Grandmother wins £4.5m Cornwall home in charity draw
A grandmother of six has won the keys to a £4.5m home in Cornwall – as part of a prize draw that raised more than £2m for the end-of-life charity, Marie Curie.
June Smith from Essex, won the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw – a six-bedroom, three storey house overlooking the picturesque Fowey Estuary.
She has also been given £100,000 in cash to help her settle in – plus the house comes mortgage free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.
The home is the biggest ever house prize draw to be given away in the UK. June is free to either live in the house, rent it out or sell it.
If June decides to rent it out, local estate agents estimate that the property could achieve £5,000 – £7,000 per month from long-term rentals – and up to £14,000 a week from peak season holiday rentals.
June, who bought her £4,500,000 winning entry for just £25 – sadly lost her husband of 43 years, Ron, last year when he suffered a heart attack aged 74.
June has three children (Katherine, Wesley and Rory) and six grandchildren, Katherine and Rory live in East Anglia with two children each, and Wesley lives on the Gold Coast of Australia with his wife and two children.
June has lived in her two-bedroom detached house in Essex for the past 17 years. She worked as a bookkeeper before she retired to have children. Ron had worked as an architectural designer all his life.
June said that Ron “would’ve absolutely loved the design of this house” and will be “looking down with an approving smile”.
She said: “My husband died last year, but I’m sure he played a part in this win – he won it for all of us. Ron always wanted us to be financially secure as a family – and this house gives us that security.
“He spent his life working with architecture, he’d have absolutely loved this house – it’s a work of art.
“We used to come for family holidays in Cornwall and stay in a caravan, but now we own a £4.5m mansion – it’s just unbelievable.
“I’ve got six beautiful grandchildren and have now got plenty of room for all of them to come and stay – we’re going to have the best summer holiday ever,
“Having spent some time at the house, I’m definitely going to keep it for a while, whatever I decide to do long term it’s a life changing win for our family.”
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 nearby Fowey and the surrounding Cornish countryside.
As well as making June a multi-millionaire – the Cornwall II House Draw also raised £2.1m for Marie Curie, an end-of-life charity that fights to make sure everyone gets to lead the best life they can, right to the end.
The money raised will help Marie Curie to provide care and support to more people affected by terminal illness. It will go towards funding frontline nursing and hospice care, a free support line and a wealth of information on all aspects of dying, death and bereavement.
