@@eustacemcgoodboy9702 you could live a pretty nice life with 500k in the bank. Now that they've lost everything, they probably, finally, value how good they had it. "Too late" can be a very painful spot to find yourself in 😬
I'm just sitting here with my jaw hanging open every time they say "...and he secured _another_ loan of 500,000 pounds" How is he even still getting these loans?!?!
@@godfreyberry1599 He most probably secured more money from the original lenders, if he finishes the job they "might" get paid, if he doesn't finish they get nowt!?!
The irony is that the Eye, the smaller house, wasn’t bad. Cliffside, view of the sea, a deck, yet cost just a fraction. Live in it or flip it, it would have at least not been as bad a burden.
I liked the Eye house, could have made a bigger pool with side hot-tub, but it looked a lot nicer than the monstrosity he originally planned to build, which the driveway to it didn't need support structures. Well he would fit in well in Dubai building on island made of sand which has to be replenished constantly due to coastal erosion
He was too arrogant and over the moon to see that. The problem is he was obsessed with building the main house and focused on nothing but finding ways to drum up money for it. That's what cost him everything.
My dad renovated our house throughout my entire childhood, never finishing anything and turning our lives into a mess that revolved around his delusion and lack of consideration for his family. Unfortunately my mother never left him. He left her, in the end, for his former secretary with whom it turned out he’d been having an affair for 10 years. So yeah. This story ended better than mine.
oh no that's so sad. I feel like this guy had some respect for his wife but his pride wouldn't let him give up and unfortunately there are consequences for pride as many parables and proverbs have foretold
@@hotmess9640 wow, either you grew up in such a happy home that you can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up in an unhappy one or your upbringing was so dysfunctional that you imagine just having parents (unhappy, abusive or drug addicted no matter) and a roof (even if it’s over a construction site) is more than sufficient.
@@zwatwashdcbro @hotmess9640 has daddy issues or smth that response is absolutely batshit insane. 💀 she’s tryna downplay ur struggles. I’m sorry to hear what u went thru, cheating is inexcusable
The saddest part to me is how clearly they had the money to build a smaller but very stunning home. If they had just decided to build the eye, or maybe a slightly bigger version of it if they wanted more bedrooms, they wouldn’t have a problem. They wanted a $10million home on a $2 million budget. And honestly someone must have lied to them to tell them to could build that that quickly on that budget. Or they lied to themselves.
@@blooter6162 For Thanksgiving and Xmas when the in laws visit , or when you and the wife have a spat and you need some place to sleep for the night . Also the dog/cats need a room .
to be fair, it's not entirely greed that screwed edward. he was told that the house would cost £1.8 million, but it ended up costing £6 million (minus the cost of the eye)
It's heartbreaking. The 1950s house was perfect for the English cliffside. A limewash would've been a lovely way to give it a crisper look without compromising the character of the area, or ruining his poor wife's life. It's not vanity or stubbornness, it's just naked selfishness. The outcome of a selfish person's choices don't have to actually make them happy; they only need to be fixated on always being the one to _make_ the choice, and based only on their own desires and preferences. ETA: I suspect one of the reasons it's not selling is because it's _not_ Ibiza. That style of house is very cold and unwelcoming at the best of times, and building it in that location absolutely never made sense. A large house with a stone facade in the style of Cotswolds cottages, with lots of fireplaces, that felt like a cozy cottage at a lighthouse (despite being large) is what this site needed. Not a generic, LA/Miami new-money mansion.
I live in Portugal and allthough it's sunnyer, I think new homes being build are all the same: white or metallic bulky rectangles or cubes, no respect for country side aesthetics and they all look the same.
Exactly, not only did he wreck his whole life, but he did a disservice to the coastline and the town. No regard for any context whatsoever, a tragedy all around. Even completed, I bet the locals absolutely hate that monstrosity.
What a sad story. I feel particularly bad for the mother and kids. I live in a trailer here in the States, and I'm happy to have it. There are so many people out there struggling with homelessness. I don't need a mansion to feel fortunate. I'm lucky to have a roof over my head.
Yep, I agree. Everytime I see famous people in their mansions with 24 rooms, 39 bathrooms and so on, I always get creeped out. I can't imagine living in a huge place like that even if I had a wife, 2-3 kids and some pets. It just wouldn't feel "home-y" to me.
@@GGLee1010 why not ? it´s not like he´s poor now or living on the streets or even off social benefits. he´s lived a very comfortable live and still does so does his wife and kids while there are millions of people barely scraping buy or even actually homeless.
update as of 02/2024, the price is now 5m and they haven't found a buyer yet. short says that his lenders are being very patient and understanding about paying them back as they know it will take time to find the right buyer.
It's depressing. He spent years, and damaged family relationships, to make a dream house... A house him and his family won't be able to life in. I know people say "Follow your dreams" but sometimes you got to step back and realize that a dream is just a thought, an idea, but your family/friends are real. It's incredible he even finished the house, but now he's relying on a millionaire to buy the two houses. That might take years/decades. It's not a profitable market to get into with mountains of debt on your back.
Why wasn’t he getting a job though? Relying on CD sales? In the year 2015 and beyond ?? 🙄 Many people in their 70’’s still work if the situation is tight . These people kept borrowing loans. That is called living beyond your means 😪!!
@@hellosammy4105 The kids shouldn't get any blame. Did you know anything about the challenges and consequences of building a house as a kid. The guy was a full-grown adult and couldn't foresee all these problems. I'd say yeah, the wife does get a lot of the blame by going through these plans with him, but it's obvious he was the one in charge and kept holding on to the dream instead of making something more realistic. I wouldn't even say the family couldn't "weather the storm when the going gets tough.". I've been involved with house construction work and the plans the family made were not realistic. It was possible, but damn right delusional. I'm surprised he even found people who agreed to help him build it. Instead, I'd say they basically ran straight into a storm in t-shirs and shorts, with no safety equipment or supplies.
I think one thing everything should keep in mind, is that our brains are all different. For example there are those like myself who have more impulsive-tendencies of thinking and behaving. It stems from childhood and growing up, our experiences. For him I feel it was an impulse hence he didnt think it fully through, and when things got bad, well, impulsive thinking isn't the best for that.
As of march 2024 the price is now 5.25 million as it was discovered that the driveway is collapsing and nit structurally sound. Probably the most frustrating episode of grabd designs ever. Someone who had it all and threw it all away
My mother was this guy, my mother demolish our family house because she wanted a bigger one, in the end, we never lived in that house she used all the family savings, it almost destroyed our relationship when she even used my savings without my knowledge or consent and even with that it wasn't enough, we manage to patch things up, but I was one the most horrible phases of my life, I don't know what obsession these people have with houses but at least on my case (and probably this happened as well with this guy and his family) talking with them is futile I know I tried, hope none of you suffer with a family member or romantic partner with this obsession.
My sister is like that. She and her husband don’t have kids, and the last house they lived in, she pulled it to bits to renovate it - and the renovation took 20 years!! As soon as it was finished they sold it, because the project had caused so much ill feeling between them that they couldn’t stand to live in the place any more.
I built my own house-as in with my own hands. From the septic to the framing to the electrical to the finish. I was planning a large home but in the time it took to go from plans to site clearing and leveling(not to mention putting in a mile and a half dirt road) to construction, my 3 kids moved away. So, we decided to scale back and not go a single penny in debt. Since we live in a very isolated, rural part of Arizona, we downsized to 1500 sq ft with several outbuildings. We rarely have guests-and love it. Perfect for a soon to be retired couple. No debt. Off-grid. And we can retire and know we will always have our nice, humble home. Let fools chase money and mansions. I'll take what we have and be grateful.
Grand Designs is a brilliant show. One of my favourite and most tragic episodes has to be the Sewage barge that was meant to be turned into a houseboat. The family doesn’t have much in the way of finances, the husband has over ambitious ideas and the thing turns out to be an unfinished mess with multiple problems with its electric and plumbing. Years later it was tacked down abandoned and vandalised. Moore recently somebody else has purchased it and plans to finish it.
A house near the sea? Hell, that's more than enough for me! That's a dream come true. Don't tear the old one down, remodel, upgrade, and later add on if you like.
The original home from the 1950s looks a lot better than the white monstrosity that took its place! I much prefer old-timey homes that have aesthetic character and historical meaning, rather than soulless McMansions. And don't even get me started on the Eye! That thing is hideous.
Yeah. He bulldozed that nice house, got in debt and ruined his marriage to build the most basic and ugly house ever. The design already looks dated. And no one bought it lol.
I've passed this place a few times, it's pretty scary how high the cliff is and it's right on the edge, I wouldn't want to live in it especially in a storm 😮
Honestly i can understand the guy. Just imagine everything went fine. He would havebeen left with 2 magnificent houses in a great upper class area that would have been worth a fortune. We always look at people that do dangerous risky stuff and succeed as geniuses but when people do these things and fail all of a sudden theyr viewed as idiots. Dont fall for survivorship bias. He gambled high and sadly it didnt work out for him.
I'm working 40 hour weeks just to barely afford rent yet this guy took a beautiful family home, something many people including me could only dream of affording and destroyed it. For what exactly? The funny thing is, someone probably wants to buy it. They're just waiting for the house to go into receivership so they can get it on the cheap.
Will never understand a huge house, give me a little house on a good bit of land with a boat, a side by side, and like a quad. Rather have a bunch of money to have fun then a bunch of money put into a house that functions pretty much the same.
This story is just perplexing and sad. I’ve worked in construction off and on for years (lower level assisting other contractor sort of experience. So far from expert. Take my opinion with a grain of salt) and have had the privilege in helping with some amazing renovations and even a complete ground up remodel that was a work of art. The first thing with those projects you realize is this. The biggest challenge for the lead in the project is managing the expectations of the client. Be it the architectural vision they have or even if it’s the inner workings they want reworked and they don’t understand how comprehensive, time consuming (and costly) the steps are. This guy just sounds like an absolute nightmare. I’m sorry his marriage and relationship with his daughters suffered as a result. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, he has no-one to blame but himself.
I found it odd that he choose to build the property right at the very edge! Wonder if his previous success made him feel invincible and didn't think the obvious risk would ever affect him
So he could have lived that ''simpler life' that they supposedly moved for in a large clifftop house with land, views and the financial security that being able to spend 1.4 million brings but it didn't have an infinity pool or lighthouse. Easy to see why the lack of those essential amenities led him down this path.
anything built cliff side makes me nervous, though I've always wanted a house where the entrance is on the 2nd floor and you have a view of the sea. Oof. The bigger the house the lonelier it gets.
At least he was behind because of digging it into the cliff. So many California houses built on stilts on sand hillsides just to slide off 5 years latter.
Word. Cliffside houses run into so many problems. Weathering due to sea spray, problem with the soil and likelihood of land slips. It looks perfect on paper and laymen jump into it thinking it's going to be a perfect dream house... only for it to be a nightmare to build, or if they buy it complete then it ends up rusty and leaky in a few years. There's also the issue with privacy, with all those massive windows for sea view, you're also in a diorama. There's a reason why so many of the cliffside mcmansions are empty. People too in love with their vision of a dream luxury life, they ignore the reality.
Kevin McCloud is my favorite television presenter...... He is basically the only real building design critic that truly lives his passion...... It really reminds me of The Power of Art
I’ve watched this original grand design episode a while back. Living in a South East Asian country with a very different climate, culture, and styles, the show to me is a welcome escape from my everyday life. Well, not for this episode for sure. It was so sad and such a cautionary tale for all. True, hindsight is always 20/20. But still.. :(
Reminds me of Taj on Swan in Perth, a mansion built by indians on several blocks. The property was never finished, a huge shell left empty for years. The Indians fled Australia never to return. Its now been pulled down and subdivided.
I saw the original episode and also the follow up. It was heartbreaking to see the demise of the family unit and this train wreck of a guy continually say that he'd always wanted to live in a lighthouse since he was a kid. Ego's surely don't come any bigger than this guy's.
If you look on the Right off the House, the Side of the Hill is Slipping into the ocean and with the Weather increasing with Storms and Floods, I wouldn’t be surprised if the House Falls into the Sea.
The original estimated build cost was £1.8 Million with an estimated build time of 18 months. With professional fees of £250,000 you can see there is motivation to downplay the build costs and time, I suspect if he wound time back and rerun the result would be the same but if was aware early on the total cost of the project was going to be £6 Million he would never have started.
I'm personally (an employee) for a General Contractor building a home that is (4) years past the original contract date. It started at $15 million and is currently at a budget of $36 million, 6 years later....we still have at least another year before we are finished with the project.
Sad, but my emotions are split. I was shocked when I saw the family home being demolished in the Grand Design episode. However, the finished lighthouse reveal was breathtaking. The world needs dreamers and visioners, and I can't help wishing that Edward's lighthouse dream had a happy family ending. Blessings!🙏
My father did something like this. He bought land to build three homes in Florida one of which would be a holiday retirement home and he would sell the other two. Long story short the crash of 2009 destroyed property value and the company building them went bankrupt and my dad had paid most of the money. There were three empty shells and he started getting fined for that. Even worse the builder had used a third-party contractor to do the work that was done and under local laws my dad was liable to pay them because the builder didn't. So he'd paid twice and it still wasn't done and now they would be worth half as much when completed due to the property collapse. This had gone on for years already. He then got cancer and died. So we were left to deal with it all. We did get them built and sold them before the properties went up again but still, it was done. A good job as this happened no Fort Myers Beach which was completely destroyed. Every house gone.
This sounds like a modern version of a Greek tragedy. The ultimate sacrifice of your marriage and mental stability, and he doesn't even get to live in the house he paid for at great personal and financial debt. A real pyrrhic victory if I've ever seen one.
Pride on top of ego with a big heaping teaspoon of stupidity gets you disaster. As someone who used to write these types of loans at my bank, I'm shocked that any lender would willingly finance something this over-leveraged.
He could rent it out, it might take some time but a house like that could be used for a lot of things and renting it would be easier than selling it, he could rent it out for music videos or movies, or even for people to live in for a little like summer holidays.
Lmao what a joke. Dude had to pay 250k for surveyors that made him drive pylons into the bedrock only to have the demo of the old house go 6 months over because they ran into slate?😂 every single person dragged his ass for everything they could. Poor guy!
i think its the london price bubble effect here, as living in london all your life gives you a false sense of reality when it comes to prices elsewhere. i always believed live within your means and its served me well
He was possibly the most arrogant person that ever appeared on the show, and that is saying something when you consider some of the participants. I doubt that anyone was shocked by the events. I had no sympathy for him, but it was heartbreaking for his ex-wife. I can't imagine how hurtful it must be to know that you are less important than a house. It must have been unbearable for that knowledge to be in the public domain. A 20-year marriage just thrown away for a house! Tragic. Apparently, the house is still not sold, despite being replaced on the market at £5.25 million. The ex-wife will certainly not be getting any profit because there will be none. It seems that he has either filed for bankruptcy or the lenders have foreclosed because the selling agents are working on behalf of receivers.
As one engineer said - architects always make up some weird shit and give engineers a headache. How about you DON'T build your house even bigger and even further into the sandstone cliff?
I'd be inclined to believe his wife tried to stop him, before eventually gave him an ultimatum of "us or the house" and that was that. The kids were just nervously there for the ride... even if they had a bad feeling, they trusted that their parents knew better. And then once they grew up, it dawned on them it was not the case, and by then they had their own lives to live.
I think they are spectacular houses, but with regard to the Lighthouse, I wouldn’t exactly call it a family home - it’s too clinical looking. Even in Devon British weather is not that reliable, and I would find extensive views of a cold grey sea rather depressing. The original house was not very attractive, but they could have built something nicer on a far more modest scale. It’s sad that the daughters’ final years living with their parents were full of disruption.
The old house was just fine, yet they refused to be happy with what they had. Hell, The Eye was beautiful, they should have just been happy with that! It's hard to feel sorry for them. The only ones I have sympathy for are the kids, who never chose to have such gormless parents.
And today the property is still not sold, listed for 5.25mln pounds. You have to wonder why nobody stopped this guy. A house on a sea-side cliff in England, facing west. The heating bill alone is going to be eye watering, let alone the never-ending winds. Forget opening a window during any time other than the peak of summer, and even then... Why did nobody stop this guy?
He had Ibiza in mind when planning the house and completely forgot (or ignored? Who knows!) the cold! You could tell the wind is strong, as is to be expected, just by standing on the cliff, let alone on top of this tower monstrosity, All the windows mean it will be deadly cold and yes, the heating bill alone must be insane. Deranged project and I too wonder how no one stopped him.
There is a housing crisis in this country. currently 261,000 uninhabitable houses and 4.2 million people in need of housing and yet rich people pull down perfectly usable houses and spend 7 million (enough to fix around 150 of those uninhabitable houses) to build a large empty messes.
@@miracles-f2o councils haven't 'pulled down' anything. If they hadn't kicked everyone out creating a huge homeless issue for promised regeneration that never happened and then let perfectly fine houses stand empty and rot for decades then they wouldn't need thousand spent on them.
I followed this build from the initial episode but never knew it had finally been completed! Seems way too big for a family home! Why would anyone need such a big home for 4 people!
For anyone in the UK, or at all interested... I'll just remind you / introduce you to: TOO MANY TV CHANNELS | Peter Kay: The Tour That Doesn't Tour Tour...Now On Tour < Just RU-vid that, he opens with an impression of Grand Designs / Kevin McCloud - the rest is just epic. So funny
The moment I heard at 02:11 "the couple decided to put their entire life saving into..." I realized these people acquired their wealth by luck and had no idea what they are doing.
Hard to sell a house for that price with that much customization. It was his vision, unfortunately, not everyones. People know he is desperate because of all the media coverage so most likely they will take advantage of this and lowball him.
Bittersweet ending. Yes, it cost him his marriage and his kids never enjoyed the house as children, but he and his ex are on good terms, kids (now grown women) look happy, he and his wife both found love again, AND he got to see his dream house come to life. Judging by the photos, his daughters are enjoying the houses. I wonder if he's considered renting/AirBNBing them out, enough to pay his debts, and leaving the houses to his daughters after he passes.
Sad story. The old house was an ideal platform for developing and building a unique bespoke house. He could have been on Amazing Spaces with George Clark instead!
