‘Impressive’ Scottish island at auction with bids starting at $ 111,000

‘Impressive’ Scottish island at auction with bids starting at $ 111,000

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(CNN) – With people spending more time than ever indoors due to blocking restrictions, many are reevaluating their life choices and looking to move into more spacious accommodations.

And city dwellers who want to escape to the countryside may be in luck.

An auction house is selling an entire rugged Scottish island with a starting bid of £ 80,000 ($ 111,700), an amount that would not even buy a tiny London apartment.

Deer Island, in the Scottish Highlands, owns 11 acres of land and is “nestled” in a “stunning and tranquil” lake on Scotland’s “dramatic” west coast, Future Property auctioneers said on the sale list.

The uninhabited island at Loch Moidart is a space that can be “enjoyed with zero chance of intrusion” due to its remote location, Future Property said.

He is being sold after belonging to the same family for 500 years, property manager Stephen McCluskey told CNN on Thursday.

The future owner will be a distant neighbor to the family of British businessman Richard Branson, whose sister Vanessa Branson owns Eilean Shona – the island closest to Deer Island, McCluskey said.

“They use it as a business – Eilean Shona is bigger, significantly bigger, but they have cottages and a retreat where a lot of celebrities come and stay, “added McCluskey.

Closer neighbors include red squirrels, seals and occasional dolphins.

Also nearby is the impressive Tioram Castle, built in the 13th century and now in ruins.

Deer Island is close to the pictured Tioram Castle, which dates from the 13th century.

Deer Island is close to the pictured Tioram Castle, which dates from the 13th century.

Future property auctions

“It is really stone and trees at the moment – there is nothing in it – and there was never anything [built] in it, or any application that has something in it, “said McCluskey of Deer Island.

“There is nothing. It has been completely uninhabited for 500 years.”

The online auction will take place on March 26, but McCluskey has already registered interest, including from someone who wants to park his yacht somewhere and someone else who wants to use it as a base for canoeing, he said.

The buyer will need to seek relevant planning permits to build anything on the island, McCluskey added.

He expects the land to sell for between £ 150,000 and £ 200,000 ($ 209,000 – $ 279.00).

“With something like that, you get all different types of buyers – you get foreign investors, wealthy landowners and romantics who fall in love with the idea of ​​owning a Scottish island,” he said.

Travel industry experts and brokers told CNN last year that since the beginning of the pandemic, they have seen an increase in the number of potential buyers and renters looking to escape to an exclusive island.
The islands offered for sale last year included Little Ragged Island in the Bahamas, which has 730 acres of rolling forested hills and white sand beaches, listed at a minimum price of $ 19.5 million.

In July, an unidentified European buyer grabbed a 157-acre island southwest of the Irish continent for $ 6 million. Horse Island, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, was sold after negotiations mainly took place on WhatsApp.

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