Getting ready to auction estate in Pulaski TN

[jswordy]

Man, it has been stress-city the last few months, but if we can just hold it together a few more days we'll finally arrive at the May 11 absolute auction of my mother-in-law and father-in-law's estate farm. We have been working to get it ready every weekend since November.

I am going to hate to see it go, it is such a gorgeous place, but none of us has the funds to be able to keep it.

Here's the auction listing:
http://www.vanmassey.com/general/info.php?id=342

Here's some pictures:
http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/photopanel.cgi?listingid=1707561&category=0&zip=&kwd=

You can see why I'm hating to see it go. A half-mile driveway from the highway to the house! Such gorgeous views! Ah well, life is change.

If you know anybody in the area who needs a great 298 acre farm or some well-maintained equipment or antiques, please let them know. Deer and turkey galore. The front porch looks down into bottomland and the highway - a perfect spot for a big vineyard.

It's now down to the wire, when the estate executors start second-guessing their decisions and getting worried. I was up half the night last night, myself. I'll be glad when this is over.

 

[JohnT]

Good Luck.

Wish I had the money!

 

[Rocky]

Jim, that is really beautiful. Is it an all inclusive auction? That is, is everything being auctioned for one bid or will things be auctioned individually?

 

[Julie]

Good Luck, Jim. I know this has to be bittersweet for you.

 

[jswordy]

Rocky: all day individual auction with 2 or 3 crews running.

Julie: It's positively awful. Very similar in impact for me to watching someone die. This is the most beautiful farm I have ever seen. I could not get my wife interested in it at all, and it's her family. It will be a hard day for me. I will miss it.

Then add in all the work and the stress that builds every day now. Yawning pretty good right now.

 

[jswordy]

This is the view from the porch to the highway a half-mile away. The drive comes out on the left. Used to sit there evenings with my FIL and watch the deer come across. Western exposure. The upper portion of it would be great for vines.

 

[Julie]

I can only imagine your feelings, Jim, you have your memories and those are priceless.

 

[jswordy]

Here's the plat of the tracts. Tract 1 is at top right and is 58 acres, with the 1/2-mile drive, spring, cave, home place, shop, garage, smokehouse, a half-decent barn, all the good stuff to make a farm.



Never can tell, I might not be able to take it and my hand may be flying up on Tract 1, to the surprise of everyone. Oh boy, that would have to be a 3-bottle night at least, to handle the crap I'd take if I bought it.

 

[Julie]

Well the question you need to be asking yourself is "Would this be worth it?"

 

[derunner]

Look like a great farm. You may have already thought of this, but if not you might want to take some photos / videos of the place to show future generations where you were raised.

 

[jswordy]

Well the question you need to be asking yourself is "Would this be worth it?"

Well, it should sell for about what our share of the proceeds from the sale would be. But then there would be the DIVORCE expenses!

 

[Runningwolf]

Jim great looking farm. The antiques are really super! I loved the set of wicker chairs.

 

[JohnT]

Jim,

I think that I might soon be going through something very much like your current situation.

About a year ago, my wife lost both her mom and dad. They left a REALLLLY nice condo in Del Ray Florida and a spectacular lake fone home in Blairesville Ga.

My wife has a brother and a sister. They really do not know what they want to do at this point, but I think that none of us are in a position to keep any of the properties. It is gonna suck seeing these go to the highest bidder.

In short, I feel for ya.

Why would your wife have a problem with you taking a tract? Granted, it is an expense, but you could consider it also an investment. As Will Rogers once said.. "Buy land. They are just not making any more of the stuff".

 

[jswordy]

Jim,

I think that I might soon be going through something very much like your current situation.

About a year ago, my wife lost both her mom and dad. They left a REALLLLY nice condo in Del Ray Florida and a spectacular lake fone home in Blairesville Ga.

My wife has a brother and a sister. They really do not know what they want to do at this point, but I think that none of us are in a position to keep any of the properties. It is gonna suck seeing these go to the highest bidder.

In short, I feel for ya.

Why would your wife have a problem with you taking a tract? Granted, it is an expense, but you could consider it also an investment. As Will Rogers once said.. "Buy land. They are just not making any more of the stuff".

Her problem is that the tract I want has the house and all on it. To buy it, I would be essentially using her proceeds from the sale. She's not interested in living on the farm, which is in the next county and more remote from the city than is our own, much smaller farm.

I'm thinking in the end the farm will go as a whole, anyway. I might be wrong, but it is too outstanding a unit to break up, and I think somebody is going to see that. Then even if I was high bidder on the tract, that would be moot.

If a guy could get Tract 1 and Tract 2, he'd have a nice 100+ acre farm, as well.

I'll be bidding on some of the equipment, for sure.

It's a tough process to go through, and I don't think there's any way for it to be better. No one in the estate ended up mad at each other and this was about as smooth as it could go, but it was still incredibly tough. It has taken a year to get the place close to ready for the coming sale date.