{"id":167538,"date":"2025-06-08T12:13:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T12:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/167538\/"},"modified":"2025-06-08T12:13:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T12:13:16","slug":"the-real-reason-why-omazes-youngest-ever-winner-is-selling-her-3million-mansion-for-a-knockdown-price-after-less-than-a-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/167538\/","title":{"rendered":"The REAL reason why Omaze’s youngest ever winner is selling her \u00a33million mansion for a knockdown price after less than a year"},"content":{"rendered":"

The youngest ever winner of a multi-million pound Omaze mansion is selling up for \u00a3500k less than the valuation – because the upkeep is too expensive and she lives and works almost 200 miles away.<\/p>\n

Lauren Keene, 24, celebrated winning the spectacular six-bed Hollywood-style mansion – valued at \u00a33million – in the prize draw last December.<\/p>\n

After winning the house and \u00a3250k prize money from a \u00a320 ticket, Lauren, from Gloucester, announced she was considering moving into the house with partner Ryan Mitchell, a software engineer.<\/p>\n

But after the\u00a0full-time nanny\u00a0placed the house in Wirral, Merseyside, for sale for \u00a32.5million, her father Daniel has revealed why she decided to cash in instead.<\/p>\n

And the 46-year-old said the couple had only spent a few nights at the luxury modern house she won.<\/p>\n

Mr Keene, who works as a bathroom and kitchen fitter, said he joined them at the prize home last weekend, but the visit may prove to be their last.<\/p>\n

‘It’s on the market and I think they’ve had an offer,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘It is a lovely house, but the associated costs are significant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Omaze <\/p>\n

Omaze winners Lauren Keene and Ryan Mitchell outside their home on the Wirral, which they won in the prize drawn in December<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The spectacular six-bed Hollywood-style mansion in Wirral features spectacular coastal views as well as a heated outdoor swimming pool<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The stunning house features large entertaining terraces, full width balconies, an outdoor kitchen and heated swimming pool\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘For example, although the pool is heated, it is outdoors and it is not thermal protected, so the heat from the water escapes very quickly.<\/p>\n

‘To keep it heated in winter would cost a fortune so they’ve turned it off, but we braved it anyway and I have to tell you that water is very, very, very cold.’<\/p>\n

At the time of her win – which she celebrated with a McDonald’s meal – Lauren revealed she was living in a two-bed flat near Gloucester with her father.<\/p>\n

Mr Keene said he is still sharing the property with her daughter.<\/p>\n

But he revealed that Lauren – who won a \u00a3250,000 cash prize along with the mansion – is buying a modest-sized house together with Mr Mitchell in her home town.<\/p>\n

‘I think selling it is the sensible thing to do because at the end of the day they are a young couple with lives and jobs in Gloucester,’ he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Why would they want to saddle themselves with a massive, expensive property 200 miles away from where their lives are?<\/p>\n

‘They have decided to use their savings to buy a semi-detached property in Gloucester and I think it is almost over the line.’<\/p>\n

\"Lauren <\/p>\n

Lauren became the youngest Omaze Grand Prize winner after securing the ‘Hollywood Hills’ inspired mansion. But she has now put the luxurious house on the market<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The stunning house sits in a prominent location on the edge of the sandstone outcrop of the Wirral Peninsula<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The huge mansion features a heated outdoor swimming pool that comes equipped with underwater lighting<\/p>\n

According to online property sales company Rightmove, three and four-bed semi-detached houses fetch around \u00a3300,000-350,000 in the city.<\/p>\n

Mr Keene added: ‘I don’t ask too many questions but I believe the conveyancing has been done and they are looking forward to moving in very soon.<\/p>\n

‘I’m not sure exactly sure when that will be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Every week she tells me she is moving out and every week she is still living here, so I don’t know and I don’t ask too many questions!<\/p>\n

‘What is important to me is that she is happy and that she is doing the right thing.<\/p>\n

‘And in both cases, she is.<\/p>\n

‘I’m sure that when they do move in they will want me to be putting a new bathroom and kitchen in for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It will be a pleasure.’<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The first floor provides an open plan living and dining space area, featuring a show-stopping sunken sofa<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The lobby of the home perfectly captures its sleek interior and modern design<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The ground floor features a luxurious double bedroom with stunning views of the countryside<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

At the time of her win Lauren said: ‘Thanks to the \u00a3250,000 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.<\/p>\n

‘Only last week we were viewing houses we thought we could never afford, but now our first property is a \u00a33m mansion. It’s crazy to think we’ll never have a mortgage.<\/p>\n

‘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.<\/p>\n

‘Winning this house has transformed our lives forever! Whatever we decide to do long-term, we’re made for life now.’<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I was sceptical – and hungry – but went straight home to see what I’d won.<\/p>\n

‘The next thing we knew, the Omaze team were all there telling us we’d won a \u00a33million mansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I was gobsmacked.\u00a0It was definitely worth missing my McDonald’s for, it’s made me a multi-millionaire!<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The house features a huge living room area, equipped with a huge flat screen TV<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The ground floor bedroom also features a quaint en suite bathroom with a sleek bathtub<\/p>\n

\"Inside <\/p>\n

Inside the house there is a spacious, bespoke kitchen complete with quartz worktops<\/p>\n

\"There <\/p>\n

There is also a breakfast island equipped with comfy bar stools<\/p>\n

‘We did end up celebrating with a Maccies afterwards and it was a very, very happy meal indeed.’<\/p>\n

Lauren is far from alone in cashing in on the multi-million pound home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Out of 14 previous prize winners, only three have kept hold of the house.<\/p>\n

Among them is widow June Smith who put the luxury \u00a34.5million Cornish mansion she won in a \u00a325 raffle on the market in 2023 so that she can help her children and grandchildren ‘with the next chapter in their lives’.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

One of the few who decided to stay in one of Omaze’s stunning homes is\u00a0Becca Pott, 32.<\/p>\n

She was on maternity leave after the birth of her first child and living in a two-bedroom flat in Leyton, east London, when she spent \u00a310 on the Omaze draw.<\/p>\n

The finance analyst won a \u00a33.5million five-bedroom house near Ascot, Berkshire, in February 2022, transforming her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms Pott still lives there with her husband Ben and their baby Ava.<\/p>\n

She 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.’<\/p>\n

The other two winners to move into their incredible homes were in Wimbledon and Islington – two expensive areas of London.<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This huge wooden dining table provides panoramic views of the surrounding coastline<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In the gardens, there is also a fire pit area tucked away – perfect for summer get togethers<\/p>\n

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 \u00a33.5 million raised for Scouts.<\/p>\n

‘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.<\/p>\n

‘We’re immensely proud that the Omaze community has now raised over \u00a367million for good causes across the UK.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The youngest ever winner of a multi-million pound Omaze mansion is selling up for \u00a3500k less than the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[51,92,257,12,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-167538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-london","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114647689892893477","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}