Goodbye Whirlwind

Well, today is August 31st, 2012. It has been more than four months since I made my offer to the Farragut branch of Commercial Bank in Tennessee.

I checked on the multiple listing service and the bank's website this afternoon - Whirlwind is still listed at $1,200,000 with the same photos, same Realtor, the same bank representative. And as you can see from my previous posts, this does not bode well for the former Jake Butcher estate.

I withdraw my offer.

A lot can change in four months: namely, the statute of limitations on my patience. It's clear the house is in disrepair and will require a monumental amount of time and money. Time is now an issue.

Things have changed in the Tillyer household. Our eldest son, who was certain to be leaving for boot camp within the year, announced he had no interest in going into the military and would be moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting and improv.

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...

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Yeah. That was my reaction.

Granted, he's been involved in improv for the past three years, it just never entered my mind that was on the table.

Matt's dad is retired Air Force, his grandfather is retired Air Force, his friends are going Air Force - it's the natural order of things. We thought it was a given.

After all, college is definitely out. For his Freshman, Sophomore and Junior years at high school Matt set the bar of mediocrity. And then continued to lower it. Theatre, choir, electronic media and gym are the only classes that keep his grade point average from dipping into negative numbers.

Los Angeles is not a place a mother wants to send her kid. Especially when that kid has the street smarts of a 28-week old fetus.

So, priorities have changed and I will no longer be pursuing the restoration of the Butcher Mansion. I will, however, be posting my plans for it soon. I have readers of this blog from all over the United States and various countries - maybe one of you will run with it. I have less than a year before Matt graduates high school. I have a lot of worrying and panicking to do.

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?!

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.

Jake Butcher Mansion Update For July 5, 2012

Hi all! I know you're looking for an update on the Jake Butcher Mansion but things have been a bit hectic around here. Should be back on track tomorrow, fingers crossed. :-)

180 Whirlwind Estate: Butcher Mansion Basement

This beautiful wine cellar is NOT in the Butcher mansion. 

The REALTOR with the listing for 180 Whirlwind Estate, also known as Jake Butcher Mansion, also known as 182 Whirlwind Lane, provided me with a brief history of the Butcher home. Being a local I was already familiar with the home. I'd already been inside it and I'd read every article and document about it I could get my hands on. The description provided to me by the Realtor was awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, the description provided to me was completely misleading.

I don't know where the Realtor got the description but I can tell you it was either from decades past or from someone who has never seen the home.

One of my cousins who toured the property with me got into the car following our tour and said, "Wow. That is some serious false advertising."

The description I received stated: "Beneath the kitchen wing of the house is a basement with special storage rooms to hold a grocery store full of items as well as storage for tools and a workshop. There was also a bath and game room with pool table and one of the states finest private wine cellars."

There's a mix of tenses in the above two sentences but I'm not going to dwell too much on that because I've been known to do that myself. I merely wish to point out that there is a basement beneath of portion of the kitchen wing of the house. There is some storage. There is a room and there is a cellar.

However, the space offers nothing more than a bare-bones, depressing state of disrepair.

There's a game room, of sorts. It's a dark, square room with low ceilings and acoustic tile. Some of the ceiling tile is missing and a jungle of wires and pipes are exposed. There's rot, mildew and mold. There's also animal feces. The basement, indeed, assaults the nostrils with its formidable scent.

There are doors leading from the "game room" to a tunnel that goes out to the tennis courts. The tunnel is not entirely underground: it's more like a Mean-Joe-Green-Have-a-Coke-and-a-Smile kind of tunnel. The doors opening to the tunnel have two square windows spray painted black. There is no light in the basement.

The wine cellar is most definitely not "one of the states finest private wine cellars" not by any stretch of the imagination. The "wine cellar" looks more like an old English dungeon where one might store bodies - only not as nice as a dungeon.

The storage space that would supposedly house a grocery store might store the contents of a 2-car garage - if you exclude cars and lawn equipment.

If I had to guess based on memory and the fact that we were in total darkness, I'd guess the entire basement comes in at 2,000 sqft tops.

See, here's the thing: I hate being lied to. I really do. I especially hate when someone tries to sell me a lie. The advertising I have seen regarding the Butcher mansion goes beyond optimism and delusion, it is, in my opinion, a flat-out lie.

It's time to get real. You want to see the basement? This is video taken when my family and I toured the house with the Realtor.

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.

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.