home, one winner reveals how life has changed after being handed the keys to £3m London property – but organisers warn there’s a catch

House in Fowey, Cornwall is the most expensive UK property offered by Omaze

This breathtaking £4.5million house overlooking the Fowey estuary in Cornwall could be yours for just a tenner thanks to a popular charity competition – but there are a few conditions you will need to be aware of first.

The dream home is the most expensive British property ever offered by the Omaze Million Pound House Draw – which sees tens of thousands of people pay £10 for the chance of winning a house plus £100,000 in cash.

Recent winners of the competition include carpenter Kevin Johnson, 34, and his wife Dee, 44, who say their lives have been changed forever after bagging a £3million Victorian townhouse in highly desirable Islington, north London.

‘We’ve always wanted to own our own house one day, so this really is a dream come true for us – we’ll be moving in as soon as we can,’ Kevin said. ‘I won’t need to use any of my carpentry skills on the house as it’s absolutely perfect – the kids are going to love it.’

Success stories like theirs have seen Brits flocking to the competition, but organisers are making entrants aware of several key conditions.

This £4.5million waterfront property in Fowey, Cornwall is the most expensive UK property ever offered by Omaze

Recent winners of the competition include carpenter Kevin Johnson, 34, and his wife Dee, 44, who won a £3million Victorian townhouse

First off, winners have just 96 hours to claim their winnings and agree to all the terms and conditions. If you don’t respond in time you forfeit the prize – as once happened to one winner of one of Omaze’s cash prizes.

And while every home comes mortgage free and the stamp duty is covered, you will still have to cover the full running costs. For the Fowey house this includes £4,218 per year in council tax – although the £100,000 lump sum easily covers this.

Omaze, which launched in the UK in April 2020, hands 80 per cent of the profits from prize draws to charity.

Winners do not have to keep their house – they can also rent it or sell it.

The Fowey property could be rented to holidaymakers for an impressive £14,000 a week, according to local agents.

Situated in one of the most desirable waterfront locations in the country, the house provides spectacular views along the estuary as well as the architecture of the nearby town and the surrounding Cornish countryside.

Designed by the highly acclaimed West Country architects Harrison Sutton, the incorporation of glass ensures the south west facing estuary views are a key feature throughout the home.

The bright and airy entrance hall welcomes you into the property, with an adjacent home office providing panoramic estuary views.

The main sitting room forms the heart of the home and gives incredible views across the estuary through floor to ceiling glass doors that lead onto one of the terraces.

The Fowey property is situated in one of the most desirable waterfront locations in the country

If the winner decides to rent it out, local estate agents estimate the property could achieve up to £14,000 a week from peak season holiday rentals

A yoga studio sits at one end of the garden with yet more breath-taking estuary views thanks to the curved floor to ceiling window

The serene space has superb proportions and a double-sided log fire, with a cinema and snug room complete with an 85inch TV on the other side, that also leads out to a west facing patio.

Omaze’s last winner, Kevin Johnson, paid just £50 to win his new Islington home, which is less than half an hour from where he currently lives.

As well as making Kevin a multi-millionaire – Omaze’s third London House Draw also raised a staggering £2,000,000 for British Heart Foundation (BHF) – the biggest single raise by Omaze to date.

His wife Dee, 44, has worked in childcare and education for the past 24 years. The couple have been married for 12 years and share four sons together.

They have lived in their rented three-bedroom flat in east London since 2011.

When Omaze first contacted Kevin to tell him he’d scooped a prize, he was on his way home from work.

He said: ‘When Omaze first called me, I recognised the lady’s voice from the TV adverts, so thought it must be genuine – but I didn’t for one second think we’d won the actual house!

‘When the team arrived at my doorstep to tell me the good news – I was so shocked my knees almost gave way!’

‘My wife was on her way home from work so I video-called her straight away – she didn’t believe me at first, but when she saw the camera crew the penny finally dropped.’

There are further mature gardens – and at the far end there is a seating area that is perfect for enjoying the inspiring views down the estuary

The property is accessed via a private drive through electric gates leading down to a parking area at the front of the house

The serene space has superb proportions and a double-sided log fire, with a cinema and snug room complete with an 85inch TV on the other side, that also leads out to a west facing patio

Kevin revealed that Dee then turned the phone around, telling everyone on the packed carriage she had won the Omaze house.

He said: ‘All the other commuters started clapping – it was crazy.’

Kevin added: ‘The house has space for three cars but the family only have one. Kevin joked: ‘We need to buy two more cars.’

Kevin said: ‘We’re still pinching ourselves, whatever we decide to do long term, this is going to give us so much security as a family, it’s truly life-changing for all of us.’

He added: ‘My wife’s grandma had heart complications in later life, so we’re really pleased that the draw raised so much money for the British Heart Foundation.’

Situated just a stone’s throw from central London, the three-storey, 3,400 sq ft, Victorian family home has been refurbished and extended to the most exacting standards. The beautiful property strikes the perfect balance between cutting edge contemporary design, while still retaining its traditional features.

Pictured is Kevin and Dee’s new home in Islington, which features a grand lounge with wooden floors, sash windows and a marble fireplace

One of the north London house’s beautiful bathrooms – with stand alone bath and marble walk-in shower

The heart of the house is the expansive, open living space arranged over the entire ground floor, including a reception room featuring oak flooring, a wealth of period features, such as deep set ceiling cornices and cast iron radiators.

The reception room leads directly into a beautifully bright and airy kitchen and dining space – with the bespoke kitchen featuring a marble centre island and marble topped work surfaces – complete with top-of-the-range appliances. Full height bi-folding glazed doors lead into the garden, which becomes a further extension of the living space in the summer months.

The four bedrooms are arranged over two upper floors, with the main bedroom occupying much of the first floor.

Filled with natural light by two large south-west facing sash windows and with ceilings of almost three metres, there is an open en-suite bathroom with a freestanding Corian bath, double basins and an oversized marble enclosed shower in one corner. A substantial walk-in wardrobe runs parallel.

The £3m home also has open plan living with the kitchen flowing out to an outdoor dining area

The four bedrooms are arranged over two upper floors, with the main bedroom occupying much of the first floor (pictured)

The money raised will help the BHF fund lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.

With 7.6million people living with these conditions in the UK, research funded by the charity aims to find new cures and treatments to help save and improve more lives.

This was the second time the BHF has partnered with Omaze.

They were the fundraising platform’s second charity partner back in 2021, with that campaign raising £1,000,000 to fund urgent research into heart and circulatory diseases during the most uncertain of times.

The latest donation brings the total raise for British Heart Foundation by Omaze Million Pound House Draws to £3,000,000.

Draw entries for the current Omaze Million Pound House Draw in Cornwall are available now at www.omaze.co.uk. The draw closes on May 1 for online entries and May 2 for postal entries.

* For full terms and conditions, see www.omaze.co.uk. No purchase necessary to enter. Over 18s and UK residents only.

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