Couple who won dream house say they are living in a ‘nightmare’

Kevin and Andrea Griffin say they are living in a “nightmare” as they await urgent repairs on a “dream home” they won from Adrian Portelli's business.

A couple say they are living in a “nightmare” after winning a $4.2 million house and then moaning about its defects in a leaked video.

Melbourne businessman Adrian Portelli reportedly purchased the Gisborne home – 45 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD – in November last year after it featured on The Block.

He later announced to his followers he would be raffling off the home through his company LMCT+, with couple Kevin and Andrea Griffin ultimately becoming the lucky winners.

However, the situation quickly soured after the couple accused Mr Portelli of removing $100,000 worth of items from the fully furnished property.

Couple Kevin and Andrea Griffin won a $4m Gisborne property through Lambo man, Adrian Portelli's business LMCTplus. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mr Portelli – also known as ‘Lambo guy’ – hit back at these accusations, insisting the items that were removed from the house were not included in the terms and conditions of the prize.

He then released footage of the Griffins apparently moaning about the state of their new home.

The Griffins have now defended themselves, saying they are not ungrateful.

“We are anything but ungrateful and we’ve said that all along. We even pull up at the gate now and look up and go, ‘Wow, that’s our house’. Like, we own that house. We are just so thankful that the dice rolled our way,” Mrs Griffin told Daily Mail Australia.

The couple claim that after moving in that the home had a number of issues which would be expensive to fix.

The couple discovered CCTV footage from their new home showing Portelli and his crew allegedly cleaning out more than $100K worth of goods and appliances from the home before they arrived to take possession. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mr Griffin, a plasterer, had recently been forced to sell his business and the couple are reliant on cash from the sale of their old home and Mrs Griffin’s part time job.

“It’s just been an absolute nightmare,” Mrs Griffin said.

The couple are now in negotiations with builders from The Block over urgent repairs to the property.

The couple claim they were unfairly represented in Portelli’s video of them as they allege he asked them to take notes of anything that needed fixing.

Lambo guy Adrian Portelli is seen on CCTV inspecting and removing a meat smoker from a house, renovated by Sharon and Ankur on last year's season of The Block. Picture: supplied

“He told me I’d have to go through and pick everything that is wrong with the house so, ‘What, I’ve gotta go through and pick s*** out of it?’ - and that’s the comment he’s used to make me to look like some ungrateful person,” Mr Griffin said.

The couple also claim that Portelli told them: “I’m glad you took the house because I thought I was going to be stuck with the thing.”

Adrian Portelli on the set of The Block 2023. Picture: Instagram / @adrian_portelli

Portelli said the issues highlighted by the Griffins should be resolved through “appropriate legal channels”.

“We are confident in the evidence at hand, and are fully prepared for the courts to review all aspects of this matter in totality if the Griffins bring any civil action which their lawyers have previously threatened but now seem to be ventilating their issues via the media instead,” a spokesman for Portelli said.

“The terms and conditions governing each competition hosted on our client’s website are clearly displayed for all participants, ensuring transparency and a mutual understanding of the rules and expectations involved.

“Furniture is clearly not included.”