The youngest ever winner of a multi-million pound Omaze mansion is selling up – for £500,000 less than the valuation.
Lauren Keene, 24, celebrated winning the spectacular six-bed Hollywood-style mansion – valued at £3million – in the prize draw in December.
After winning the house and £250,000 prize money from a £20 ticket Lauren announced she was considering moving into the house with partner Ryan Mitchell, a software engineer from Liverpool.
She said: ‘Thanks to the £250,000 we’ve pocketed as part of the win we could afford to stay here for many years if we decided to, it’s a great position to be in.’
Lauren, from Gloucester, has been living with her dad in his two-bed flat and joked: ‘He’s most delighted about the fact I can finally move out now.’
It’s not clear whether full-time nanny Lauren did move out but she has now placed the house in Wirral, Merseyside, for sale for £2.5million.
The stunning house sits in a prominent location on the edge of the sandstone outcrop of the Wirral Peninsula, bringing the surrounding countryside inside the property in a magnificent example of modern architecture and design.
The exclusive, elevated plot provides stunning views from the wraparound terrace of the nearby estuary and the Irish Sea – as well as being just a short stroll away from Caldy Beach.
The Rightmove listing – which describes the house as ‘striking’ and ‘something truly special’ – makes no reference to its involvement in the competition just six months ago.
At the time of her win Lauren said: ‘Only last week we were viewing houses we thought we could never afford, but now our first property is a £3m mansion. It’s crazy to think we’ll never have a mortgage.
‘We’ve been saving for years so I still live with my dad in his 2-bedroom flat – he’s delighted that I’ll finally be moving out now.
‘It’s my boyfriend’s birthday this week, I’ve told him the house is his birthday and Christmas present combined this year.
‘Winning this house has transformed our lives forever! Whatever we decide to do long-term, we’re made for life now.’
Omaze winners don’t have to keep the house for any period of time and are free to decide if they live there, rent it out or sell it to become a cash millionaires.
Describing the moment she discovered she’d won, Lauren added: ‘It was just an ordinary Friday really, I was heading for a McDonald’s after work when I got a call from Omaze telling me I’d won something. I was sceptical – and hungry – but went straight home to see what I’d won.
‘The next thing we knew, the Omaze team were all there telling us we’d won a £3 million mansion. I was gobsmacked. It was definitely worth missing my McDonald’s for, it’s made me a multi-millionaire!
‘We did end up celebrating with a Maccies afterwards and it was a very, very happy meal indeed.’
Lauren is far from alone in cashing in on the multi-million pound home. Out of 14 previous prize winners, only three have kept hold of the house.
Among them is widow June Smith who put the luxury £4.5million Cornish mansion she won in a £25 raffle on the market in 2023 so that she can help her children and grandchildren ‘with the next chapter in their lives’.
Previous winners have complained in the past that the enormous mansions can be too lavish and too costly to maintain – or they are too far away from jobs, friends and family.
Becca Pott, 32, was on maternity leave after the birth of her first child and was living in a two-bedroom flat in Leyton, east London, when she spent £10 on the Omaze draw.
The finance analyst won a £3.5million five-bedroom house near Ascot, Berkshire, in February 2022, transforming her life. Ms Pott, who lives there with her husband Ben and their baby Ava, is one of the few to choose to actually stay in one of Omaze’s stunning homes.
Ms Pott told The Sunday Times: ‘We always knew we were going to move in and enjoy it for at least that first summer, just to experience living in a place like this as a family, but after a few weeks we realised we didn’t want to leave so decided we should keep it.’
She added: ‘We have a toddler, so having all the extra space and a beautiful garden for her to explore has been incredible. We love relaxing outside on the patio whilst preparing dinner in the kitchen. It all feels natural now and like it really is our family home.’
Ms Pott was also given an additional £20,000 to help with running costs – while she also rents out the charming mansion – which boasts a drawing room, a family orangery, a night kitchen and a hot tub – to film crews.
The other two winners to move into their incredible homes were in Wimbledon and Islington – two expensive areas of London.
Kevin Johnson, a 34-year-old carpenter moved straight into his £3million four-bedroom Islington home with his wife and four sons. It is a stone’s throw away from where he was renting a three-bed flat previously.
He also got £100,000 in cash to help him settle in – with the house mortgage free and with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.
After finding out he had won with a £50 entry, Mr Johnson 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.’
Uttam Parmar, 58, is another winner who has opted to hand the keys of his brand new mansion over to someone else. The operations manager from Ashby, Leicestershire, is selling his £3million house he won near Rock, in Cornwall.
Mr Parmar said that he could not afford to keep it despite winning £50,000 cash. He also felt like he did not fit into the popular celebrity haunt, where chefs Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein have properties.
Marilyn Pratt sold her £3million house in Fulham, London, because she wanted to give her two daughters £1million each to buy their own homes. She also said that she wants to go on nice cruises with her husband, family holidays and ‘fancy lunches’ at exclusive hotels such as Claridge’s.
Widower Ian Garrick also decided to cash in on his £1million house in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire. The 58-year-old, from Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, won the first Omaze prize in 2020. But he sold the house to buy a £500,000 home near to his old home and family.
NHS worker Catherine Carwardine, 60, won a stunning £3m six-bedroom house overlooking Lake Windermere – raising £1m for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
James Oakes, Chief International Officer at Omaze, said: ‘Everyone at Omaze is thrilled that Lauren has won this wonderful house on the Wirral, whilst also contributing to the £3.5 million raised for Scouts.
‘Omaze offers people the chance to win amazing houses, whilst also introducing charities to new audiences that they wouldn’t normally reach – it’s a real win-win for entrants and our charity partners.
‘We’re immensely proud that the Omaze community has now raised over £67 million for good causes across the UK.’
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