Jake Butcher Mansion Update for August 2, 2012

WOW! 1,700 views on my humble little Jake Butcher Mansion blog. Haven't heard any activity on the place as of yet. I checked online today with the bank that owns the property, Commercial Bank in Harrogate, TN - Whirlwind is still for sale at a ridiculous $1.2 million.

On December 27th the tax man cometh with another $10,800 or more. How much fun for Commerical Bank getting bills month after month: utilities, maintenance, increasing deterioration and repairs just to show the property. tsk tsk tsk.

It's been 3 months since I made my offer to Commercial Bank in Farragut and, just in case they're reading this, (hi there) my offer stands. Commercial Bank: ring me up, start a conversation, let's get involved. As far as I'm concerned, negotiations are still open.

People may view me crazy to continue interest in Whirlwind but I have my reasons and there is a purpose.

The Knoxville MLS has not changed the listing on the Butcher Mansion. Same Realtor, same price, same write-up, same photos. Same ol', same ol' I guess.

According to my back-end statistics, the majority of people viewing this site are coming from a Windows based system, using Internet Explorer followed by Safari. Iphone users log in after Windows users but only make up 6% of my viewers.

I always love to see what keywords bring people in and who's looking at the site. Don't worry, I can't see who you are, but I can see if you're coming from a company, like Coldwell Banker Wallace & Wallace - who happens to have the listing on the Butcher Mansion. I also find it entertaining to see attorney offices with 5 or 6 names behind them logging in. It makes me feel like someone's tattling and folks are checking in to see if I'm behaving. I am.

My peeps in the United States represent most of my readers but I'd like to give a big shout out to Latvia who comes in a close second for most views. Holla! Who knew?!

Jake Butcher Mansion: So Sad

People, the Butcher Mansion is sad: it really is.

Yesterday, I showed the original floorplan for the second floor (seen left). I compared the Butcher's decorating style to the style of the Ron Burgundy character in Anchorman.

During the Butcher's time the home was tacky. Now, it's just sad.

Rumors circulated for years that Butcher had at least one toilet lined with gold coins. I personally have not seen said toilet but I've heard the rumor repeatedly from various sources. Of course, that doesn't make it true: but based on the decor I saw after the Butcher's left, I wouldn't doubt it.

Do you think Oprah has a toilet in her home that allows her to sh** on money?

I don't think so.

Do you think Nelson Mandela flushes to the sound of toilet water swooshing over gold coins?

Not likely.

Why? Because that is ridiculous.

You know what else is ridiculous? Commercial Bank in Farragut, TN thinking they're going to get $1.2 million for the Butcher Mansion with its current condition and exorbitant maintenance costs.

Developers bought the Butcher estate at auction in 1993 and turned the (approximately) 22,000 sqft mansion into 5 condos: two on the first floor: two on the second floor: and one on the third floor: the basement was left a basement.

Condo #3 is on the second floor and takes up the entire right side of the above floorplan.

The developers made a few tweaks in the build as far as closets and laundry areas, but this is the gist of the plan that exists today.

The changes you'll notice are:
* You no longer have access to the right side of the house from the stair landing. That former hall doorway has been closed off to make a half bath.

* The entry to condo #3 (and condo #4) are through the front door on the first floor, up the winding staircase and through what was once a sitting room.

By the way, there's no elevator in this 22,000 sqft, 4-level home. I hope you enjoy a solid workout because you're going to get one every time you carry in the groceries or a sleeping child.

* The developers took the two bedrooms that once faced the marina and turned it into a living room. There's a pitiful little fireplace in the corner.

* What was once a two-story sunroom on the first floor has since been closed off and is now a family room for Condo #3. Which I have to say, I like the idea of closing that off. It's difficult to decorate 24 ft walls and it's a pain in the ass to heat wasted space. So close it in: that works for me. And there. That was a compliment.

The family room has a really spectacular circle window that looks out to the garages of the homes blocking what was once a rolling pasture and water view. oh well. Actually, if you stand on the far right side of the window and lean to your right as far as you can without falling, then look diagonally to your left, you can catch a peak of the water. So there's that.

* Do you see the dining room, kitchen and master bedroom area in the revised floorplan? That used to be the Butcher's playroom for their kids. This space is huge! How huge? Based on my calculations, the former playroom area is approximately 2,000 sqft. My entire house in Colorado comes in at approximately 1,800 sqft. A 2,000 sqft foot playroom is mind-boggling.

So let's take a look at a couple of images from Condo #3, shall we?

Jake Butcher's Whirlwind Estate - Condo #3 Living Room

This is what you see when you walk through the front door of Condo #3. There's a corner fireplace with a surround made from materials you can pick up at Home Depot for $125. The corner tv unit offers your eyes a secondary black box to look at: so, when you walk into the entry of this condo your eyes shoot off in different directions. Nice. There's absolutely no focal point. And with the duct work above the tv cabinet running the length of the room, this looks like a cookie-cutter, new-build basement to me.

This is the guest bedroom in the original floorplan with the bathroom to the right

There is absolutely nothing special in what the developers did to this house. The former Butcher residence in Clinton, TN can no longer be described as an estate or even a mansion. It's a great big, hacked up, quickly deteriorating, public nuisance. The cost of restoring and maintaining this home is astronomical. No one in their right mind is going to buy this place. And that's why my offer still stands. The question of whether or not I'm in my right mind is still up for debate.

Condo #3 & #4 have a family room like this. The window is great. The view? Not so much.

This is the kitchen in the 3rd condo. There is nothing right about this. I don't feel I need to go into the dated lighting, the dated floors, the old appliances and everything else that's wrong here: the bottom line is there shouldn't be a kitchen here at all. The developers destroyed the resale of this home when they chopped it into boring, unremarkable, terribly-expensive-to-maintain, condos.

This sadly, is the master bedroom in condo 3. There is very limited natural light (electricity is off). You can see where sheetrock has been removed. There's no flooring. The ceiling fan is cheap and, again, it is soooo dark.

And this, my friends, is the master bath. What can I say that hasn't already been said?

Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. Heavy sigh. Heavy sigh.

Clinton, TN Mansion vs a Colorado Springs, CO Mansion

When I made my pitch to Commercial Bank in Farragut TN for the Jake Butcher Mansion in Clinton, TN I was confident my proposal was solid. I still am. I felt I was at an advantage as far as knowledge about the house. I came prepared with a thorough presentation, comps, research, the entire deed history, photos of the home and, of course, my offer.

The biggest mistake the bank representative made (other than telling me the bank's bottom line) was that he told me he's also an appraiser. See, that's a problem because now I've lost all respect for the man. You cannot tell people you're an appraiser and then demonstrate how very little you know about the house and the area you're selling.

Here's the thing: the bank is upside down on the Butcher mansion. But who cares? Certainly not me. They took on a bad loan with a guy who was borrowing from bank A to pay bank B to pay bank C and so on. They were the last bank to come in on the deal and they got screwed. Not my problem. I'm looking for a deal, not a pity party.

Just because a house has a lot of square footage does not mean you're going to get a buyer willing to pay your million dollar asking price. In fact, Whirlwind's square footage is actually a negative for today's buyer. It is ridiculously expensive to maintain this home. Former Banker Jake Butcher lived there because his in-laws lived next door. He flew by helicopter to get to work in Knoxville. He was afforded such luxury because he was embezzling millions of dollars from his depositors. He went to prison, lost the home through bankruptcy, and every buyer who has taken a loan against Whirlwind since has ended up in foreclosure. It doesn't matter what your asking price is. It doesn't matter what you believe the appraised value to be. What matters is, do you have a buyer? And if that buyer is borrowing your money, can they afford the home in the long run?

Commercial Bank has a fund to pay off bad loans. When they have too many bad loans bank regulators start sniffing around. Which is another mistake the bank representative made when he said, "If we could just get the damn regulators off our back, we'd be fine." Uh-huh. I believe that's what the Butchers said once upon a time. Unfortunately for the Butchers, those "damn regulators" didn't go away.

Whirlwind is located in an area where the median household income is $35,000. It has no view, it's very close to Bull Run Steam plant - which if you know anything about my family and coal ash - you'll know I'm not a fan of coal ash. It's miles away from any restaurants, shopping or businesses, let alone cultural activities. The area has a higher tax rate than nearby, more desirable Farragut. There were 10 known meth lab quarantines in the Clinton area code for the month of April 2012. To get to the house, you have to pass homes in the $100,000 or less price range. Not that that's a bad thing, it just doesn't support Whirlwind's million dollar price tag.

And with Whirlwind, this is what you're getting...

Structural issues out the wah-zoo

missing mortar, busted drains, mold, dry rot, single-pane windows

Old-ass kitchen, trailer-esque laundry room

And are you kidding me with this bathroom?!

$1.2 million? Are you out of your freaking mind?

In contrast, this former bank-owned home in Colorado Springs sold for $1.6 million. The median household income in Colorado Springs is $108,451. The house is surrounded by homes starting in the mid-$400s up into the low millions. This particular home is in a guard-gated community in a fairly large town with lots of activites close by. Membership to the athletic club, social club and golf club were included and are within walking distance. Radiant heat floors, whole house security system, whole house surround sound, immaculate, amazing attention to detail is what the lucky investor received.

In a million dollar home, like this one, people expect to see:

Cool features like this kick-ass bar

It changes colors

Right before your eyes - and next to it: a cigar room & wine cellar

and did I mention the billiards and poker room? Well I just did.

A bath with heated floors, tv, separate vanities and SEPARATE TOILETS, ladies!

Check out that tub and behind it, an indoor-outdoor shower like you've never seen before!

Look at the detail on that ceiling!

A frickin' waterfall? Whaaat?! And it's timed to music? Get out!

Yeah, that's the kitchen and it's so big I can't even show all of it here

Or here! There's still more kitchen! I'm not kidding!

OMG! Stadium seating theater that seats 16? I have died and gone to heaven. 

This entry says to me, "Welcome to my home, bitches! Waz up?"

Even on a gloomy day, this house is gorgeous!

$1.6 million for this house is a smokin' deal! $1.2 million for the Butcher mansion is idiotic!

It's funny, the Butcher Mansion in Clinton, TN is marketed as a Tara-style, Gone with the Wind home. Sonya Butcher worked with her builder to create her vision of the fictional southern plantation. So enamored with the story, she named one of her daughter's Scarlett after the main character. The Colorado home was built by my friends Paul and Tara Rising of Tara Custom Homes. And yes, Tara's mother named her after the plantation home featured in Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer winning novel.

Alright peeps, I have things to do. More to come....

Jake Butcher Mansion: Mold Issues

One of my biggest concerns for bringing the Butcher Mansion back to a habitable condition is the cost of mold remediation. The smell of mold and mildew in this home is overwhelming. It hits you before you cross the threshold and in certain areas it constricts your throat and burns.

Thankfully, we have a hazmat professional in the family. Shortly after beginning his tour, Zack donned his hazmat suit and provided masks for all of us.

The basement, the main floor and the second floor are major problem areas. You can see where someone has attempted to clean the mold or worse, painted right over it. Whatever the case, it's bleeding through. And it's everywhere. Most of it appears to be surface mold but there are areas throughout the house, basement, and garage that are a concern for the more dangerous black mold.

The problem is, as I understand it, you have to take care of all the surface mold first. If you disturb mold, particularly black mold, the spores get airborne and attach themselves to any possible feeding surface which would be all the surface mold that currently exists in the house. Black mold spreads quickly and then you have what I like to call, "a frickin nightmare".

Mold is a big, BIG issue with the Butcher mansion. Clean-up could run five to six figures. You also have the ducts and vents to worry about. It is a massive undertaking.

Here's a little peak inside the Butcher Mansion in Clinton, TN. This video was taken from the second condo conversion on the first floor. Yes, sadly, the Butcher mansion was divided into 5 condominiums years ago but all occupants moved out, supposedly due to the high utility and maintenance bills. The house has since been vacant. The asking price remains $1.2 million and is currently held by Commercial Bank - Farragut, TN is their closest branch.



Moving on from this point we have the ballroom, also part of the second condo conversion.



What are your thoughts on the mold issue? The price of this home?