A HOMEOWNER is set to demolish his stunning £5million seaside mansion so he can replace it with two brand new superhomes.
Tom Cullen hopes to double his money on the development which will help meet the increasing demand for waterfront property around exclusive Sandbanks, Dorset.
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He bought Bluff House, a 1980s large detached home with an indoor swimming pool which overlooks Poole Harbour, in 2021.
Since then he has won planning permission to bulldoze it and build two identical, contemporary homes.
The matching mansions will be worth about £5m each – almost doubling the gross development value of the plot.
Bluff House has not been demolished yet but Cullen Homes has approval for the replacement luxury homes, Portsea and Sorrento, which will each boast over 5,000 sq ft.
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The construction phase is due to commence early next year and only Sorrento, which boasts the superior south-westerly views, is available to buy.
But if homebuyers want to be shrewd, they could buy the land now for £3.5m and carry out the build themselves to save £500,000 in stamp duty.
The finished property would be £4.995m, so a buyer would need to pay £510,650 stamp duty if they were buying it as their main home or £660,500 if it was a second home.
If they bought the plot and carried out the anticipated £1.5m build, they would likely only have to pay commercial land stamp duty at about £164,000.
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The site is on Alington Road, just off the Sandbanks peninsula, backing onto the harbour and a short stroll from the award winning sandy beaches.
The new homes have been designed to maximise the panoramic sea views from as many rooms as possible over the three floors and will have five bedrooms each with hi-spec en suites, open plan kitchen/dining/living spaces which connect to outdoor terraces and other entertaining spaces on the lower ground floors such as fitted bars and games rooms.
The houses will also have a study, hidden pro kitchen for catering and underground double garages with hydraulic car lifts.
Mr Cullen said: “The house that is there, Bluff House, is quite famous but the waterside market has done exceptionally well in the last couple of years so we are always looking for anything with a view or direct access to the water.
“It’s amazing that we can justify demolishing houses that are only 40 years old, but with proven resales of £1,000-£1,400 per square foot in this area, we can just about make it work.
“There is a massive demand for new frontline homes with views, the values of everything in the Sandbanks and Lilliput areas are going up – they aren’t making any more coastline.
“This project fits our brand perfectly. The land cost was high, but we’re extremely excited about this project, to mark our ten-year anniversary. We’re going to go all out on spec, design and details.”
