Non Electric Homestead McMinn County (Mason: salary, safety, to move)

[JEANNE61]

Kygman is thinking like a lot of us . .just go to the library 'everyday' so we can all know what's happening in your life. .
i've been praying for you .. And i know . .only good things are coming your way .
God bless you . .

Jeanne

[Forest Breath]

I just got of the phone with my attorney. I went to see Hazel last night and set up a meeting with my group and her group and she said it was not necessary because she talked to her attorney and all we have to do is get my five acres surveryed and he will do all the paperwork for us. AND...she found someone to do the five acre survey for us and all "I" have to pay them is $900. Then she proceeded to tell me that the driveway is part of the five acres, meaning the driveway will be about 1 1/2 acres and that leaves us with only about 3 1/2 acres around the house. There is no way we can live like we have chosen on that amount of land. So I told her that and told her I would just call my attorney and have him call her attorney and they can take care of things.

So I called him this morning and he said he is tired of playing games. He said she either has no intention of following through with any agreement since she keeps changing her story or she totally does not understand what is going on. So he is calling her attorney this morning to see what is going on and why the original agreement cannot be kept. After that call, he will determine what the next move will be. He suspects the next move will be him sending a letter to Hazel and her attorney informing them of the original agreement and that we are going to sue for that agreement to be honored. Then we will start negotiations.

One thing he does know is, when he was a District Attorney for 24 years, he had about 14 attorneys working under him. Hazel's attorney was NOT one of them because he said her attorney does some things that he don't agree with and is not in any form aggressive and unfortunately, to be a good attorney, you have to be aggressive at times. He said her attorney could not handle aggressive attorneys. My attorney is very aggressive. So I do have that going for me.

So he told me we will start negotiations soon and he wants me to talk to Chris and decide what is the LEAST we will settle for. ANd I don't mean take, I mean continue to pay for. Beyond that, he said the worst case scenerio would be us walking away. That will just kill us, but we have to face the possibility that could happen. But he did say she wold have to pay for anything we have done for the betterment of the farm, including labor. The cost of that continues to rise as I add it up and it could go as high as $35,000 to $40,000. Yeah it sounds like a lot to start over with, but no amount can cover the cost of the sentimental value of our home. Jimmy stood on that hill dying, but still lifted a hammer and saw and helped build that home, because it was his dream as well as ours to see it done. My family built that home, even my 3 year old grandson helped. There are boards nailed onto the home with notes written by and to Jimmy, secret messages only a few of us know about. There is the concrete block turned the wrong way, but I left it because my grandson put that block there all by himself. Nothing can replace those things. So I just hope for the best. This is tearing me apart because if we have to sue, it will sever my relationship with Hazel and that hurts terribly.

Other than that, I made another half gallon of jerky yesterday with a dry rub. It tasted good, but not as good as the marinated jerky from Saturday. I have not seen the bear in awhile. I am still busy canning meat. I will have some pics from inside of the house that I can post in the next few days.

As for the library, I really don't have time for that right now, but I can stay a little late after work and post. I will try to post more often with updates and pics. Thank you everyone for all of your kind thoughts and prayers. Hopefully all of this will work out for the best for everyone involved.

Cyndi

[Pam& Bill]

Cyndi,
I'm keeping my fingers crossed it all works out for you and Chris. It sounds like you have a good attorney and I hope he delivers.
Pam

[Forest Breath]

Well my attorney just called me back and I am so hurt and well, I just don't quite know what to say. He called Hazel's attorney and asked what was going on with the situation. The attorney said Jimmy approached him earlier in the year to legally establish the initial agreement and he told Jimmy he had never done anything like that before and he pretty much backed away from it. He told Jimmy he would look at various ways to do it but then Jimmy died. The next thing he knows, Hazel shows up with Bob the "Preacher" and Bob informs him that me and Chris approached Jimmy and Hazel and talked them in to the agreement and she needs to get out of it. That is when he suggested she offer to sell us the five acres and cancel the agreement. So she did. My attorney then said What do you know about Bob because everything I have managed to find out about him is not good. And the other attorney said he was not too fond of him either but there was nothing he could do about it because...

Hazel brought him in this past Friday and made him Power Of Attorney over her estate.

My attorney then informed him that we are not pleased with the five acre deal and we need to negotiate this and that I have hired him to represent me. So her attorney is supposed to call her and let her know and find out what she wants done and get back with my attorney in the next few days. And my attorney told him that we are prepared to sue Hazel and her Preacher if need be. Then I was informed to not discuss this with Hazel or Bob anymore. If they try to speak about it, inform them I have hired an attorney to represent me and hand them his card. But with Bob being the Power Of Attorney he can convey the land to whoever he desires if he wants to, so we have to act fast. He informed me again that sadly, we may have to walk away with reimbursement for money and labor put into the farm since March of this year. The thought if that just breaks my heart into. All of this just breaks my heart so bad I cannot even put it into words. Because this new information means...

1) I am an idiot (which I pretty much knew anyway)

2) Hazel, the woman we have loved so much, compared to my grandmother, took care of, fed, took to the Doctor, worked her garden , canned food for her, cleaned her house and buried her husband for her......looked us in the eyes and lied to us. She told us that she went to the lawyer and told him to finish the agreement and he told her he could not do it with good clear heart because he was worried about her financially and that she needed to keep the farm in case she needed to sell it for money because she could not survive on her social security income. The attorney said none of that took place. BOB....told her that, not the attorney. She lied about only being able to sell us 5 acres, she sat there and let this man lie to her attorney and make us out to be some greedy, vultures that prey on old people to take their land from them and not a bit of it is true.

That alone hurts more than anyone can imagine. Knowing she just lied to not just me, but Chris, my daughter, my grandchildren. I don't understand, I just really don't understand. These two people were closer to me than most of my family and I don't understand.

I told my lawyer I could care less about the house or the 2 acres it is on because I would not give up my home for that big old house. But our HOME means more to me than anything right now, it is just a poorly built shack to 99% of the people in this world, but it is our home that we built with our hands with a man we loved so much and every time I pull up that hill and see it I love it even more. If I could pick it up and move it as far away from Hazel as I could I would do it, but we can't. The attorney said we cannot move the house because it is a permanent structure on the farm now and is now part of the farm.

So now I wait. I wait to hear from my attorney. Hazel's attorney is to call and find out what she wants to do and then call my attorney back. That could be a few days. Meanwhile I have to drive by her house knowing she lied, look at Bob's camper and other items, knowing he is the one tricking Hazel and I have to drive through all the fields that was suppose to be mine, that I have paid on since June and made plans for and know that they are not mine and never were mine. I don't know how all of this will end but...

for anyone who reads this thread....

never...I don't care if it is family, spouse, your life long best friend, NEVER enter into an agreement to buy land and build a home without making it legal with the court IMMEDIATELY. Time is not always on your side. If it is not legal as soon as possible after the words come out of someone's mouth....you can lose everything. Time can change minds and take lives. That is all it can do.

So, I will update on this issue when I hear from my attorney again. Beyond that I plan to continue canning the deer meat and working on the hardwood floor and hope and pray for a settlement that will be fair.

Again...thanks everyone

[kiwirach7]

Forest Breath, i feel so angry on your behalf....i live a world away from you, yet your story, your plans are what i desire the most. you continue to be in my thoughts.

i hope the Bob gets what coming to him, and while i understand how much you feel hurt by Hazels actions, right in this minute i say 'take her to the cleaners' (should that not be a common american phrase...it means take her for all shes got). believe me, i know this isnt the answer, but i am sitting here so angry at this point in time.

along with everyone else, yes please keep up us updated as you are able to, but know, theres alot of people here supporting you and keeping you in their thoughts.

[Pam& Bill]

Cyndi,You are not an idiot, you were just trusting. I know the hurt goes very deep and I'm sorry you are having to deal with this.
Pam

[CA Sweet Pea]

Originally Posted by Pam& Bill

Cyndi,You are not an idiot, you were just trusting. I know the hurt goes very deep and I'm sorry you are having to deal with this.
Pam

I have to agree - you are NOT an idiot!!!!! At one time or the other we have all trusted and been done wrong.

I think that Hazel, in her grief - and possibly due to her age - has been deceived by this "preacher". Believe me, he will get his just reward in the end - the Good Book has something to say about taking care of the widows - and I don't think he is taking care of her with her best interests at heart.

But back to your situation now - I hope and pray that you don't have to give up your home and the land - in the end, it may be the best. Maybe God has something better for you!

May His peace surround you!

[hiknapster]

Am I an idiot?

I am sure I am reading this wrong.

You are getting five acres for $900, or 3 1/2 acres plus a driveway. Right?

[Forest Breath]

No you are not an idiot, but I may have not made things clear.

The initial agreement was 22 acres and a house for $212,000 at $500 a month or until the death of Hazel. Then when this new thing came about, she wanted to just sell us 5 acres for $30,000 but the 1 1/2 acre driveway has to come out of the five acres, so basically, 3 1/2 acres and a driveway for $30,000. But the 3 1/2 acres cuts us off from the Spring we dug, the pond we planned to use to water the animals and the branch we were relying on as well. It is 3 1/2 acres on the back hill of the property with no access other than a driveway she wants us to build ourself by cutting down about 200 trees and building 2 bridges.

I am afraid I still made that confusing and I apologize. I am not thinking too clearly right now. If I am not clear, just let me know and I will try to clarify it.

What we would like, in the least, is the five acre field our house is on and the driveway. That is about 6 1/2 acres and if we do the work on the driveway, we would like a decrease in the price per acre of the land. What we hope to get is the back 10 acres which would give us the Spring and pond and about 4 acres of healthy woods for resources later. But to settle out of court, we will settle for the five acre field and driveway.

I have avoided Hazel tonight because I know in my mind I could not help but ask her why she lied to me and Chris. So I am staying away tonight. I will wait until the shock has worn off a bit.

This evening I have made another half gallon of jerky and canned 8 pounds of ground deer. I have a LOT more to can as far as the meat goes. Maybe I will get it done eventually. It is very cold tonight and I need to get back home and get a fire going, lock the hens up and carry in some wood. I am at my future mother in law's right now canning meat.

The $900 was what she wanted me to give Bob so he could get a "friend" to survey off that 5 acres.

[mbmouse]

I feel for ya. This is a awful, stressful situation.
I do have a question though. I know you said that Hazel has no relatives but maybe a long time family friend or very removed family member or someone you could get in contact with to find out more about this Bob? Maybe they know of him or can vouch that she hasn't know him all that long? There has to be someone in Hazel and Jimmy's lives that would step in and not let this Bob person take advantage of her so badly?
Executer of her estate, moving his property on her land......sounds like a shark to me.
How long have Jimmy and Hazel known this guy?