RESPECT Aged Care has no plans and no timelines to sell the former Pyramid Hill hostel.
Originally the town’s bush nursing hospital from 1959 to 1995, the hostel has been empty for five years.
Ian Bartels said he remembered anything of value being stripped from the building.
“The office chairs were being thrown into skips. We salvaged them and sold a lot through the op-shop the community saved when Respect closed up,” said the unofficial caretaker of the hostel grounds.
Mr Bartels said that the local hospital community had invested in the facility and services.
“We build a residence for the doctor, we bought the op-shop and even the chemist because we thought it was important for the town to have one,” he said.
 According to Mr Bartels those properties were sold off by hostel owners apart from the op-shop that was acquired by the progress association when the hostel closed.
The former hostel and hospital buildings - including the mortuary - have sat empty for five years.
Respect said there had been a possible buyer but the sale fell through amid concerns about land ownership.
“There was an interested purchaser some months ago, and my understanding is they became concerned after some members of the community believed they have a legal right to the property,” said CEO Jason Binder. 
“We’re not concerned by the loss of the sale because the price was insignificant. We only agreed to sell it because we thought it would be good for the Pyramid Hill community to have worker accommodation in there and increase the local economy. 
“We can’t find any such legal right that the community has to the property, but we’d appreciate it if there are community members who want to take over the building, that they’d just ask us which they haven’t done since the heat of the announcement of the closure five years ago. 
“At the end of the day, we just want it to go to a good use and I’m more than happy to engage in constructive and respectful dialogue around a transfer to a community organisation.”
Progress association president Drew Chislett said the community would be open to discussions with Respect. “Let’s see where that goes.”
Mr Bartels, who was made a life member of the former bush nursing hospital and served on the board for many years, said the Pyramid Hill community had raised significant funds to improve the hospital and hostel, services and assets until the facility was taken over by Respect.