Suit or Walk Away?

I agree with the statement about making lemonade out of your ten acres of lemons.

Your ordeal may be on the high end of the scale but unless you have the bucks to buy a McMansion farm most of us I dare say has at one time or another handed a check to a guy who ownes a fleet of dozers and skid steers, pointed them towards a field that needs cleared and told them to make the mess go away.

I haven't been able to read over all the pages of your thread but I can well sympathize with you. We have owned our homestead for 4 years now. For 4 years we have been working on it in preparation for our retirement which is happening as I write. We are not truly retiring, just stopping being medical professionals and starting new careers pursuing interests we have put on the back burners for years. We are still finding surprises on our farm that we would just as soon not find and we have almost 4 grand invested in bull dozing. There is a pile of metal and glass in a ravine we have that we are still trying to get rid of.

As hard as it is, stick with it. Yes you are dealing with pure and simple crap. But in dealing with it you are bonding with your land. I wouldn't seek legal action. But I would be advertising for "junkers" to come in and pick through the debris. In MO folks make a good living coming onto farms to scavenge metal and copper. Usually they will cut you a percentage of their take. Dont be afraid to ask for help.

I certainly hope you do not have anything toxic on your land. If you do I would seek advice on getting rid of it.

Please don't throw in the towel and walk away. You have invested too much of your time effort and money in your homestead as we all have.

I'll be keeping you in my prayers.

BaDlander

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I'm in my own little world, but it's ok. They know me here!

..............At the very least I would present your 'Evidence' to an attorney , let him evaluate your possible courses of compensation for the cleanup costs that are out of the norm in this situation . Surely , a review of your case shouldn't be that expensive . Also , you need an attorney who is entirely independent with NO connections to the RE agency or the seller in this case . , fordy

Tango - what I see in reading through this post is you feeling discouraged, overwhelmed and feeling very taken advantage of/lied to. It is easy to let negative emotions get you down. There has to be a bigger purpose to this. There is some reason you have been drawn to this land, it just isn't evident yet.

You have a done a tremendous amount of work and you have already built your cabin! It seems a waste to give up now. Remember that building a homestead is a long journey. I wonder, since you've already had a homestead, if you are being unrealistic in where you should be with your plans. Work with what you have now, even if it is not the whole piece of land. Little bit by little bit.

Try to let go of those negative emotions if you can, focus on re-claiming this land from the junk and the idiots that treated it so poorly. Nurture it and restore it to health. Use that spiritual side that took you to become ordained and turn it towards the land.

On a practical side, real estate in most areas is picking up, if you decide in a few years to sell, you should get a better price and having homesteaded there for a few years should make it more sellable.

last night as i spoke with a friend i noticed these negative emotions arise almost with every sentence. i realize it has been a long journey all ready and again i am at a beginning. but this time with a lot less since i am starting from scratch at 49. i think maybe i need a physical. i don't even sound like myself. thanks Vosey. and thanks everyone for your input. very grateful to all of you and for this site.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

If you're going to litigate, quit with the admissions like "you're right, I didn't do my due diligence."

If discovered by the defendant, you might have just lost your case.

Talk to an attorney, not a public forum with discoverable chat.

So you bought a pig in a poke. What to do next? Here are some things I would think about.

1) I would take a breather, sit down on a stump, and look at what I've already accomplished. A lot of dangerous, infested old buildings gone, and a new pond. You've just enhanced the resale value of your property for the future.

2) The locals probably will shy away until the place is more visibly cleaned up from the road, and at this point they would probably lowball you still. And any other suc--(er, buyer) might back away, too...(yes, we already know the term for that...due diligence, huh?)

3) If it's in the budget, I would look at a tractor with a front end loader/scoop. I'd put a bush hog on the back and have at it, one swath at a time. Scalp it down so you can see, and pick up the trash in that swath only( putting it into the FEL scoop.) You can get a little red wagon and a hand held picker upper so as not to have to stoop....Then go after it with a roller magnet like the roofers use, to get rid of the nails and wires that an animal might swallow. If you make a swath a week during the warm weather, that's about 150 feet each year that could be electric fenced for animals. I would sort out the steel and aluminum, then make a pile of the trash until I had enough for a dumpster load. I would offer the metal at the roadside, free, and see what happens--you might be surprised. An experienced scrapper will know what a metal yard will buy. Maybe then you could justify a pickup and pay for it with scrap proceeds after you learned what's what....

4) I would find a topographical map to study this winter. Maybe the swales and different spots could be designed with some permaculture and water retention for your fruit tree planting. You would also find out if you could bury the trash heap in the swale without too much problems, especially if it was a part of a permanent water plan. That's the reason for the front end loader, too.

5) I would just store the tires in one place for now. You may have to pay a disposal fee, but you might have some luck giving them to a farmer for covering a silage mound.....

6) You could see if you can sort out the wood and use it as a way to "kindle" a brush burning pile(Tennessee law will not let you burn building materials by themselves, but you can use them for "kindling".........)

6) In your first post about this place, you said you owner-financed it. I would think twice before suing the person I bought it from, because technically he still has title to it) You are suing the person who could get it all back, plus any improvements, should you lose.

7) Also, in your first post, you mentioned that you might just back out--that you didn't know in your heart if it was right or not. Personally, I think, like so many others, that you have gotten overwhelmed, that you are considering that option, but that you might feel different, if you just take a breather--and get a physical. Maybe smaller bites, and hold it open for awhile until it's cleaner, and you can either live there, proud of what you've done, or proudly offer it as a very desirable piece of property. You can win either way.

geo

OK, now go get the new "pin stripe".

Been holding that in.

I own this place free and clear. By backing out , I mean selling, not abandoning.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

Go to the assessor. He will have on record what you paid for the ten acres. Bring pictures. Bring receipts. Because it is already December, changes cannot be made, but he'll be ready for you during Board of Review in March. I don't know what the property tax laws are in TN, but in Michigan they would lower your value, then as you cleaned up add the value, but separate it so you don't pay taxes on the better property, but a new buyer would.

You are probably paying taxes on the buildings you tore down. That alone should save you some money at tax time.

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Nothing is as strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength - St. Francis de Sales

thanks Maura, will do.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

I think that you gave it your best shot. If you feel overwhelmed, then move on. I'm sure you will get your money back out of it and can find a better place, with better understanding of the evils of some out there. It is a shame many cant be trusted. You are not alone, many of us have done the same thing. I way over payed for a very bad home my first time around, trusting the seller. Many tears I shed.

This place was a stepping stone to a much better homestead that is waiting for you.

Tango, whether you sell the place and move somewhere else or decide to keep fixing it up is your own decision to make. You know how much you can take and how much you are willing to give to a place.

That said, I can't help but wonder if the land isn't somehow grateful for that you are there and for all that you have done. I know I'm projecting human emotions on to a piece of land which doesn't make a lot of sense. Whether you stay or go - you've been a good steward.

If I was going to re-market the place I would never go to the tax office with the intent of reducing the appraised value. If anything, I would hope the tax value was increased! The tax value is a form of appraisal that most folks think is a truer appraisal and possibly understated than one placed by a realtor or banker.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

hi agamntoo, thanks for the advice. yes, i realized that after i spoke with the tax appraiser's office, lol. but not because it would appraise for less. actually i think it will be appraise much higher now. it was literally a junk pile from the road and now it is a groomed piece of land suitable for farming. last night i just looked back and thought back at everything and know it was an honest lack of judgement on my part to purchase. i don't think this was the place- like farmgal said, it was a stepping stone and now i will need to take a much longer time to find the right place. i have decided to sell.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

I must have a karmic connection to this area. It is my second place in the region and in the first place I gave everything away. Here it has been a giving away as well and I've thought that it is a gift to the land and to the region. Maybe that is why I stopped here There is a lovely feeling here at times. After the old buildings were torn down and all the visible junk hauled off, it was like "WOW!" like dark clouds had lifted and the sun was shining ; it isn't all bad. Someone at some point had a lot of love for this place. I uncovered a lovely flowering cactus garden in a corner, cleaned up a mature stand of junipers, lovely mature photinias, mimosas and jasmine. All the lovely mature trees in the front were covered up in junk and weeds and bramble and now they are showing a lot of character. i think there is a pecan there but not sure. it doesn't look well even after cleaning up. i've planted pear, plum and peach and put in a small raised garden area, thinking all the while it s a labor of love.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

I'm just smiling. So maybe, as heartbreaking as this has been, there is good that will come of it. You gave the land a chunk of your time and energy, and uncovered some really beautiful things that were not likely to be seen unless someone was doing the dirty work. The trees and the cactus garden and other beauties get to breathe and get to be seen. Now perhaps some other person will see the beauty you uncovered - beauty that was so hidden under junk and weeds. You gave to the land and in it's way it will give back to you since you've decided to sell and the value has likely increased.

I hope you find just the right place next time and that the land finds its "just right" person, too.

I think if I were you I'd sell it at auction and move on.

Do auctions bring in fair or low prices? There are many auctions here but usually they are older established places that were bought and paid off decades ago. I'm right at the edge of breaking even - not for my labor - but just in terms of what has been spent. I've looked at the properties for sale and I'm right in the ball park, chasm full of trash notwithstanding.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

It depends on auction day. A week end is incredibly better than any week day. If the auction is held inside a building weather isn't a factor. The best times to sell property are spring, early summer and fall. Make the place look taken care of by mowing and maybe fresh paint somewhere. It would help if you had a nice garden growing. Just pick some fast growing plants.

I think auctions can swing one way or another depending on the market. Just before the real estate slide people who had land near my farm would always auction rather than list because they ended up getting way more for their place. After the real estate slide ... it was exactly the opposite. There were beautiful places up for auction that didn't even get bid on.

You might want to talk to some local companies that hold real estate auctions and see what they have to say. If they are reputable they will be able to give you some good insight. They also might know of people looking for a place like yours. They should be able to tell you what sorts of places people are inquiring about and what kind of $ they are looking to spend.