Robert Tai became enchanted by the historic stone buildings that stand empty all across the windswept, rainy Isle of Lewis in Scotland years ago. After his marriage broke down, it seemed a natural place to buy.
However, an abandoned fisherman’s cottage on the remote island that had no running water, electricity or windows, and sheep living in it, was all the ex-soldier and businessman could afford after the long and difficult divorce beginning in 2008 left him close to broke.
He had visited the Isle yearly with his then-wife in the 2000s and decided he wanted to move there, despite having no professional building work experience before.
The former Londoner told i: “I had never been to Scotland, and we had stayed in this tiny cottage in a beautiful village, and I fell in love with the place. When we divorced, it was extremely acrimonious. It took years and I got completely cleaned out.
“Buying this property was probably a moment of madness. I really wanted to set myself up again, and financially, this was the only way I could get back on my feet and get some equity in a property, because I just didn’t have the money.”
Intent on purchasing and renovating the dilapidated cottage he’d initially spotted during a visit to the area in 2004, Robert managed to track down and negotiate a sale with the owners in 2021, who were planning to demolish the four-bedroom building and replace it with a new structure on the 17-acre (69,000 sq m) property.
Robert had never done professional building work before, but he reinstated electricity and water, replaced the beams, and ripped out carpets encrusted with sheep droppings.
He also removed a damaged chimney, repaired the roof, knocked down walls to expand the kitchen and bathroom, and updated the decor.
Professionals helped install new windows and he took advice from a local builder friend.
“There were no windows – the wind was howling through the building,” says Robert. “It needed water to the property and drains – it needed all new plumbing.”
On the surrounding farmland, on which Robert has replaced fences and gates, he has also planted 7,000 trees, and plans to plant another 3,000. He has also built a polytunnel for growing vegetables.
Through the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) – a collaboration between the Scottish Government, and housing and homelessness charity Shelter to bring abandoned buildings back into use – Robert was able to qualify for a tax reimbursement on the materials he purchased to restore the cottage to a livable state.
He claimed back £12,000 of the £75,000 he’d spent completely overhauling the property.
“I started this project aged 63 and this was my first property renovation. I’m now 66 and think this is a good example of what can be achieved,” says Robert.
“The workload was so exhausting. I was completely drained for about a year. It was all hours a day, seven days a week, non-stop. One time, a storm came in, which blew off the new porch roof and just flooded the house. I was completely gutted and was crying. Things like that happen to lots of people here, but they just move on, and you have to learn to, as well, because the weather dictates how you live here.”
For his efforts, Robert was named the winner of the “Best Renovation by the Public” award at this year’s Scottish Empty Homes Conference.
His abandoned cottage was one of 688 that still sit empty across Scotland’s remote Western Isles, and 46,217 empty properties across all of Scotland.
But the SEHP is working to change that, having brought 1,875 empty properties back into use across the country over the past year, making it a total of 10,889 since the initiative began in 2010.
The SEHP’s work in supporting property owners complete, and even start, renovations, is crucial, when the majority of Scotland’s empty homes got that way because of owners intending, but failing, to renovate, according to its latest impact report. Other reasons include owners being hospitalised, dying, moving away, or homes becoming repossessed.
Across the UK, grants of up to £25,000 are available to help property owners restore empty homes and make them liveable again. It’s part of a wider movement to convert empty homes that’s gaining traction.
In England, Shelter has released its “10 City Plan” to convert 10,500 empty properties into social housing, while the governments of both Wales and Northern Ireland have launched strategies to tackle the problem of empty homes.
Robert feels his renovation is “95 per cent finished”. He officially moved into the cottage with his new partner a year ago but is still “doing bits and pieces”.
“It’s the most beautiful spot by the sea – just really rugged beauty with stunning beaches. The property is very remote. The nearest neighbors are about a mile away – I can’t even see their house,” says Robert.
“It’s really calming and relaxing. But the weather is a thing – when the storms come, they come. You either like it, or you don’t. And I love it.”
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