Set For Life millionaires struggle to get a loan
Lotto winnings seen as ‘gambling’
A LOTTO couple struggled to get a mortgage despite winning £10,000 a month for the next 30 years.
Laura Hoyle and Kirk Stevens say lenders give them a wide berth because their guaranteed income is considered to be gambling winnings.
Laura, 40, said:“I have only found a couple that will actually touch me, they will not mortgage a gambler.”
Just over a year ago,
Kirk, 38, and Laura, from Nottingham, bagged the top prize in the Set For Life game by matching all five main numbers plus the Life Ball.
But the frugal couple haven’t let it change them.
They’re still living in the same house – in fact,
Laura explained: “We have actually got more stingy.
“I haven’t gone for anything more upmarket since winning.
“For me, I look at something, and if it’s a thousand pounds I think ‘no way, I’m not buying that’.”
The biggest change has been to
Laura’s mental health, now she’s ditched a job that had her coming home in floods of tears every day.
“Before, we were eating a lot of convenient stuff and takeaways, when I was working 14-hour days,” she said. “Now I refuse to do that.”
And Kirk added: “We’ve cut everything out. We do tend to buy a lot of bulk. Why go to a supermarket and get 16 loo rolls when you can go on Amazon and get 56 for the same price?”
Now Laura and Kirk are devoting themselves to their passion of paranormal investigations.
Each weekend, the couple visit a spooky location, such as the National Justice Museum in Nottingham, and set up six cameras in the hope of spotting something spooky.
“Everything has been going into savings,” Laura said of their winnings.
The biggest purchase was a Porsche Cayenne, which they’ve since swapped for a Fiat Spyder for the summer.
Only a couple will touch me, they won’t mortgage a gambler
LAURA HOYLE ON HER MORTGAGE STRUGGLES