Lighthouses Buy & Sale

Fresh in for August 2022 : here is the Lighthouse Engine House. It has Full Planning Permission to be converted into a 2 bedroom house…This was a detached utility building for generating electricity to light the lamp in the lighthouse tower. Since the National Grid, this building is no longer used. There was a problem wit the original planning permission in that the proposed septic tank was in a problematic location very close to the buildings. That has now been cured by the Wayleave Permission that allows the septic tank to be built several hundred yards away. A genuinely unique property or, with a sense of bearing as you approach the main gate a quarter of a mile away…Since buying this wonderful lighthouse station on 23rd May 2017 it has been the home of Unique Property Bulletin HQ. 

Buying a lighthouse is more than a real estate transaction. It’s a lifestyle change that links you to a proud American tradition. The best way to find lighthouses for sale is via a U.S. Government lighthouse “property disposal”. These happen sporadically. When one is going on, the General Services Administration lists available lighthouses on this web page. If the government isn’t selling a lighthouse, a private owner might be. Here are three ways to keep an eye out for private sales :

• An eBay search for “lighthouse” in their “real estate” category. Often times they’re “buy now” but sometimes you’ll have to bid.
• Zillow’s Porchlight blog sometimes highlights unique properties for sale, like lighthouses.
• A Google News search for “lighthouse for sale”.

Unique Property Bulletin started out as a hobby in the late 1980s. Volunteers have run this publication since 1989. Since transferring the Bulletin online in 2011 the numbers of folk reading this website rocketed. This is really good, but by 2017 our small group of volunteers could no longer cope with the high number of enquiries from readers looking to buy their own style of unusual home.

As owners of the Noss Head Lighthouse Station since 23rd May 2017, we have been in the fortunate position of deciding which are our favourite buildings. Without doubt, and to our own surprise, these are the diminutive (now fully renovated) Keeper’s Cabin and the (yet to be renovated) Lighthouse Engine House. Hopefully the views from and also towards these buildings can give our readers the insight on why these two main buildings are our favourites… 

Why Are Lighthouses Even For Sale ?

Lighthouses are still important to yachtsmen, recreational boaters, and mega-tanker captains alike. They perform the life-saving function of letting these folks know: “Hey! Too close!” Even in these days of satellite navigation, ships still run aground. Why, you may be wondering, would the United States government let anyone with money to flash take over these flashing safety beacons ?

Should You Buy A Lighthouse ?

Let’s tackle the practical matter first - cost. You may have heard that the government sometimes gives away lighthouses for free. You may also have heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” There’s no such thing as a free lighthouse either. Those gift lighthouses come with strings attached. The recipient of the lighthouse must agree to restore it to its original state. Let’s be honest here - these are less like strings and more like a heavy anchor chain. Historical restoration is an expensive, time-consuming, and frequently frustrating process.

Even if you buy a lighthouse without the historical restoration requirement, you’ll still need to put money into it. These are old buildings, they’ll need upkeep. And it may have dawned on you - they are invariably situated near water. You’ll have to deal with flooding, salt water damage, erosion, and wet feet. “There always seems to be this romantic notion of owning a lighthouse,” lighthouse owner Nick Korstad told the Boston Globe. “But it’s not like that at all. It’s a lot of work.” If you want to try out the lighthouse lifestyle before committing, maybe volunteer at one first? Recent opportunities have been listed in Tasmania and Norway. The folks behind the Norway opportunity - at the edge of the Arctic Circle - warn, “Volunteers coming here need to be interested in a self-sustainable life at the edge of the ordinary comfort zone.”

The Romance Of The Lighthouse

Obviously, the cost, hard work, and isolation doesn’t scare everyone off. Maintaining a lighthouse, whether it’s a historic lighthouse or not, connects you to a long tradition of lighthouse keepers who sacrificed their social lives to keep mariners safe. The U.S. Coast Guard honored lighthouse keepers of the past by naming a series of ships after them. The USS Ida Lewis honors the Newport, Rhode Island lighthouse keeper who would row out from the lighthouse to help drowning mariners. She saved 18 lives in a 54-year career. 

Even though lighthouses aren’t as necessary as they once were, they are still getting built. The town of Waveland, Mississippi built one in 2018, not to warn off mariners, but to attract tourists. The lighthouse will shine, but it serves no navigational purpose - it’s purely decorative. Whether it’s in Lake Michigan or Poland, Lighthouses are popular tourist attractions all over the world. So, if you do buy one, and you know a little bit about marketing, maybe you won’t be lonely after all.