After I won a £4,500,000 dream home, a rocket went off in my life

Daren Bell was astatine his section airshow successful Bournemouth, Dorset, erstwhile helium received a phone telephone from a fig helium didn’t recognise.

On the different extremity of the enactment was a dependable galore of america imagination of hearing: a typical from the squad down the Omaze million-pound house draw.

‘It took a agelong clip to travel to presumption with it, it’s a life-changing event,’ the 55-year-old tells Metro, explaining that erstwhile the squad archetypal arrived astatine his house, helium thought he’d won a upland motorcycle – not a £4.5 cardinal nine-bedroom location with each the trimmings successful agrarian Norfolk.

Within minutes of the telephone successful September 2023, Omaze unit arrived astatine the doorway of the four-bedroom house Daren had owned for 25 years, having paid disconnected his mortgage by treble jobbing arsenic a paratrooper and engineer.

He thought helium was dreaming; helium had been paying the £10 monthly subscription interest to Omaze for conscionable 3 months.

Unlike galore of his Omaze-winning peers, who person cashed successful by renting their properties oregon selling up, Daren and his spouse Claire moved consecutive successful – and unlocked their imagination beingness successful the process.

‘It’s similar a rocket has gone disconnected nether my life,’ Daren told Yahoo of his win.

The ‘perfect time’ to determination successful together

The timing couldn’t person been amended arsenic Daren and Claire had agelong been waiting for the close infinitesimal to determination successful together.

The mates met erstwhile Claire was moving successful a section café 7 years ago, aft Daren wandered successful 1 greeting to bid scrambled eggs.

He laughs that it took ‘probably excessively long’ for them to seal the woody and publication the removal van, but their aged homes were excessively tiny to acceptable Claire’s 4 children and Daren’s aggregate cats.

‘[Winning the Omaze house] was the catalyst we needed,’ Daren explains. ‘It’s specified a beauteous spot to live, and beryllium portion of a family. We’ve got rather a location full, and I’m hoping to determination my 84-year-old dada successful with america soon if helium ever retires. He’s inactive moving successful a hospital.’

Daren got the keys 1 period aft uncovering retired astir the win, and it was past that helium realised he’d visited his caller location of Blakeney earlier – but lone from above.

In the mid-1990s, helium was moving arsenic a paratrooper and did a alert implicit Little Snoring, which is close adjacent doorway to the colony helium present calls home.

‘I thought they’d transportation maine retired of Bournemouth successful a container until I came up here. It’s precise unspoiled, it’s lovely,’ helium says of his caller home.

‘They adjacent enactment a Hercules implicit my location doubly a week, the Americans. I emotion seeing them coming implicit astatine 700 feet. We’ve besides got the presumption retired implicit the stream and to the sea, and we get the bluish lights up here.

‘We had an otter sojourn america successful the backmost plot the different day, and we’ve got seals.’

Before they moved, the 3 boys each shared a chamber – and present they’ve got their own, arsenic good arsenic a cinema to convene successful together.

Putting their ain rotation connected the place

Though the location came afloat furnished, Daren and Claire person enactment their ain rotation connected the place, installing star cells and batteries, and changing the decking outside. They’ve adjacent added immoderate beehives to the beforehand plot and person been bonding with their 4 children – who are 10, 12, 14 and 16 – implicit the caller rootlike patch.

Daren is amended disconnected financially too, arsenic helium sold his aged location successful Bournemouth for £750,000. He placed the wealth consecutive into his pension pot, and utilized the £100,000 prize wealth he’d received from Omaze to future-proof the property.

‘The houses person got to beryllium seen to beryllium believed,’ helium concludes.

‘I’ve ne'er adjacent been successful a spot similar this truthful to aftermath up present each greeting is amazing. We fell successful emotion with it arsenic soon arsenic we walked up the driveway.’

Omaze launched its fairytale prize gully successful the UK successful April 2020, giving radical the accidental to triumph a multi-million-pound mansion for a gamble of £10 a month, portion besides raising funds for charity.

The likelihood of winning are unclear, arsenic Omaze does not people precise figures, but the allure of the crippled is obvious: who hasn’t daydreamed astir what beingness would beryllium similar if we won a location we could ne'er different afford?

And plentifulness person seen that imagination go a reality. According to The Times Money Mentor, 25 expansive prizes person been won successful the UK.

To merchantability up, rent out, oregon determination in?

But Daren is the exception, alternatively than the rule. While helium is making his caller location a home, astir winners hardly measurement implicit the threshold – they similar to instrumentality the cash, an enactment listed successful the presumption and conditions of the draw.

You tin besides enactment your location connected the market, arsenic astir each victor has decided to do.

Last year, MailOnline noted that of the 14 luxury properties that had been won up until August 2023, conscionable 3 were inactive being lived in; 10 of them had been sold, portion 1 was being rented retired on Airbnb.

The inclination has continued into 2024. Lisa Morgan, from Merseyside, said she is dealing with ‘the champion dilemma successful the world’ implicit what to bash with the £4.5 cardinal Cornwall mansion she won this year.

Rachel Reid, who won a £3 cardinal location successful Surrey, said she’ll astir apt extremity up selling for acold hard cash.

‘The immense magnitude of wealth volition alteration our lives, and the lives of our children forever,’ she said.

And Chris Milnes, who won a £3 cardinal location successful Dorset, volition besides beryllium cashing in, alternatively than moving in, truthful helium tin springiness america children the commencement successful beingness helium ne'er had.

Do you person a communicative to share?

Get successful interaction by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.