Dad spent £20 on ticket – now owns £2.5m woodland home

Chris didn’t tell his family he’d entered the draw – leaving his wife and children “gape-gapped” when they found out about his huge win. The stunning property comes mortgage free with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.

Chris has also received £100,000 in cash to help him get settled and can decide to either live in the house, rent it out for extra income or sell it whenever he wants to become a cash multimillionaire . Chris, who spent much of his childhood living in a council flat in Leeds, said he plans to sell and cash in to become a multi-millionaire so he can “give my kids the start in life which we never had’ – by getting everyone on the property ladder – but not before he and the family had first enjoyed a big holiday at home.

If Chris decided to rent it, local estate agents estimate the property could achieve a long-term rental value of between £5,000 and £6,000 per month. Chris, who bought his £2,500,000 winning entry for just £20, has worked as a salesman for the past 30 years.

His wife of 23 years, Jules, 56, has been with the company for 25 years – having risen from administrator to become commercial operations manager. The couple have lived in their rented house in Pudsey for seven years – the very town that Pudsey Bear, the face of Omaze’s charity partner BBC Children in Need, is named after.

Chris and Jules have three children between them. Chris has two children from a previous marriage, son Ollie, 29, who lives in Australia, and daughter Lucy, 28, as well as their daughter Esmé, 23.

Chris said: “When I got the call from Omaze to say I’d won something I thought ‘wow, a couple of thousand would be gone in no time’ – I never imagined I’d win a house worth more. of a few million, it’s crazy! It was a huge surprise for me, but an even bigger one for my wife – because she had no idea I had entered! To say she was shocked is an understatement, she was speechless.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever own a million-pound house – I spent a lot of my childhood living in a council flat in Leeds – things like that it doesn’t happen to people like me! This house is absolutely gorgeous – it’s like something out of Grand Designs – I keep waiting for Kevin McCloud to pop his head around the corner and say hello.

“We currently live in a rented house – and only last week we were discussing the need to downsize to help keep our living costs down – but now everything has changed. The house in Dorset is obviously incredible – and we also picked up £100,000 as part of the winnings, which would easily cover the running costs of the place for almost 10 years, so we could stay here if we wanted to – but we’ll sell and collect to release the huge amount of cash from a sale – but we’ll all enjoy a big family holiday and hang out here first, that’s for sure!

“Winning this home has changed our family’s life forever – not only will we be able to afford to buy ourselves a new dream home – but we can get all our children on the property ladder now – it means so much to be able to give me the start I never had. I’m a proud Yorkshireman and love where we live so we’re going to be buying somewhere nearby, it’s so exciting – I play a lot of tennis so top of my list is having my own tennis court in the back garden!

“My son lives in Australia and I’ve only seen him once in the last six years – now we can go see him whenever we want and fly him all over the place in style – it’s just silly! We’ve worked hard all our lives – and had to deal with some tough times over the years – but the future has never looked brighter after this win.

“I won’t be retiring right away – when I emailed my boss to tell him the news – he called me right away to check if I was staying to finish our last project – I think that was as relieved as it was very happy. for me. As soon as I finish the project I’m currently working on, I’ll finally retire – then I’ll have enough time to work on the backhand.

“I actually had to miss an important tennis match to come and see the house – but Omaze hit the spot with this place. My wife has worked her way up through the same company for the last 25 years and she loves her job so she will continue to work. So for now, we’ll still get up and go to work in the morning, we’ll just come home to a much nicer house.

“It’s such a lovely coincidence that we live in Pudsey and the Omaze Draw has raised so much money for BBC Children in Need, with the charity’s face, the Pudsey Bear, being named after the town. We always give what we can to charity – that’s why I entered the Omaze Draws as if I hadn’t won – I was still contributing to a very worthy cause.”

In the new home of the latest Omaze winner

Chris’s new home has been contextually designed with stunning elevations incorporating the landscaped gardens and woodland backdrop. The spectacular home is constructed using natural wood paneling, tile accents and black powder coated aluminum framed windows with large bi-folding doors.

The design of the property uses full-height glazing to provide incredible views of the lush green rear gardens, while flooding the home with natural light and allowing the wooded exterior to provide a natural tapestry throughout the home. The stunning 4,294 sq. ft. newly built property celebrates nature with a sun deck and wraparound deck that will invite Chris and his family to embrace the great outdoors.

The luxury home is laid out over three levels and features state-of-the-art finishes with smart technology. It has distinct areas for everyday family life as well as entertaining guests.