I won a £425,000 dream home in a prize draw and now my family can live mortgage free

Max Fox, 34, beat thousands of other entrants to scoop the prize of a lifetime.

He was in Disneyland when he found out he’d won the three-bedroom bungalow in Poulton-Le-Fylde – and said it’s a ‘dream come true’.

On Friday 3rd November, Max, his husband and their family and friends visited the Poulton bungalow to make a life-changing decision: take the house or the cash alternative of £325,000.

Life-changing prize

He is now ‘ready to embrace a new chapter’ with his family.

He told Blackpool Gazette: “I feel incredibly fortunate and humbled to win a house in the Elite Competitions raffle. It's a dream come true that I never expected, and I can't thank them enough for this life-changing opportunity. It's a reminder that sometimes, unexpected blessings come our way, and I'm excited to see where this journey leads me.”

Mortgage-free home

Max, a creative director, had got on the property ladder just under a year ago, with his husband. Their mortgage was around £1000 a month – something they no longer have to worry about.

"It’s certainly going to be a lot of pressure off us”, said Max.

The prize draw was run by Blackpool-based company, Elite Competitions, who have been operating since 2016.

Family embrace their forever-home

After viewing the property for the first time and discussing it with his family, Max opted to take the house and will shortly be moving from his current house with his husband to the bungalow.

Max said: “I’m not looking to capitalise on this by selling it on or renting it out, I’m looking for this to be my forever home”. Max joins over 70,000 winners since Elite Competitions began in 2016 and he is the first to choose the house over the cash with any of their previous house competitions.

Elite Competitions Founder and Managing Director, Alex Beckett, commented on this, saying: “Not only was this the best financial decision for Max, because he now owns a house mortgage-free, but we’re thrilled that we have helped a genuine couple move into their new home”

The Win A House competition was one of their biggest prizes to date. It was valued by local estate agents at £425,000 and was accompanied by £20,000 worth of new furniture, all for the winner to take with them. The bungalow had also undergone a £100,000+ renovation and refurbishment before appearing on their website.