Phoebe was told it was just a storage cupboard
A first-time buyer was left speechless when a secret door in her new flat revealed an enormous room – almost doubling the size of her home. When Phoebe Irving, 26, viewed her four-bedroom flat she noticed a locked door in the corridor but estate agents said it was “just storage”.
The photographer from Liverpool assumed it was a cupboard. However, on the day she moved into her £105,000 home she opened the door and revealed a huge space – the size of three double bedrooms.
The discovery has almost doubled the flat in size, and Phoebe hopes to turn the extra space into a cinema room or a dressing room. Phoebe said: “My flat is four bedrooms, which is already a ridiculous size for just me. When I went for my first viewing, there was a room that was locked.
“The estate agent said it was just for storage. I asked if they could bring the keys for it to my next viewing, but they forgot. I assumed due to the price of the flat, it wouldn’t be anything.
“On the day I moved in, I opened the door and there was a huge room inside it. I was so shocked, it was a lot bigger than a cupboard. It’s basically like a whole other flat, I was so overwhelmed, as I now have double the amount of space, and I don’t even have the budget to do up the rest of the flat, never mind this!”
Phoebe purchased her first home as a solo buyer in April 2026, after saving intensely for two years into a Lifetime ISA. She paid £105,000 for the four-bed flat, securing it with a deposit of £10,000. Phoebe was chuffed with the large size of the flat she was able to purchase, and is currently renovating it, including putting in a new bathroom, with a £5,000 budget.
“It’s been empty for a while, so it needs quite a lot doing to it”, she said. When Phoebe had a survey competed on the flat, surveyors didn’t go into the locked room, and it wasn’t on the floor plan either.
The extra space has left her in shock. It’s not even a room, it’s basically whole floor.”, she said.
