One of Britain’s BEST homes that just won’t sell… due to one HUGE catch: Owners fail to flog award-winning £1.8M mansion despite cutting price and selling raffle tickets
- EXCLUSIVE: Award-winning property on sale for half original £3.6M price due to surrounding industrial estate
- Home at Tindale Crescent, County Durham, is in middle of an expanding estate, gas works and concrete plant
Who wouldn’t want a house like this?
This award-winning art deco mansion is on sale for £1.8million – half its original £3.6million asking price – but the owners just can’t sell it. They even tried raffling it at £25 a ticket. But that still didn’t work.
Gleaming Tindale Towers dominates the skyline with its dramatic sweeping curves and turrets inspired by the grand homes of sun-kissed Mediterranean resorts.
The luxury four-storey property, with each floor linked by a stunning spiral staircase, boasts four en-suite bedrooms, an indoor pool and jacuzzi, a bar room and terrace – it would surely be a dream home for any family?
But there is something the glossy pictures on RightMove don’t tell you…
The sellers description reads: The description continues: ‘This four-story building has been constructed with both luxury and the environment in mind and a blend of imagination and inventiveness coupled with a desire to leave a lasting legacy’
‘All four floors in this simply outstanding residence are accessed via the lift or the impressive spiral staircase with glazed panelling flooded with natural lighting from the glazed dome ceiling above,’ the listing reads
The open plan kitchen/dining room of the property has huge windows which open onto a balcony
On the terrace, single father of four Dave Gormally catches the early afternoon sunshine by reclining in a deckchair on the street in front of his rented two up two down
The kitchen has a large horseshoe-shaped countertop and is complete with a stylish designer oven
The basement floor comes equipped with its own a fully fitted bar with cellar so you can bring the party to you!
The basement level features a health suite including a heated swimming pool with adjoining Jacuzzi, steam room, poolside shower and changing rooms
MailOnline discovered its opulence isn’t quite matched by its surroundings with locals dubious that the house will achieve even the new £1.8m asking price.
At first glance that seems a bargain because when it first entered the market in 2011 it had a cool £3.6m price tag.
That initial estimate has slowly come down, but still the house at Tindale Crescent, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, wouldn’t budge.
Owners Mike and Jules Keen, who own a furniture business, resorted to raffling it off in 2021 with tickets on sale for £25 a time.
But even that didn’t work because they couldn’t sell enough tickets, prompting the question: why does no one want to purchase a property that once appeared on Channel 5’s ‘I Own Britain’s Best Home.’
It’s currently on the market with Tyron Ash Real Estate of Mayfair, who describe it as ‘a family residence built without thought to cost’
The answer might lie in the incongruous location where Mike and Jules built their remarkable home almost 20 years ago.
The couple are currently in discussion with the local council in the hope the surrounding streets can be tidied up – but there’s much work to be done.
Mike built Tindale Towers on the site of the couple’s former cottage after acquiring some neighbouring land, but while his dream home was becoming a reality, the industrial estate around it was also expanding.
Now Mike and Jules are neighbours with the Breedon cement plant and a logging and landscape company which is sometimes mistaken for a scrapyard.
In front of their property is a row of modest terraced houses which are now mostly privately rented for as little as £350 per month.
The Dilks Street properties couldn’t provide a starker contrast from the illustrious neighbour which looms above them.
In the alley backing onto Tindale Towers is an abandoned shopping trolley containing soggy cardboard boxes and a fly-tipped mattress.
An award-winning art deco mansion is now on sale for half its original £3.6million asking price – to anyone who doesn’t mind living next to a gas works and concrete plant
Mike built Tindale Towers on the site of the couple’s former cottage after acquiring some neighbouring land, but while his dream home was becoming a reality, the industrial estate around it was also expanding
Since the house was built, the industrial estate next to it has expanded, and is making it impossible to sell
In front of their property is a row of modest terraced houses which are now mostly privately rented for as little as £350 per month
In the alley backing onto Tindale Towers is an abandoned shopping trolley containing soggy cardboard boxes and a fly-tipped mattress
A little further along is another weed-choked alleyway where someone has built a fire using empty beer cans.
On the terrace itself, single father of four Dave Gormally catches the early afternoon sunshine by reclining in a deckchair on the street in front of his rented two up two down.
A painter and decorator by trade, Dave is currently out of work but housing benefit covers the modest £350-per-month rent for him and his lads, aged 16-22.
Sporting a Man Utd away shirt, Dave, 45, squints up at Tindale Towers and says: ‘I never imagined I’d live next to a mansion, but here I am.
‘The place is totally amazing and the rest of the area doesn’t quite live up to it. But that doesn’t mean we don’t make our places nice.’
To emphasise his point he shows off his living room, which he’s decorated as a shrine to the great Manchester bands of the past. There’s a Stone Roses mural and Joy Division album covers in frames line the staircase.
‘I hope they sell it,’ adds Dave, ‘It’s quite a bargain and the area is nice and friendly even if it’s the only massive house around here.’
The Keens’ home backs onto Roman Way industrial estate, home of Breedon and a cluster of other businesses.
Sporting a Man Utd away shirt, Dave, 45, squints up at Tindale Towers and says: ‘I never imagined I’d live next to a mansion, but here I am’
Industrial companies have be built near to the mansion, including radiator specialists and car sales lots
Directly behind Tindale Towers is a logging and landscape company whose immediate purpose isn’t completely clear even to other residents of Roman Way.
‘People think it’s a scrapyard,’ said one local. ‘You can see why because it looks a mess, there’s a massive pile of smashed pallets heaped up there which must be a nice view for the couple in the big house.
‘It’s actually a logging and landscape company but nobody is really clear what that means in practice.’
A brown leather mattress has been fly-tipped against the back wall of the mansion, prompting a shake of the head from Shaun O’Sullivan, 45, of SOS Landscapes, one of Roman Way’s tenants.
Gleaming Tindale Towers dominates the skyline with its dramatic sweeping curves and turrets inspired by the grand homes of sun-kissed Mediterranean resorts
Tindale Towers has a large utility room with seperate washers and dryers
On the first floor, the house has four luxury bedroom suites all with balconies, bespoke bathrooms, and dressing rooms
One of the bespoke dressing rooms connected to a bedroom at Tindale Towers where you can store your fashion collection
He said: ‘The place is a bit of a mess in parts, but it is just an ordinary industrial estate like you’d see anywhere.
‘The only difference here is that a massive mansion has been built right next to it. If you took that place and put it in France or Spain
it would be worth 10 times as much, it just isn’t selling because it’s right here.
‘I bought a ticket when they put it up for raffle, it was well worth a £25 shot, but sadly it didn’t come off.
READ MORE: Just the ticket! £5M Art Deco mansion that featured on Ch4’s ‘I Own Britain’s Best Home’ is the latest dream property to be raffled – with entries £25 each
‘I hope they do manage to sell it though because they seem like nice people.’
Sarah Iveson, 40, bought The Kabin sandwich bar in November last year, serving £6.50 smash burgers and £4 bacon butties to workers from the industrial estate.
She said: ‘It’s a shame they haven’t been able to find a buyer for their house because it’s absolutely amazing.
‘It’s huge and I’ve heard that it’s really beautiful inside and has won all kinds of awards.
‘But I had to wonder why they built it here. It’s next to the cement works and across the road from a Brewer’s Fare, it’s just not all that glamorous.’
Mrs Keen admitted there had been problems, rushing out to meet MailOnline’s reporter through her home’s electric gates.
‘I was hoping you were from the council,’ she said. ‘We’ve been having all sorts of problems with litter and rubbish and have been asked for a tidy up.’
She admitted the state of the neighbouring streets didn’t help the house to fly off the property market.
She said: ‘We’ve been wanting to sell for a while, even more so now that our family are grown up and moved on, it’s too big for us.
‘A couple of years ago we decided on holding the raffle but unfortunately we didn’t sell enough tickets to raise what we were looking for.
‘It meant that the raffle became a cash prize and it was won by someone in the United States, but the house stayed with us of course.
‘It’s gone back up for offers over £1.8m and we’re hoping someone will come along and snap it up.’
Once through the front gate there’s a lot to love in the house which has won awards for both design and sustainability.
It’s currently on the market with Tyron Ash Real Estate of Mayfair, who describe it as ‘a family residence built without thought to cost.’
A brown leather mattress has been fly-tipped against the back wall of the mansion, prompting a shake of the head from Shaun O’Sullivan, 45, of SOS Landscapes, one of Roman Way’s tenants
The description continues: ‘This four-story building has been constructed with both luxury and the environment in mind and a blend of imagination and inventiveness coupled with a desire to leave a lasting legacy.
‘All four floors in this simply outstanding residence are accessed via the lift or the impressive spiral staircase with glazed panelling flooded with natural lighting from the glazed dome ceiling above.
‘The house is set back behind electric gates, in a private position, which leads to a spacious parking area and a 3 double car garage. Off a carriage driveway which is a clear statement that Tindale Towers is a unique residence.
‘The calming atmosphere with Jerusalem stone tiled flooring throughout and exceptional natural lighting creates a sentiment more normally associated with luxurious villas abroad. The six-car garage has ample parking with Mediterranean-style gardens.’
On the first floor, the house has four luxury bedroom suites all with balconies, bespoke bathrooms, and dressing rooms.
The master suite on the top floor of the property comes with its own en-suite bathroom, study and cinema.
All the bathrooms are fully tiled and have shower sections with fitted sun showers and self-tanning UV panels
The second floor houses the penthouse master suite with large open-air deck leading off the galleried landing along with access to the lift and separate study room.
The master suite itself has a private balcony, a living area and cinema screen with projector, walk-in wardrobes and dressing room and an en-suite with large circular bath, twin washbasins and sun shower section with UV panels.
The basement level features a health suite including a heated swimming pool with adjoining Jacuzzi, steam room, poolside shower and changing rooms, a fully fitted bar with cellar, dance floor, air filtration system, cinema screen and doors which open onto the gardens.
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