Working Together: Auction House Scotland & Highland Council’s Empty Homes Officer

At the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, we’ve worked with Scottish property auctioneers Auction House Scotland for over eight years. In total, through our collaboration, nearly 70 properties have been sold through Empty Homes Officer introductions.

In particular, we wanted to give a well-deserved shout out to Highlands EHO Dawn Meston whose continual willingness to help empty house owners through every stage of the process is having a huge impact.

Below are two case studies of empty houses Dawn and Auction House Scotland have worked together on.

Vilmont

A long term empty residential property that had a lot of potential, Vilmont really needed a full renovation to bring it back into use as a home. The owner had spoken to several council staff over the years, but after being put in contact with Dawn made the decision to sell the empty house.

Mrs B says, ‘Dawn discussed all of the options available to me, which included to sell via Auction House Scotland. This option had never previously been mentioned. For me, it was the best way forward. Dawn’s approach was a very sensible one; it showed that she understood my family circumstances exactly.’

Pub, Invergordon

This was a large commercial property with three residential flats situated above. It had been a thriving business for many years, but closed at around the time of Covid. A family member reached out to our EHO, Dawn, to get help in understanding what support was available as the owner was needing to sell. The family member valued Dawn’s advice and involvement.

This family member, Mrs F, says, ‘Dawn, You have done so much for us, it is truly appreciated. We would never have got this far without your support.’