GRAND Designs' most 'bizarre' house ever has left fans raging - as a pensioner builds a £600k replica of her own house.
In the latest episode of the property show 82-year-old Kathryn decided to build a 21st-century mirror image of her Edwardian home with a budget of £607,000 but she soon run into trouble.
The episode centred around Kathryn, who decided to move out of her home in North London following the death of her late husband.
Speaking to host Kevin McCloud, she said that she could no longer look after her home and that she couldn’t cope due to the stairs.
With the help of her son Gordon, Kathryn explained that she wanted to build a mirror image of her house right next door.
Fans of the show couldn't understand the widow's decision and slammed her decision as ridiculous.
Grand Designs
"That was one ridiculous, overpriced, unnecessary, rip off builds I've seen in the history of this show.
"There's skullduggery at play here, isn't there Gordon?!" said one viewer.
Another added: "Omg 900k, would love to know the value now?
"Surely they could have updated the original, made the side a plot of land to sell to help with the costs #GrandDesigns."
A third stated: "Nah that exterior is awful good lord. 900k??? Could have just fired a stair lift in her old place."
While another fan added: "Oh dear, overpriced disaster imo. Should have just moved. All that money and already owned the land!"
During the show it was revealed that Kathryn had gone over budget by 100k due to a series of misfortunes out of her control.
Presenter Kevin described it as "dire" financially but worse was still to come.
As she was given a £19,000 bill for road cables to connect the house to electricity, and a dumbfounded Kevin was astonished.
The vast increase in costs caused fans to comment further as they couldn't believe how much she had spent.
Can You Gift Property to your Children?
The experts at Thomas Bradley & Co put together a guide on parents gifting property to children...
Yes, if you own your home and do not have an outstanding mortgage - you can gift the house to your children.
The most common way to gift your home is known by a Transfer for Nil Consideration, popularly known as a Deed of Gift.
When you gift your property, you will also reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax (IHT) you need to pay.
However, before you start planning for this you must meet the four conditions that allow you to successfully gift property to your child.
- Be of sound mind and not acting under pressure.
- Be listed as the owner with the HM Land Registry.
- Have no outstanding mortgage on the property. If you do have an outstanding mortgage, you can transfer equity instead.
- Ensure that there is no charge secured against the property.
You can stay in the property once you have gifted it to your children. However, you must:
- Pay rent at the same rate as similar local rental properties.
- Pay bills.
If you remain in the property rent free after ownership has been transferred, the property will not be exempt from Inheritance Tax (IHT).
"Has she not heard of a stannah stair lift, what a waste of money" exclaimed a viewer.
"900k! And couldn't even put a stairlift in! What a waste, should have saved the stress and bought a adapted bungalow.
"And it looks like a 1950s community centre" slated another.
One fan went as far as saying: "£900k for a three bed semi? Someone's taking the p**s."
At the end of the episode Kathryn expressed her excitement about welcoming her family to her new home for Christmas.
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She also said that her old home was sold within a few hours and Kevin replied: "What a lovely outcome!"
Grand Designs airs on Channel 4 and is available to stream on their platform.