A £6,000,000 mistake? The ‘Omaze curse’ plaguing these stunning dream homes

It sounds almost too good to be true. Buy an Omaze raffle ticket for £10 and walk away with a James Bond-esque property worth millions, with no stamp duty, mortgage or solicitors’ fees to pay.

Those who fancy a flutter could stand a chance to win in their latest draw, with a £3,000,000 property in Cornwall with views of both the Atlantic Ocean and Porthcothan Bay currently up for grabs.

However, it seems the Omaze Million Pound House Draw may indeed be a little more complicated than it first appears, and the prizes (which have even included a £5,000,000 Chelsea townhouse in the past) haven’t always turned out to be a dream come true.

Now, having found out she was the lucky winner back in March, one winner is still waiting to pick up the keys to her £6,000,000 Norfolk mansion – all because of planning breaches.

Vicky Curtis-Cresswell and her husband, Dale, said that after they got the call, their lives ‘changed forever’ as they became ‘multi-millionaires.’

‘I was absolutely flabbergasted, my sister in-law burst out crying, it was a mixture of shock and pure joy,’ she said following the win.

While the family told the BBC they’d hoped to sell up, pocket the cash and buy a house down the road in Wales, any hopes of becoming cash millionaires seem to have been culled for now.

Despite their initial joy, Omaze is having to work with the North Norfolk District Council over the Blakeney home, as it battles to retain a number of opulent features added to the property, including an extension, swimming pool, tennis court, summerhouse and four-bay garage.

As such, Omaze tells Metro that it’s had to submit a ‘retrospective planning application’ – and that it ‘continues to work with North Norfolk District Council in relation to recommendations made.’

‘Omaze reiterates that it guarantees no house winner would ever have to incur any costs whatsoever to remedy any historical planning issue,’ a spokesperson added.

‘Omaze further guarantees that all house prizes are transferred to winners with good and marketable title.’

The planning application is currently pending with the council, and once validated, it could appear on the public portal as early as next week, ready for comments from locals and a final vote from the planning committee.

But if there are any hiccups or ‘further requirements’ on the council’s end, it could be delayed further, putting any chance of an imminent house sale firmly on the back burner.

Likewise, in 2023, the Daily Mail reported that, out of the 14 luxury properties that had been won at the time, just three were still lived in – meaning 10 of them had been sold on, while one was rented out.

Since Omaze started their ‘win-win’ property draw in 2020, which raises money for charities like Marie Curie and the RNLI, it appears that some winners would rather have the cash, which is indeed an option as stated in the terms and conditions. To date, it’s made millionaires out of 39 winners.

But is the bubble slowly starting to burst?

Omaze properties that have been sold

One of the properties in question was a seven-bedroom Cornish mansion, won by 74-year-old widower June Smith back in May 2023 for just £25.

Just three months later, she had listed the waterfront home for sale to help her children and grandchildren with the ‘next chapter in their lives.’

June was given the freedom to either live in the house, rent it out or sell it, with local estate agents estimating it could achieve £5,000 to £7,000 per month from long-term rentals – and up to £14,000 a week from peak season holiday rentals.

June previously lived in her two-bedroom house detached house in Essex for the last 17 years, and last stayed in Cornwall in a caravan with her late husband, Ron.

She said she ‘wanted to enjoy at least one family holiday’ in the property before selling it, and she got her wish.

This sentiment was echoed by Omaze winner Marilyn Pratt, 70, who won the property draw in April 2021, bagging herself a £2,900,000 Fulham home.

But just eight months later, she sold it for £2,800,000 so she could use the cash to support her daughters and grandchildren. She remains in her two-bed home with her husband David, where she has lived for the past 40 years.

The ‘Omaze curse’

However, funding the lives of their loved ones isn’t the only motivation for abandoning their prize-draw homes.

For one winner, Glen Elmy, it was a more fundamental issue.

The foundry worker from Walsall won a James Bond-esque property on the north Devon coast with views across Combe Martin Bay in October 2021 – but it turns out the win wasn’t the miracle Glen first thought.

After just three days, Glen handed back the keys to Stealth House to Omaze and demanded a cash payout of £3,000,000.

Why? The five-bedroom home was being threatened by coastal erosion, and neighbours even predicted the property would succumb to it within the next five to ten years, according to MailOnline.

However, an Omaze spokesperson said: ‘As with all its properties, Omaze carried out extensive professional surveys, searches and inspections prior to purchasing the house in Devon.

‘Omaze can confirm that none of these reports raised any material concerns with the property, including in relation to coastal erosion. The property is fully insurable.’

Other Omaze winners, 49-year-old Darren Wordon, and his 48-year-old wife, Mandy, won the top prize of a luxury £2,500,000 property in Radford near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, in 2021. But again, there were some issues.

Despite having celebrities like Jeremy Clarkson and the Beckhams as neighbours, other locals said the property was ‘built in a valley that floods every year’.

While the motivations are unknown, the property, known as Willowbrook House, was sold in December 2022.

The thought of losing not only money but also damage to the house was enough to deter Glen and other Omaze winners, while some have had concerns about finances.

Leicestershire winner Uttam Parmar, 58, put the Cornwall Rock property on the market just eight weeks after bagging the home for just £25 in the Omaze draw on August 12, 2022.

Mr Parmar told MailOnline he and his wife Raki, 53, had to sell the Cornish home because the upkeep was too expensive for them.

‘We are selling it and not keeping it as a holiday home. If we could afford to keep it, we would. It is beautiful. But we are looking to buy some land or a smaller property instead,’ Uttam said.

The property was put on the market for £4,000,000, but was soon £500,000 cheaper after failing to appeal to buyers.

Happy Omaze winners

However, not every single winner wants to ditch their instant life of luxury. Construction worker Kevin Johnson is over the moon with his £3,000,000 Omaze property in Islington.

For what particular reason? Apart from it being a gorgeous four-bed Victorian home, it’s just down the road from 34-year-old Kevin’s favourite football team, Arsenal.

For 33-year-old mum Becca Pott, who won a £3,900,000 five-bedroom Omaze house in February 2022, it was the lifestyle the win afforded her that made her keep the keys to the home.

She told MailOnline: ‘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.’

This piece was originally published on March 22, 2025.

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