I scooped an amazing £3m home for just £50 – here’s why I was sure that I’d win
A LUCKY punter who scooped an amazing £3million home for just £50 has said he was so sure he’d win he didn’t renew his parking permit at his old house after going in for the raffle.
Kevin Johnson, 34, landed the luxury pad in Islington after entering the competition.
Kevin paid £50 to enter the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, which managed to raise £2,000,000 for the British Heart Foundation.
And the dad has revealed how he knew he would one day scoop the golden ticket.
Kevin told The Guardian: “The parking permit for my van is running out at our current address, so I said I wasn’t going to replace it until the house had been drawn because I had a feeling I was going to win.”
He was on his way home from work when found out that he had scooped the grand prize.
The dad-of-four said: “When Omaze first called me, I recognised the lady’s voice from the TV adverts, so thought it must be genuine – but I didn’t for one second think we’d won the actual house!
“When the team arrived at my doorstep to tell me the good news – I was so shocked my knees almost gave way!”
“My wife was on her way home from work so I video-called her straight away – she didn’t believe me at first, but when she saw the camera crew the penny finally dropped.
“She screamed and turned her phone around to tell the packed train that we’d just won the Omaze house – all the other commuters started clapping – it was crazy.”
The dad-of-four will also receive £100,000 in cash to help him and his wife Dee, 44, and their four children settle into the four-bedroom Victorian townhouse.
Kevin and Dee have been married for 12 years and have lived in their rented three-bedroom flat in East London since 2011.
He has described the win as “truly life-changing” for the family and says that the couple are still “pinching” themselves.
Kevin has been entering the dream-house competition for about two years and never really thought he would win, but was happy to be giving money to charity.
He added: “My wife’s grandma had heart complications in later life, so we’re really pleased that the draw raised so much money for the British Heart Foundation.”
Apart from looking forward to having more space, the couple, who have been married for almost 13 years, say that very little about their day-to-day lives will change.
They will be staying in their jobs, which they love, and, as the new house is so close to their old one, their children can still go to the same schools.
In the short term, aside from starting their mortgage-free lives, Johnson is excited about kitting out the annexe in the garden but the longer term is packed with freedom and opportunity.
The 3,4000 sq ft Victorian family home comes completely mortgage free with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.
It was the second time the British Heart Foundation has partnered with Omaze, and £2,000,000 raised for the charity, is the biggest single raise by the company to date.