bit of a fixer-upper
Actually, finding a castle on sale is quite easy (though probably not in e-bay, I suppose) . And these things are quite often cheap (relatively to their size, etc…). A lot of people could afford a castle (not necessarily an exceptionnal one, though, but an ordinary little castle somewhere in the countryside). And a lot of houses are more costly than a lot of castles.
The issue with castles isn’t really to buy them, it’s their upkeep , which is usually extremely costly.Especially since the repairs/restorations in historical buildings are usually strictly regulated. Repairing the roof of your castle is likely to cost you much more than the price you paid to buy it at the first place. And without upkeep, your castle will quickly turn in an unlivable, or even dangerous, building. I know a castle owner who lives in a trailer, and as far as I can tell, essentially on welfare. She never found someone willing to buy the thing. And the more time pass, the more the building is degrading, and the less she’s likely to find someone interested.
I wonder if the moat comes with a monster or you have to buy your own?
Err… the castle in question is actually a ruin clairo. No one could live there 
I’d buy the thing, if it wasn’t so small. You can buy ruins in Ireland pretty cheap, though I don’t know what the laws are like on upkeep. I think it would be pretty cool to live in a castle, even if you do have to crap in the moat.
It would be awesome if you had the money to restore it so you could live there. And it’s in Fife! That’s where my family is from. This is the family castle, though it isn’t in the family anymore. It’s in Cupar, Fife.
Hey, let’s go in on it together. Like a timeshare in Palm Springs, but with less old people, and more Dopers! Let’s see, I have a spare $100. Which means I could have it for like 3 hours once a year.
Nevermind. I just looked at the pictures. I might be hearty, but I like a roof on my timeshare.
Nah… when it’s restored, it’ll be too dark and gloomy for me. A Renaissance palace in the South of France is more my style.
Heck, you could buy one right here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. It’s right down the road from where I sit now!
Oooh! It’s so pretty. [sub]I wish I was a princess and had a castle of my very own.[/sub]
The story I had heard about this particular castle was that the owner/builder stopped working on it because his beloved wife died tragically and he was too broken-hearted to continue. That seems much more romantic than the facts as related on site above: that the owner and his wife simply divorced.
That story, Serendipity, which seems to pop up about every “castle” (estate-sized house, particularly those with castellated battlements to evoke the classic castle feel) in America, is actually the case for Bldt Castle, built by the man who owned the Waldorf Astoria and stopped in mid-construction when she died.
What I would give to own a castle… definitely a house with character.
The one I’ve got my eye on is Eilean Donach (sp?) Castle. It’s the one featured in either Highlander or Braveheart, can’t remember which. I’ve visited a couple of times now, and if I was filthy rich, I’d snap it up in an instant. The family who own it still live there, albeit in a separate house in the castle grounds.
Best of all, it has proper toilets, so no need to plop in the loch!
They took the FOR SALE sign down a while back.
I think the thing looks kind of silly- a castle sitting next to a highway?
And every so often one of the turrets blows down. Must be a pain to repair that.
(Guess I’m not much of a romantic, huh.)