Cookeville TN Question

[D&R]

I don't want to mentioned any names. But, if the initials are S.B. be aware. I recomend you calling some of the local building suppliers and getting references. I know that people are going hard times but, some of things they have done are intentional. There are many reliable contractors in the Cookeville area.

[B-2]

Attorney with a good contract and a full background ck on the contractor is what I'm thinking now.

[BLT001]

I did some business with them recently. Everything went well untill time to be paid. After several months of trying to get paid, they paid me with a bad check. Then they told me that the homeowners hadn't paid them. I have since talked to the homeowners. They showed me proof that Vickers Home Builders had been paid. This has happened to alot of people. Now, there are several lawsuits against them. I know that people go through some bad times. But, I was willing to work with them. Just be honest and not put the blame on someone else. I only write this now because I just heard that they are going into business with someone else under another name. I would hate to see other people get hurt. Most of the subs and vendors will recover from their loss. But, some of the homeowners are out thousands of dollars and still don't have a house. What was to be such an exciting time for them has turned into a nightmare. Anyone building now, just be extra careful.

[Donald4831]

I have heard about the Vickers builders circumstances. Can you tell me if this is Carlen Vickers company or Denise and Steve Vickers company? I'm looking fIor a good builder and have heard good things. Am I correct? Thank you for your help?

[BLT001]

I'm dealing with Steve and Denise Vickers. I have heard nothing but good things about the Carlen Vickers company.

[as3369]

We are currently building a house in Putnam County and are working with a wonderful honest builder. He is also building our neighbor's house and his quality of work is second to none. Not a big construction company, but an honest general contractor.

Both homes are timber frame, post & beam construction and are relatively high end homes at affordable costs.

[herbroberson]

I am a current resident (and 9th generation native) of Western North Carolina in Buncombe County. The taxes and liberalism here has finally gotten so bad that it is driving a native son out of the mountains. My wife and I are looking to move out of the area and Cookeville seems like a really nice place. Are there any natives on here that might share some insight as to what is really Cookeville and what is Chamber of Commerce hype? Thaks in advance for your honest replies!
Herb
PS I promise we won't show up going ..."back where we come from it is done like this...." I solomly promise!!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by herbroberson

I am a current resident (and 9th generation native) of Western North Carolina in Buncombe County. The taxes and liberalism here has finally gotten so bad that it is driving a native son out of the mountains. My wife and I are looking to move out of the area and Cookeville seems like a really nice place. Are there any natives on here that might share some insight as to what is really Cookeville and what is Chamber of Commerce hype? Thaks in advance for your honest replies!
Herb
PS I promise we won't show up going ..."back where we come from it is done like this...." I solomly promise!!

OK this is going to be a long post!

I'm not a native of Cookeville but can definitely tell you about the place.

For starters, have you done a search on the forum to see what others have said about it? Most posts have been very positive about Cookeville. A few have been negative, but those have mainly been about the job situation or people who can't find the right house/land that they want.

Someone a year or so ago was disappointed that Cookeville wasn't more touristy. They were expecting something more like Waynesville NC I guess. Someone a couple of weeks ago in the Nashville forum rudely said that Cookeville is "boring." Well, yeah. It's a town of less than 30,000 and is an hour from a big city (Nashville). It's not the place to go if you're a party animal.

It's a real town with strip malls, factories, and trailer parks. It's also got country clubs, historic neighborhoods, museums, galleries, and an excellent mid-major university (not a party school, either). Its school system is outstanding.

The last 20 years have seen a rather large influx of people from all over who have come to Cookeville because of the university or for retirement (or both). So compared to other towns its size, it's got a lot of excellent, independent restaurants as well as a lot of big national restaurants and retail.

It's also got two symphonies (the university symphony and a professional community symphony), several theater organizations, a children's museum, a railroad museum, a history museum, and a just-opened dinosaur museum. It also has a large hospital with one of the busiest cardiac centers in the state.

A lot of retirees enjoy taking classes at the university for fun and participating in the various symposia, lecture series, exhibitions, and sporting events that come with being in a college town. It's not the kind of place where retirees move and then do nothing but play canasta and bingo. There are no retirement communities in Cookeville yet it's a very popular retirement destination.

Politically Cookeville is pretty conservative although its mayor is a wildly popular young environmentalist, and one of the most beloved school board members was openly gay (he just retired). While the vast majority of public officials are Democrat, they're very conservative. The GOP has carried Putnam County by a wide margin in the last several elections (even though Al Gore's office used to be in Cookeville when he was a senator--and when he was conservative).

It's also in a gorgeous setting surrounded by large lakes, waterfalls, gorges, and rolling hills. Within a half-hour of Cokeville are a dozen state parks and natural areas.

Good luck!

[herbroberson]

We are currently prowling around to find a real estate agent and hope to be in the area within a year! We have got 70 acres here in Buncombe to sell first and retirement papers to get turned in to the fire department. That alone will take 3 to 6 months. But we will be visiting and looking hard real soon!