Katie Price’s original ‘Mucky Mansion’ is being transformed into a plush superhome after its new owner rescued the ‘cursed’ property.
The former model, 47, was forced to sell her run-down West Sussex home in January last year for a knock-down price of £1.15million after failing to keep up with mortgage payments.
Katie planned to overhaul the nine-bedroom property as part of a TV makeover series but financial restrictions put paid to much needed major renovations.
After being booted out of their pad, the house was repossessed by her creditors who eventually found a buyer in furniture tycoon James Mercer, who ‘fell in the love’ with the property – despite its dilapidated state.
And new pictures obtained by The Daily Mail show just how passionate the 63-year-old is about restoring the faux-Tudor house to its former glory.
Renovations are still very much on-going with scaffolding clearly evident around the back of the property and its adjoining outhouse.
But with its new roof, door, windows and exterior walls, the house is well on its way to its complete transformation.
A neighbour said: ‘There’s no way the house can be called the Mucky Mansion now, it looked totally different.
TRANSFORMED: an aerial picture shows the enormous amount of work being put into Katie’s former home by its new ownerÂ
BEFORE: The former glamour model’s house was pictured in a dilapidated state in January this year
James Mercer, 62, (pictured) a furniture tycoon and divorced father-of-two, paid £1.15million for Katie Price’s run-down West Sussex ‘Mucky Mansion’
‘The new owners had their work cut out as it was in such a state. They would have been tempted to knock it down and start again.Â
‘But they clearly know what they’re doing and when it’s finished, the house is going to look exceptional.’Â
Mr Mercer, originally from Northern Ireland, co-owns the house with his longtime partner Leike Qu.Â
The father of two was previously married to ex-wife Susan Mercer, who remains in Northern Ireland.Â
Having spent over £1m on the freehold, they had extra finance in place to oversee repairs, as well as bankrolling the internal and external makeover.
He snapped up the home for less than what Katie was hoping to sell for – £1.35million – because of how dilapidated the property was.
There were also concerns that the land could be contaminated by waste left on the premises by Katie before she was kicked out of the house.
Contract cleaners were brought in to clear away piles of rubbish and spruce up the property before it was put on the market by local estate agents HJ Burt.
Katie was forced to sell her run-down West Sussex home after failing to keep up with mortgage paymentsÂ
She had previously hoped to overhaul the nine-bed as part of a TV makeover series but financial restrictions meant her hopes never came to fruition
Katie has insisted the home was jinxed following years of dramatic episodes, including break-ins, numerous pets dying, and even reports of ‘seeing ghosts’
But the star did not see a penny of the money that Mr Mercer paid for it as it was swallowed up by the debts she previously ran up against the Sussex home, which the ex-Loose Women star purchased for £2million in 2014 from Tory peer Francis Maude.
After leaving, Katie claimed the home, which she lived in for a decade, was ‘hell’ and left her battling anxiety and overcome by panic attacks, which forced her into therapy.
She warned the new owners: ‘I hate that house. Whoever buys it, I warn them, they will get bad luck there.’Â
She continued: ‘It is absolutely cursed. My anxiety got worse with that house. There was a point when I couldn’t even walk up the driveway without having a panic attack.
‘I had therapy about the house. I should never have gone back there. Now I’m out of it, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.’
Katie also believed the property was haunted by the spirit of a small child, while a number of her pets died in the property. She also experienced reported break-ins.
Katie’s former home is made up of three reception rooms, nine bedrooms and four bath/shower rooms spread over three floors plus a one-bedroom annexe. It is set in expansive grounds which also have stables.
Katie briefly moved to a £5,000-a-month Tudor-style before finding a new home a stone’s throw from the ‘Mucky Mansion’ in a nearby village, which is costing her £4,500-a-month in rent.
Mounds of rubbish is piled up outside the property in a video that was posted onto Katie’s YouTube channel in 2019
The swimming pool, as seen in a video in 2019, that Katie fenced off. She described it as ‘looking a bit better than a swamp’
However, The Daily Mail revealed this week Katie is already sparking fears among local residents she’s turning her new property into a new ‘Mucky Mansion’ after aerial pictures showed bin bags, debris and junk strewn around the outside and dumped at the rear of the property.
On Friday, we told how the reality star has cleared up the mess over fears her landlords may boot her out if she turns the converted barn into another eyesore.
A source said: ‘Katie should be careful as the owners won’t stand for any mess.
‘She does not own this property so she needs to ensure it’s kept up to standard.
‘People living here are concerned leaving piles of rubbish outside the house may attract rats and therefore that becomes an issue for surrounding properties.
‘Katie can’t treat the exterior land like some sort of dumping ground.’
Last week the Daily Mail revealed Katie had split from boyfriend JJ Slater after almost two years together.
She ended the romance after realising she didn’t see a future with the former reality star, 14 years her junior.
The home, pictured in May last year, featured mounds of rubbish, a discarded horse box and Katie’s now-legendary pink Range Rover
An aerial view of the swimming pool filled with grimy water – pictured in August 2018
Rubbish is seen piled up in the house while Katie was carrying out renovation workÂ
Another Mucky Mansion shot during the Channel 4 documentary showed the shocking state of a toilet
A hole in the ceiling of the kitchen as seen in Katie Price’s Mucky Mansion documentaryÂ
Some discarded children’s play equipment sits among cables and metal fences in the garden during Katie’s renovation project
Katie’s home became so infamous it became the subject of a documentary chronicling her attempts to overhaul the mess
Insiders say cracks in their relationship had become ‘too obvious to ignore’ in recent months, despite Katie insisting they were going strong.
The mother-of-five has now accepted their romance has run its course, and JJ, 32, will not become husband number four.
They began dating in February 2024, after JJ rose to fame on E4’s Married at First Sight UK.
On Wednesday, she broke her silence on the split by posting a series of cryptic poems and quotes about soulmates and relationships on her Instagram Stories.
The first, from Mike Poetry read: ‘They say falling in love takes time. But it’s not true. Falling in love only takes the right person – the one who knows exactly what you need, without having to ask.’
Another post was about recognising your soulmate and the ‘divine’ signs a person will notice when they meet them.
‘Finally, Katie shared another quote which read: ‘My mum always says when you meet the male version of yourself is when you meet the love of your life.’
