180 Whirlwind Estate for 1.2 Million

180 Whirlwind in Clinton, TN is the former home of Jake Butcher. The 22,000+ sqft estate sits on approximately 9 acres in a HOA controlled subdivision. The home is currently on the market for $1.2 million. Commercial Bank of Harrogate, TN owns the property - the bank paid $400,000 for Whirlwind at a February, 2011 auction. They paid too much.

The Realtor has a video on youtube (I don't want people thinking I made this) that describes the property like this:

Own a piece of East Tennessee history! Beautiful Whirlwind Estate has 22,000 sq ft, with 5 separate living areas, all currently constructed as condos, but can be converted back to their original construction. 9 acres with a stocked pond, boat slip, lighted tennis court, inground heated pool, helicopter pad, an absolute must-see!

When the description starts with "own a piece of TN history!" It's evident the Realtor does not know the history of what Jake Butcher and his brother did to the people of East Tennessee. The Butchers lived the high life off stolen money. No matter what these men might have done right, they will always be known as the crooks who embezzled money from depositors and bankrupted their own banks. People who banked with them lost their life savings, their retirement, even their day-to-day money to get by. The Butcher estate is a reminder of greed, excess and theft: it's not a piece of TN history most folks want to own or celebrate.

The home at 180 Whirlwind is divided into 5 condos. But if you're thinking about turning the already established condos into a money-making investment, you can forget it. The condos are covered in mold - inside and out, they're decades behind trend, they're expensive to maintain, they've sat empty for years and the HOA will no longer allow the property to be used for anything other than a private residential home. So, it's not a question of can these condos be converted back to the original construction, they must be converted back to a residential home.

Why would any luxury buyer pay $1.2 million for a 22,000 sqft home surrounded by households with a median income of $35,000? The answer is they wouldn't. That would be stupid! STUUUPID! A luxury buyer is not going to get their money back after construction: they're not going to get their money back at $1.2 million. Even if they could convince the bank to take a dollar just to get it off the bank's books, there is no money to be made in this home. I don't know a single luxury buyer or investor interested in pissing money away.

The Jake Butcher Whirlwind estate at 180 Whirlwind is no longer beautiful. Yes there is a pond - one that is shared with the Home Owner's Association.

Yes, there is a tennis court - in need of desperate repair.

And, yes, there is a pool - believed to be the original pool from the late 1970s. Trees grow through the shredded pool cover, the pool surround needs attention and the outdoor kitchen features: layers of peeling paint, a dangerous state of dry rot, an antiquated grilling apparatus and inexplicable graffiti; it doesn't even say anything, where is the artistry?

So what do I think the Jake Butcher estate is worth? I won't tell you what I offered Commercial Bank but I can tell you I was being generous. In truth, the house is not worth the land it sits on.

Though situated on 9 acres. To demo a house this size would be costly and any construction or demolition must be approved by the HOA. You then have to appeal to the architectural and landscaping requirements of the Home Owner's Association for new construction. What were once beautiful views to the marina have been marred by the garage of a home I like to call "Spite house." The land backs to property that has already been purchased by various people: ready for new construction. You simply don't know what further development will be built around you and you have no control over it.

Is 180 Whirlwind worth 1.2 million? Maybe. But only if we're talking India Rupees.

Original Floorplan for the Butcher Mansion: The Second Floor

This is the original floorplan for the Butcher Mansion - the second floor.

I first saw Whirlwind in 1991 after the second owners lost the home to foreclosure.

Though the second owners had the home for approximately 6 years, they hadn't made any significant changes to the home's original decor.

Prior to developers dividing Whirlwind into condominiums, the mansion's first floor sunroom and conference room rose approximately 24 feet to meet the height of the second floor's ceiling.

Butcher's "upper office" housed a jacuzzi. That's it. Just a big jacuzzi in a nondescript room overlooking the conference room below.

The decor of the master bedroom was - and I'm pretty sure I'm right about this - inspired by the great Ron Burgundy. I have included video of the legendary Anchorman below for your viewing pleasure. Warning: This video showcases highly potent, full-on sexual tension. You might not want to watch it at work or in front of impressionable children.





In classic Ron Burgundy style, the Butcher mansion's wallpaper made a statement. And that statement was: 'look at my giant peacock.'

A shimmering Saturday-Night-Fever silver - if you can picture it - served as a not-so-subtle backdrop to the wallpaper's main design element: giant peacocks. The metaphor was not lost on anyone.

Apparently, the "less is more" theory of design was not a theory to which the Butcher's subscribed. It's a little known fact that giant peacocks will not go ignored. They preened on those walls, exposing themselves in every corner of the room, reflected in every square tile of the mirrored ceiling. All around me peacocks undressed me with their beady little eyes. I have to say, I felt a little violated.

Later today I'll post the floorplan of Whirlwind's 2nd floor condo conversion. Until then: you stay classy Anderson County.

Jake Butcher Mansion: Is the Address 182 Whirlwind Lane or Not?

Is the Butcher Mansion address 182 Whirlwind Lane or not?

It seems like a straight forward question, right? Unfortunately, it isn't. It appears no one really knows what the address is.

When the Butcher's lived in Whirlwind the address was on Old Emory Road. But when the developer came in and subdivided the land and hacked the mansion into 5 tacky condominiums everything changed.

Commercial Bank in Tennessee has the property listed on their website as 182 Whirlwind Lane Clinton TN.

The Realtor has the property listed on her site as 180 Whirlwind.

The Property Assessor's office has the parcel identified as 123 Whirlwind Point.

The CRS (courthouse retrieval system) the Realtor uses has the property listed as separate units: 123 Whirlwind Point, 182 Whirlwind Point, 186 Whirlwind Point and no number Whirlwind Point. There's a condo missing in there somewhere. And wouldn't it make it easier to just have one correct address listing units 1-5 or A-E so people can figure out what's what and who's who? Is that so hard?

The deeds all use legal addresses that start with "Beginning at a point on the West edge of Wing Wall and Whirlwind Point Road running South 45 deg. 45 min. West, 112.64 feet to a point; Thence on a curve having a radius of 400 Feet, and arc length of 266.21 feet, a chord bearing and distance of South 26 deg..." Jesus, Mary and Joseph!!! Just tell me the frickin address!!! The legal description goes on for three quarters of a page and never gives a street address.

Also, did you notice how the legal description identifies Whirlwind Point ROAD? You won't find a Whirlwind Point ROAD in any other documentation.

Isn't that nice?

The Trustee's office has the Butcher mansion address as 123 Whirlwind Point not to be confused with 123 Whirlwind Point LANE which is a totally separate parcel with a completely different owner.

The copy of the utilities I have in my possession identify the property as 182 Whirlwind Point Lane.

Zillow identifies the property being just off Whirlwind Drive but there is no other record that identifies any street named Whirlwind Drive in that area. Google maps has it listed being just off Whirlwind Point Lane.

At one point, the Realtor told me the bank representative had his attorneys working on turning the condos back into a single family residence because the Home Owner's Association was charging the bank for 5 separate units.

Well, if anyone made a few clicks on their computer they would have learned that the property was converted back to a single family residence in January 2007 - that's over 5 years ago, people. 5 years.

And the Trustee's office - the one who bills taxes every year - has the Butcher mansion listed as a single family residence. The property taxes for a single family residence in Anderson County are based on 25% of the total property value. A commercial property, which a condominium unit would be, is based on 40% of the total property value. The Butcher mansion total property value is multiplied by 25%, which makes it a single family residence, and then that figure is taxed 2.532%.

Do you know how I found that out? I made a few clicks on my handy dandy computer and then I made a phone call to the Trustee's office. I had all that information in about 5 minutes. I wonder how much Commercial Bank is paying those attorneys since they were supposedly working on that for weeks?

FYI: the Trustee's office has the total property value of the Butcher Mansion listed at $1,711,400 which is waaaay too high for the condition of the property. Makes you wonder if anyone actually went out to the property or if they just based it on previous records?

So, Commercial Bank is paying attorneys to do work that's already been done. They're being billed Homeowner Association Fees 5 times what they should be paying. However, the bank representative told me he refuses to pay the association fees so I guess it doesn't really matter, does it?  Oh, but it will. But that's a whole 'nother topic. The appraisal the Trustee's office is using puts the taxes at $10,833. Commercial Bank must continue to pay those taxes or risk losing the property to Anderson County. If only Commercial Bank could figure out what they're paying taxes on.