We all know that self-build and renovation projects come with plenty of obstacles, but for some unlucky homeowners, unforeseen circumstances can lead to major construction disasters. Located around the world, these bold buildings all faced their fair share of difficulties. From a Georgian townhouse that dramatically collapsed, to a mansion bigger than Buckingham Palace that has sat unfinished for almost 40 years, these might just be the world's most challenging residential projects. Click or scroll on for more...

You'd be forgiven for thinking that any home built by Jordanian-American real estate developer Mohamed Hadid would be an immense success, yet his enormous mega-mansion in Bel Air has been anything but. When Hadid bought the site in 2011, he apparently had the intention of creating a 14,000-square-foot property, but by 2014 the scheme had somehow grown significantly into a 70-foot tall, six-storey building – all without the necessary paperwork in place... 

In 2014, the authorities in Los Angeles revoked Hadid's building permits after they discovered a series of unapproved additions, such as an extra floor underneath the basement and an unauthorised secondary swimming pool. Yet building work on the mega-mansion purportedly continued, despite being legally halted. In fact, the house should have been demolished as soon as the permits were revoked.

In 2017, the multi-millionaire –  father to models Gigi and Bella Hadid – was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for criminal charges related to illegal construction. Then in 2018, several of Hadid's neighbours brought a lawsuit against him after fears that the hillside home could collapse and cause a landslide. After years of legal battles, the suit was finally resolved in September 2021, when a judge awarded Hadid's neighbours, Joe and Bibi Horacek and John and Judy Bedrosian, a total of $2.9 million (£2.1m) in compensation. 

While this might sound like a loss for Hadid, the amount was a fraction of the $26 million (£18.7m) the neighbours were seeking to claim. Hadid's lawyer, Christopher Pitet, told the Daily Mail: "This is a major victory. We could not be more pleased with the jury's verdict." Despite this win, Hadid has still been ordered to demolish the mansion. In January 2021, he placed it on the market for just $8.5 million (£6.1m), on the condition that it would be bulldozed upon the completion of the sale.

The high-end development was later reduced to $8 million (£5.7m), but will now be auctioned off with no reserve, which means the sale will go through, regardless of price. Those interested in the controversial crib can submit a sealed bid between 20th September and 27th September 2021, giving one lucky developer the chance to get their hands on an absolute bargain. Bidders must put down a 3% deposit and show proof of funds, according to Forbes. 

The news of the auction comes in the wake of another of Hadid’s developments hitting the market. The $250 million (£180m) estate is said to be the largest compound ever permitted in Los Angeles County. According to the listing agent, Rodrigo Iglesias, the estate is currently under construction and will boast a main house plus guest house totalling nearly 80,000 square feet. Its lavish extras will include indoor and outdoor swimming pools, multiple car galleries, a bowling alley, theatre and spa.

This striking castle may look like it belongs in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, but it's actually located in the Kinta District of Perak in Malaysia. However, the beautiful stately home hides a dark and tragic secret. In the early 20th century, 21-year-old Scotsman William Kellie Smith moved to Malaysia, known then as British Malaya, to seek his fortune. William soon met his wife Agnes and the couple started a family, so William decided to build a house in Perak.

The owner of a rubber plantation, William wanted the property to be the biggest in the country, with a six-storey tower, an indoor tennis court and Malaya’s very first elevator. Blending Roman, Moorish and Indo-Saracenic Revival styles, 70 workers began constructing the unusual house, importing brick and marble from India and luxury tiles from Italy. Yet before the work could be finished, William caught pneumonia and died during a trip to Lisbon in 1926 to collect the home's much-anticipated elevator.

In a state of grief, Agnes couldn’t face completing the property and moved back to Scotland. The estate was sold to a coffee trading firm, who used the land but left the unfinished castle abandoned for decades. Today, the derelict building is open to visitors and remains shrouded in mystery. During the initial construction of the property, several workers are said to have died of Spanish flu and many believe that their spirits still haunt Kellie’s Castle to this day.

You may recognise this quirky eco house from TV's Grand Designs. Built from reclaimed glass and timber and insulated with sheep's wool, the property was a highly affordable project. In fact, at the time, it was named the cheapest home ever to be built in the Western Hemisphere. Yet sadly, the home, which was also constructed from straw, went up in flames after a fire broke out on New Year's Day back in 2018.

Located in the sustainable community of Lammas in rural Pembrokeshire, Wales, the dwelling took six years to construct and cost owners Simon and Jasmine Dale just £27,000 ($37.4k). However, in the middle of the night, a suspected electrical accident caused the property to set alight. Firefighters spent over six hours battling the blaze but, unfortunately, the house was completely destroyed.

Since Simon and Jasmine didn't have home insurance, they faced financial difficulties in the wake of the fire, however, the story does have a happy ending. Friends of the family created a JustGiving page to help with the rebuild and amazingly 1,144 people donated money to the unlucky couple. Together, they raised £35,270 ($49k) so that Simon and Jasmine could build another eco house for their family.

Once owned by British popstar Duffy, the property caved in on itself in November 2015 during the construction. No longer supported by its foundations, the luxurious home literally crumbled into the empty void left by the basement excavation. Described as collapsing like a tower of cards, the six-bedroom townhouse was completely destroyed but luckily no one was injured during the incident. How's that for a property nightmare?

Sadly, this isn't the only regal residence to have collapsed in southwest London due to poor construction work. In fact, this large dwelling can be found just a few miles away in Kingston Vale. The property, which had also been undergoing extensive renovation works, collapsed due to a poorly-supported basement. Crumbling down in the middle of the night in April 2017, the building was left in complete ruins.

Located on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands region of New York, Boldt Castle was commissioned at the start of the 20th century by George C. Boldt, the millionaire proprietor of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Leaving no expense spared, 300 workers began constructing the six-level, 120-room residence, which was designed complete with secret tunnels, Italian gardens, a drawbridge and turrets.

Jackie Siegel and her mogul husband David began work on this mega-mansion in 2004. Known as the Versailles of Florida, the property was set to be the largest home in America and one of the most luxurious in the world. However, after multiple delays and complications with construction over the last 15 years, the structure, said to be valued at $100 million (£72m), remains unfinished and uninhabited to this day.

Work was halted on a number of occasions due to unforeseen circumstances. David’s business was hit by the economic crash in 2008, before the couple's 18-year-old daughter Victoria tragically passed away in 2015. To make matters worse, a fire broke out in one of the property’s elevators in early 2019. Ironically, this meant that renovation works had to be carried out before the property had even been completed. However, Jackie said earlier this year that they plan for it to be completely finished my mid-2022.

Should the family's bad luck end and the project be finally finished, the home was set to accommodate 14 bedrooms, 11 kitchens, 30 bathrooms, a 30-car garage, a bowling alley, five swimming pools, a video arcade, ballroom, cinema, gym and spa and a 20,000-bottle wine cellar. That's if plans haven't changed again since building began. Jackie said about the previously proposed ice skating rink: "The kids don't care about it anymore. That's going to be turning into a Las Vegas-style nightclub, with karaoke and dancing."

Another home to be featured on TV's Grand Designs, the story behind Chesil Cliff House has led to it being described as the show's 'saddest ever episode'. Located on a prominent clifftop plot overlooking the beach of Croyde, North Devon, the unusual building has also been dubbed grotesque by many due to its harsh concrete façade and huge circular tower, reminiscent of a lighthouse. 

Costing owners Edward and Hazel Short £3.2 million ($4.4m) to build, the home faced numerous set-backs during the construction process, the first being a matter of finances. Edward borrowed money to buy the plot, which was already home to an old house, before demolishing the property in order to build his dream home. Sadly though, Edward's wife didn't quite share his enthusiasm for the scheme...

Delays stalled construction, leading the couple to accumulate debts. They even built a secondary home on the site but ended up selling it in order to finance the spiraling costs of Chesil Cliff House. Some eight years after the project began, the home remains unfinished, with £2 million ($2.7m) still needed to complete the home. Sadly Edward and his wife separated during the project due to the stress the build placed on their marriage, drawing an end to the couple's dream.

In 1981, retired oil engineer Bob Lee decided to build himself the ultimate vacation property in Cape Romano, Florida. His vision was for a series of connected concrete domes and Bob surveyed several locations before purchasing the plot on which to build his dream home. Prior to embarking on the ambitious project, he even created a full-scale replica in Tennessee to iron out any construction issues.

Known as the Cape Romano Dome House, the property was designed to be hurricane-proof, self-sufficient and eco-friendly. Built on stilts, Lee hoped the innovative holiday home could be heated by fires, which would sit on concrete ledges beneath every room. Meanwhile, the rounded roofs would allow for rainwater to be reused, as well as protecting the structure from the area's intense climate. Sadly though, the windows couldn't survive Hurricane Andrew, which hit in 1992...

The driving wind and rain blew out the glass, completely destroying the interiors. Bob and his family had no choice but to abandon the house. To make matters worse, the freak weather and natural erosion slowly caused the island to change shape, submerging it in water. Then, in 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit Florida, further eroding the coastline and damaging the home's foundations. The Collier County Code Enforcement Board has now deemed the bubble house unsafe and it's been closed off forever.

Known as the Winchester Mystery House, this grand property can be found in San Jose, California. Now a historic landmark, the building has a long and fascinating story. Once the private home of Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, the estate was built in the wake of the deaths of Sarah's husband and infant daughter. Determined to make a fresh start, Sarah moved to San Jose and bought an old farmhouse, taking on what would become the world's longest renovation project.

Sarah bought the fixer-upper property in 1886 and work continued until her death in September 1922. Over the decades, the small farmhouse was transformed into a sprawling 24,000-square-foot mansion, featuring 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors and 160 rooms. There are upside-down columns, doors that open onto solid walls and even staircases that lead to dead ends. The building work is said to have cost Sarah $5 million (£3.6m) – that's $71 million (£51.2m) in today's money!

No one really knows what possessed Sarah to spend all her time, efforts and money on the complex building scheme. At the time, rumours of ghosts, psychics and mental health issues spiraled and many questions remain unanswered. In fact, the property still isn't complete and many believe it to be haunted by paranormal spirits. Now an iconic piece of local architecture as well as a national US landmark, the Winchester Mystery House is truly one-of-a-kind.

Located in the English town of Uckfield in Sussex, Hamilton Palace is a truly spectacular private mansion – or at least it was supposed to be when the project was started some 36 years ago. Despite work beginning in 1985, scaffolding remains in place around the grand structure; an eerie reminder of the home's disastrous construction journey. With two huge wings, a golden dome and a private, lakeside mausoleum, this palace would have been dazzling...

The abandoned estate, which is larger than Buckingham Palace, was commissioned by disgraced British businessman, Nicholas van Hoogstraten, who is said to have, at one time, owned thousands of buildings across the UK. The property magnate became a millionaire at the tender age of 22 and his net worth has been placed as high as £793 million ($1.1b), according to Sussex Live.

Costing around £40 million ($55.5m) to build, Hamilton Palace was once considered to be one of the most expensive (and largest) private houses built in Britain for a century, though no one has ever lived there. After almost four decades, the abandoned mansion is now all but crumbling, but remains fiercely protected by a team of security guards. So, how did one man's dream self-build project turn into such a disaster? 

According to the palace's architect, Anthony Browne, van Hoogstraten has a reputation for being a difficult character. In fact, in one documentary, he was quoted as saying that he was prepared to do "whatever is necessary" to get what he wants. Unsurprisingly then, the construction of the palace caused plenty of disputes with neighbours, after van Hoogstraten decided to remove a public footpath that runs through the estate. Yet there are perhaps more sinister reasons why the house has remained half-finished, with construction materials strewn across its oversized rooms...

Nicholas van Hoogstraten has something of a history with law enforcement: he was given a four-year prison sentence in 1968 for criminal damage, after arranging for a hand grenade to be thrown into the home of a former business associate said to have owed him money. Then in 2002, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of manslaughter, but the conviction was later quashed. While he was cleared in the criminal courts, van Hoogstraten was later found responsible for the killing in a £6 million ($8.3m) civil lawsuit.

After backlash about the home's half-finished state, perhaps in part due to van Hoogstraten's legal issues, he was quoted as saying: "Hamilton Palace is far from 'crumbling' and was built to last for at least 2,000 years. The scaffolding only remains as a part of ongoing routine maintenance such a property would require until completion." Nevertheless, the property has been dubbed the 'Ghost House of Sussex' by locals and it appears unlikely that the project will ever come to fruition. Watch this space...

When it comes to ambitious self-build projects, no property even comes close to The One. Claiming the number one spot as America's most expensive private residence, this mega-mansion can be found nestled on a prestigious, five-acre hillside plot in the heart of Bel Air, Los Angeles. The brainchild of real estate developer Nile Niami, The One took some eight years to construct and is thought to still be partly unfinished.

Niami bought the plot in 2012 for $28 million (£20m) and enlisted 600 labourers to construct the ridiculously over the top mansion. Positioned to soak up the scenery, the pad benefits from 360-degree views from almost every window, all the way to the Pacific Ocean, Downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains. Niami's aim was to create America's most luxurious and valuable property, hence the home's moniker, and he boasted about all the lavish extras it would include.

Spanning some 105,000 square feet, the OTT abode was designed by architect Paul McClean, while its interior design was undertaken by Kathryn Rotondi. Designed and decorated in a modern, minimalist style, with extensive marble and glass, the house is surrounded on three sides by a moat and a 400-foot-long jogging track. The estate also has 21 bedrooms (including a 5,500-square-foot master suite), 42 bathrooms, a 30-car auto gallery with two turntables and a four-lane bowling alley.

Yet that isn't all. The One is also said to have a 40-seat movie theatre and a huge indoor-outdoor nightclub with several bars and an expansive dance floor. Originally, a floor-to-ceiling aquarium was planned for the property, but this costly feature was later scrapped, after a series of financial and construction set backs. In 2015, Niami spoke to GQ, revealing he planned to ask $500 million (£361m) for the home, but in January 2021 it reportedly hit the market for far less – $340 million (£245m). 

Yet the gorgeous glass house has been in and out of the news for more reasons than its hefty price tag. In March 2021, the LA Times stated that Hankey Capital, who lent Niami $82.5 million (£59m) to construct The One, was still waiting to be paid back. The repayment deadline was October 2020, according to the Daily Mail. Then, after being threatened with a notice of default and possible foreclosure, the property fell into receivership in August 2021.

Investors in The One are reportedly looking to recoup costs after Niami defaulted on his debts, thought to be in the region of $165 million (£119m). Don Hankey, the chairman of Hankey Capital, is said to have advocated for the home to enter receivership, in order for Niami to pay back his loans. Lanes Management is now in possession of the property, although it's unclear how much they will try to sell the estate for, once all the necessary permits are granted. The Wall Street Journal has stated that Niami has five other unsold properties in his portfolio...

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