A B-listed former care home building remains unsold after it a planned auction was put off again.
Buchanan House in Fraserburgh closed last October when its final resident moved into another care home within the town.
The building was almost immediately put up for auction and was expected to pull in bids of about £350,000 in December – before it was withdrawn without explanation.
It had been due to go back on the market yesterday.
But Auction House Scotland last night said that bidding on the property was again postponed.
The Glasgow-based company had re-listed the home at a reduced valuation of £295,000 last month.
In promoting the property, it said the 14 bedroom B-listed house is “an excellent opportunity for an investor looking for a great return on their money or a builder or developer looking to change the property into residential accommodation.”
Neighbours are concerned that a developer may purchase the home with a view to converting it into a house in multiple occupation (HMO).
The home’s owner, Inverness-based Marchmont Homes, has declined to comment on its future.
However, one neighbour has suggested that locals do not want “the problems” associated with an HMO on their doorsteps.
He said: “The continued uncertainty regarding the future of the property is disappointing.
“Local residents are still concerned over its future, and fear it may become a HMO as at the Station Hotel.”
Buchanan House had operated as a care home for about 30 years before it closed.
Its doors shut just one year after the Care Inspectorate branded staff there “exhausted”.
Employees told inspectors they had no time to talk to the people they were supposed to be looking after and had to use petty cash to pay for shopping, leaving residents waiting for personal allowances.
A team from the watchdog concluded that the only reason the facility was running safely was the “goodwill” of staff and the shifts they were working which were “frequently in excess of 50 hours a week and for seven or eight consecutive days”.
