Lighthouses in the United States for sale – Economy

It is said that there are people who console themselves with escapism on bad days. Is the boss annoying? Are files, dishes or dirty laundry piling up? How cool would it be to move to a desert island or at least have a vacation home somewhere. So you are browsing real estate sites and dreaming of a different life.

The United States government is now offering locations for such a different life that it could not be more secluded. For example, Penfield Reef Lighthouse in Connecticut. The lighthouse was built at the entrance to Long Island Sound in 1874 and is located in one of the most dangerous areas of Long Island waters, about a mile from Fairfield at one end of the reef. Unexpected surprise visitors there. There are no neighbors.

The lighthouse and nine others have been braving themselves against storms and waves often for more than 100 years, showing sailors and day-trippers the way to safety through the dense fogs of the American coast, and offering seabirds comfort and hope after a long crossing. Land on the horizon! But today no one needs them anymore, and their work is now done by modern navigation technology. While the Coast Guard often maintains navigational equipment on or near lighthouses, the structures themselves are expendable.

You can just leave them as landmarks and attractions. After all, some of them look like they came straight out of an Edward Hopper painting. The only problem is that the weather constellations are in conflict with the tides, and renovation costs money — and the state doesn’t want to spend that. Each May, the responsible authority, the General Services Administration, puts up a number of lighthouses for sale. During this year’s “lighthouse season,” there are a record number of things, as the authority just announced: ten.

The authority wants to give away Six Beacons to federal, state, or local governments, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, or other groups. In exchange, they must pledge to preserve the historic buildings and make them available to the public for educational, recreational, or cultural purposes. Four more lighthouses will be auctioned online starting next month – to anyone who wants to bid. One of them: Penfield Reef Lighthouse in Connecticut. The authority will accept bids from June 12.

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In 2000, the US legislature passed the National Historic Lighthouses Preservation Act, allowing the General Services Administration to sell the lighthouses for a profit. Since then, more than 150 lighthouses have found new owners. The Coast Guard has invested more than ten million dollars in total income in new navigation technology. Lighthouses also come up for sale in other countries from time to time, most recently the so-called Hamburg Lighthouse in Cuxhaven or Blada Island, a Scottish island with its own lighthouse, both advertised at around half a million euros each.

The cost of the lighthouses ranged from $10,000 to $933,888

It’s also a lot cheaper in the US. About 70 American lighthouses have already been auctioned off to private individuals. According to the agency, he took between $10,000 and $933,888 for each beacon. However, she also warns that you should think twice before committing to a property by the sea: Obviously, the cost of maintaining lighthouses depends on what the new owner intends to do, she says. “A complete restoration can cost thousands of dollars, while a simple cleaning costs much less.” New owners should expect to have to paint, clean, and possibly replace broken or missing parts. “Most lighthouses don’t have toilets, so there are costs to making the lighthouse livable.”

Penfield Reef Lighthouse has already been partially renovated, and there is also solar power. One catch remains: according to local legend, it’s haunted there.