New Omaze Scotland House - what's the verdict?

[ShyMaryEllen]

https://omaze.co.uk/pages/scotland-ii

I've just got the email and am off for a browse.

Any initial thoughts yet?

I'm staying in Bellabeg on holiday this week, and I'm going to go and look at this house tomorrow. I love this part of the world, and Sutherland too, so the remoteness doesn't put me off, but I do think it's going to split the crowd more than most due to its location. The driving round here is gnarly, too - not just due to the weather, but the bends and cambers, too. Clearly whoever wins it is going to be thrilled but it's not the most practical of places to live - and I say that as a diehard fan of the Highlands.

Let us know hat you thought of it @DiscoHippo

Got snowed in today! Will try again later this week. Wonder if it’s under any security at the mo - trying to suss best place to park at the moment. Any tips appreciated

I went there today. Beautiful part of the world but one helluva drive. The house itself is down a long - and very much private - drive, though you can see the gate with 'Carie House' on it. There was a Calor gas van there when I went. Oh, and you can see the tennis courts from the road quite clearly. It's gorgeous, but, but, but....location will be tricky for most, I think.

@DiscoHippo Thank you for the update. I’ve got a feeling this one won’t be so popular due to its remote location, despite being in a beautiful setting.

Has it been lived in or is it built to order for Omaze do you think?
I see there's a granny flat too. I find the design a bit awkward looking but I could move in if you twisted my arm.
Did you get the impression you could wander the grounds and look in the windows? 😆

There's a decent tour of it on YouTube

Yeah, I saw that video tour. I just found it tiring - ‘aaaaand here’s more space.’

Space for the sake of space
Such a humongous extention on that beautiful Scottish traditional house
If I win it I might knock the new bit down 😅

I agree. It has the feel of a great big empty, soulless church hall. At the very least I would completely gut the one side with the bedrooms and convert to 4 beds with proper en suites. I’d make the ‘North Hall’ into a proper study/library.

The more I look at it, the more I think it’a a really ugly and soulless ego trip job which has done nothing to incorporate the older cottage into a cohesive, sympathetic design. Just a waste of money. If I won (lol 🤣) I’d not even bother going to visit it, I’d just phone an estate agent and put it on the market.

It’s the only one I’ve not harboured any fantasies whatsoever of living in it, sharing it with family (it’s too bloody far) or even keeping as a holiday let business.

Far too remote for my liking, and I'm rubbish at tennis

Seems terribly over valued too, land is pretty cheap there

I always thought if I won I'd keep it for a year to have some nice holidays and let the extended family do the same and then sell.
The stress of making it a rental is too much for me.
This one I'd quite like for some solitude, make a change from London.

I don't know the Loch Rannoch area, so would welcome more information on the local midge situation from those who do. When in the year do they tend to be absent, sparse, a bit of a problem or truly awful?

Just to add, I know midges tend to be out mornings and evenings on still days May-September generally, but wondered if there is a specific pattern around Rannoch.

I must have got lucky the one time I went to Loch Rannoch in August, as we didn't have any midgies at all, and got to do loads of swimming.

I do actually quite like the house, apart from the bedrooms being so far away from each other. It's not my favourite style of architecture but having lots of separate spaces would be good for extended family holidays, and it's close enough that we could go there quite a lot. I've always assumed if I won I would just pay an agency to manage the holiday lettings side of things, and hopefully generate enough of an income that I could afford to keep it as a holiday home for myself.

Loch rannoch is beautiful, I went to school there briefly back in the day before it shut doen, but I wouldn’t want to live there, too remote from various things but also busy in tourist season.

I think, unhelpfully, it’s not always a distinct pattern and very weather dependant. I’m in Perthshire but not Rannoch. A stiff breeze will keep them down day to day. If the wind is up to say 15kph ( often which is why there’s lots of wind farms) then that’s great for a day out. If it’s good breeding weather for them warm and sunny but with decent rain you can often get two good waves so they peak in spring and then again in late summer. If spring is rubbish they tend to peak in mid summer.

In Perth. Perthshire is magnificent. You’d really struggle to achieve that as a private seller though. Value is overestimated.

I agree the valuation is exaggerated. But in a way that kind of makes me want to win it more. If it was really worth £4 million, it would be insane to keep it when I could give up work if I sold it and invested the money. But if it was only worth, say, £1 million, I can imagine getting a good enough return on my holiday letting business that it wouldn't be stupid to keep it and spend a decent chunk of time there while still generating some extra income.

It's lovely, I'll be having a flutter. I quite fancy messing about on a little boat.

Thanks to pps for the midge lowdown so far. It looks like I might as well keep bees if I'm going to be living there! I've always been a midge and other flying biting beasties magnet and am allergic to the bites, so I'd be spending half the year dressed like a bee keeper anyway! You'd all be welcome to drop by for some honey and a cup of whisky tea.

What I'm not entirely sure about is - if I don't win the Norfolk house and instead win the Scotland house, of course - is what exactly I will be winning? Will I win the main Carie House with essentially a garden including the jetty, the cottage with storage/workshop and the tennis court? Or will I win the 58 acres of the Carie estate too? If the 58 acres aren't included, how much land if any is included and what is happening with the rest? The Country Life article from 15 years ago posted by a pp also mentions a summer house and a hay barn. The £4m valuation sounds about right if all that is included?

The Omaze blog reckons it will cost you £2230 per month for garden maintenance, so I reckon you are not getting a 58 acre estate. There's a floorplan for an extra wee cottage which is not mentioned in any of the blurb, though.

I'm amazed people buy tickets for this. I stopped when I heard that they vet the winner.

Someone says that on every thread😀. They check for the right to live in the UK and criminality such as money laundering, but they aren't looking for a particular winner profile - why would they care who wins it, so long as the company isn't brought into disrepute?

It should be a straight forward draw.

Not making sure the winner is a good fit for them.