High-Stakes Home Battle: Fashion Director vs. Barrister

0:00On March 27, a former fashion director is locked in a high-core battle with a barrister who bought her 5.5 million-pound nodding hill. Home for 5.5 million pounds last December. Thomas Grayson Ford and his wife claimed the six-story property on Westbourne Grove was riddled with hidden problems like basement flooding and a mouse. Infestation that Paula Reed failed to disclose. Right after moving in, the couple says heavy rain caused puddles in the basement just a month later around January 5, 2025. They also found dead and live mice, droppings everywhere, rodent traps and a leaky kitchen roof, despite promises the seven-bedroom house was fully renovated and ready to live in. Reed, a 64-year-old ex-Harvey Nichols boss now living in a country vicarage in Cornwall, insists she knew nothing about these issues. The house had been rented out since 2020 with no tenant complaints and she points out that damp absorbers were visible during viewings. She blames a possible kitchen leak on the buyers removing a custom green roof of ferns and ivy

1:04designed by her architect ex-husband. In a recent pretrial hearing, the judge ordered an expert surveyor to inspect the property and report on its condition at the time of sale, focusing. On any signs of prior flooding, both sides accuse each other of misrepresentations during the sale process. The case highlights the risks and high-end property deals in trendy spots like Portobello Market, and it heads toward a full trial unless they settle.