We Are "Castle People"

We are often asked, "Why did we buy a castle?" According to some of our close friends and family, we are castle people and it was meant to be. For us, everything just fell into place.

In April 2016, we were in Ben Lomond to meet a jeweler to resize a wedding band. The original jeweler that made the wedding band in 1997 had been in Boulder Creek, just 3 miles away, but he had since retired to Isle of Skye, Scotland. Our new jeweler was running late so we took some time to cruise Highway 9 through Ben Lomond. We had a free weekend to ourselves and were just enjoying the day. We have been up to this area many times over the years and in 1997, we almost bought our first home nearby. As we were driving through town, I saw this castle for sale. I said, "I think I just saw a castle for sale." The husband says, "Let's turn the car around and check it out." We turned around at the Quality Inn, pulled up to the castle and picked up a flyer and were shocked. All the times we had been in the area, we had never seen this place and now it was on sale.

We carried on to the jeweler. He knew all about the castle and had even been hired to photograph all the hand-etched glass panes in the French doors for insurance purposes. He also talked of parties he had attended there in the past and how he knew some of the previous owners.

When we were back home in San Jose, we called our realtor and told her, "We saw a place we are interested in buying. Can you help us out?" She was driving at the time and said she would call back once she was in the office. About 30 minutes later, she called back. "You didn't tell me it was a f*&%& castle!!!"

See, I have known this realtor since I was in high school, she is the older sister of my friend and she was born in Scotland. She had helped us buy our first home in San Jose in 1998. We were living in a 1200 sq ft ranch-style house built in the 1960s and didn't really need a castle, but we thought we would try. We made an offer on the castle, well below the asking price on the contingency of us selling our San Jose home. If they said no, we would be fine. Our realtor did a cover letter for us, using photos from our wedding and describing us perfect for the castle. This is probably where I should explain why people call us "castle people."

Our wedding was at the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas, where we and our guests dressed in period costumes. My husband even wore chainmail. We were engaged at the Northern California Renaissance Faire at Black Pointe Forest. The husband was collecting weapons and costumes well before we had a castle. I had made a few of my own Renaissance dresses and the dresses of the women in my wedding party. My husband owned a Scottish kilt and had used it for special events with a Prince Charlie jacket. We both play Dungeons & Dragons and enjoy seeing castles on our travels. So, our realtor had a lot of material to work with on the cover letter.

They accepted the offer.

Then our house sold less than two days after going to market for almost the same price as the castle we were buying.

At this point, we looked at each other and said, "Looks like are buying a castle."

As we started telling people, most of them said it made sense since we are castle people. We were surprised by this assessment, but then we looked at the evidence. I guess we are castle people.

It passed the property inspection

According to the surveyors, the castle was above the 500ft flood zone so insurance was acquired.

Septic passed inspection.

We had the place tented.

Then with the help of friends and family, we moved in.