Art & Inspiration OT - Don't know how to title this, so I'll go with "Getting my inheritance early"

Sounds a bit morbid, but I think after all the crap I've dealt with over my life (minor compared to many of your troubles), I think the Karma gods might have smiled upon me.

In June of 2009, I will be taking possession of my dad's place about 90 miles south of Tulsa, OK. It is a 2000 square foot, 3br, 2ba, enclosed 2 car garage/den, 28x30 2.5 car enclosed carport (that will become a large garage), and best of all - it is located on 19 acres! Also, the house is located 800 feet away from the closest blacktop road down a loooong driveway. There is a 39'x26' pole barn with an attached 26'x26 concred floored shop wired for 220v, and a 40'x40' working corral setup as well. There is a 'lean to' on the back of the barn where Dad has an old alignment machine (I'm thinking low height lift) and a boat that he's suggested I "...get it running and put it back in the water to enjoy." Wife and I are already taling about a 30'x26' extension onto the end of the shop to give me a total working area of 56'x26'.

Just for a size reference - the house is 105' long by 28' wide.

The greatest thing of all is that he is basically giving it to me - I just have to take over the payments! And what is even better than that is that the payments there are just $5 more each month than where I am living in the city of Tulsa.

Seems that dad is stuggling with what to do with the house since he is the only one living there now, and when I suggested that he sell it to me, his suggestion was 'Take it. Move in, make the payments, and it's yours."

So... we're going to be moving back to our hometown (wife and I are both from there) and I'll be looking for another teaching position. My wife will be filling her dream and finally be able to go back to school. We'll push her hard to get through so she can get out and become a school teacher as well. If all goes well, I'll be able to get a job at the school that is less than 3 miles down the road in the town of Stidham, OK, or get one at the Eufaula Public School which is about 8 miles away. Nice thing about them is that my wife has family that work at either school!

Eufaula, Oklahoma, is located on the shores of Lake Eufaula, which was formed in the 50s when the Canadian and South Canadian rivers were damned. The lake has over 600 miles of shoreline, and the town has a relatively large resort population, as well as many weekend homes and the like. Fishing is great, and everything moves slowly down there.

Once I get situated, I'm planning on throwing one helluva party and invite everyone down for some fun and hopefully some good excitement. The Rust to Riches car club is centered 13 miles north of Eufaula, and they have a car show the last weekend (July 24 & 25) so hopefully I'll have everything setup and ready to go!

For those who are still reading, here is an aerial view of the place. The 'tacks' mark the borders. There are several field sheds, but what you see across the right side of the picture are cars that were recently crushed. You can see the long driveway, and the ponds that are located on the property.

To say I'm excited is an understatment. I'm absolutely stoked!

Anyway, here's a picture from above:

 

My horse trailer came from Stidham...we're almost neighbors!

Good luck!

 

Congradulations! I'm sure everyone on this forum will be envious.

 

God bless your father, he seems to be a very generous and loving man.

 

This is a shot from the southwest corner looking back across the place to the northeast. If you look you can see a field shed against the north side. You can see some of the barn setup and the house. The carport part is covered in different colored sheetmetal, and will be painted all one color eventually.


From the house looking to the road. Look closely and you can see a car driving past.


My wife tried to get the entire house into the view finder on the camera, and thought she was going to wind up in the road before she got it! Here I am in front of the house, and my '02 Dodge 3/4 fordor longbed.


Inside the enclosed carport. I plan to add a pair of 10' doors to the front of it or a 10 and 8 footer. Concrete floored and wired.


Nice and cheap heat... the central air intake is right next to the wood stove so it will blow the warm air throughout the entire house.


It's cool how most of those trees that are now 6"-10" diameter were planted by me when I was in my early teens. Those elms that were in front of the house were only a few inches diameter when they were planted.

My wife was worried about the house.. and didn't take any damned pictures of the shop and barn!

 

Circle track?...congrats! that sounds like it cant work out any better.

 

Nice.

What about your Dad? What's he gonna do now. Just curious and none of my business, but you started this.

 

If I build it, will they come?

I was thinking an 1/8th mile track. Might bother the cows I'm planning to get though! And might hurt the hayfield too.

Damn.. doesn't that sound domestic? I was thinking about trying to hook up with the local airport and see about doing an armdrop thing at the airstrip. Might be fun if'n we can get it done.

 

We've offered to set him up in his own spot in one corner of the property with his own little place and let him leach off of our water and power, but he said he really didn't want to do that. He's got a small bar and automotive shop there inside the city limits, and was talking about moving a smaller 2 bedroom trailer onto the same property and live there. He's got a small cabin behind the bar we nicknamed the 'Stabbin' Cabin" and he was telling me tonight when he was trying to get rid of a girlfriend he had for 9 years he stayed in this little 8x16 shack for over 2 months.

He's a player, and has many girlfriends he can stay with if needed. Hell, while we were there one of them stopped by and picked up his laundry to go do it for him. He's a dirty old man, and loving every minute of it.

We've offered to hook him up, but he's so far declined. So, the offer will stand, and time will tell if he wants or needs to take me up on it.

 

What can I say, you're living a charmed life. You've got one great dad there.

 

Goztrider, Heck of a nice deal, sounds like a great place, but how about THE REST OF THE STORY? Were is dear ol' dad going?

 

I posted the answer to this a few posts back, but the biggest thing for him is, and I quote him "I don't have to pay for it any more or worry about trying to clean it up and sell it."

Dad is going to be around. He just wants to be out from under this place and the upkeep on it. My sister will never return permanently to this little town, and he'd though I wasn't coming back either until I mentioned buying it from him a month or so back.

I think a big part of it is that he wasn't able to help me get through college as much as he wanted to, and that he's proud of me, my wife, and kids and wants to see us enjoy our 'dream' of having a setup like this one.

Dad isn't in the greatest health, and has some heart issues. I think that if I were closer - and I beleive he does as well - that I could keep an eye on him and be there if needed.

I'm probably going to spend a few weeks come spring and summer cleaning the area and property up to make it more accessible, and run a tractor and brushog over it to clean everything up so we can get some good hay off of it next summer. I hope to have a few cows, as their offspring will help shorten the length of the loan on the property - if done properly - by more than 15 years.

 

Uhm, for your own well being, make sure everything is signed over and all the i's dotted and the T's crossed. You have to think of the future and possible consequences and taxes also.

 

Moma cows are good if the fences are up. The cow market is not real good right now but a good time to buy a few. Put enough on it to get an ag. exemption. Looks like it will make a nice place. When the cows start calving watch the coyotes,they'll steal your profits. You can also plant some friut trees to get an ag-exemtion. Not sure about OK.laws on the tax breaks. Good luck. TP

 

Looks pretty damn nice.

 

I do not know if you know this ... but depending on the length of the loan ... when you pay a extra hundred dollars or so on the payment ... it comes off the rear ... ( total balance owed ) . You can save a LOT of interest $$$ ______ that way

Owning land is a good step towards financial sucess. Most states have a reduced rate on property taxes for land owned by the folks who actually live there ( homestead exemptions ) and others have a " farm " rate that is reduced. Some even have BOTH

Be sure to investigate the tax laws as they pertain to you. In most cases you have to file to get them ...

Congratulations ... on your new home.

 

"He's a dirty old man, and loving every minute of it. "


Well, the whole story is just plain cool!
Away from the city and back to the land.
I'd die in a city. Heck.. in town was bad enough for a couple of years.
Good luck with the plan.

 

His plan is to 'quit claim; it to me, but leave the loan in his name. He's got great insurance on it, and credit life insurance in case anything happens to him. As he said, it'd come out of my end of the inheritance, which is fine by me.

We've got some work to do on the fences, but everything I need to do it is right there. Coyotes are close, but my 30.06 put them in close range! Our plan has always been to bring the cow and calf up close whenever they babies are first born and keep'em up in the barn for a few days until the calves are good and strong. We've got a small orchard - about 2 trees have survived the various ice storms - but we'll be putting in more anyway.

This is the biggest part of the entire plan - to have everything paid for and as close to self-sufficient as possible. Momma Gozt wants a couple of pigs to raise and slaughter, chickens for meat and eggs (mainly eggs), and I want at least one calf to slaughter each year. I'll hunt and we'll all fish, and that meat'll go into the freezers (yes, 2 of them!) all for consumption. Momma G's 86 year old grandfather still puts in a huge garden each year, and she wants to put one in herself. I suggested that she talk with him about working with him to learn how to do things right, and when she did, he about flipped for joy about both having her close and teaching her. I personally look forward to the fresh veggies!

Mmmm... fried green tomatoes! Tomato sandwiches... fresh okra, corn, potatoes....

He's already got the homestead exemption, and it is listed as a farm, so there are major tax breaks already present. We built the house there in '88, and the barn was build in around 85-86 or so. I don't know what the 'breaks' are for a homestead extension, but I know with a farm number/ID you don't pay sales tax on various products related to farm use. Many people register their trucks as a farm truck and it saves a larger bit on the state vehicle taxes as well.

I've also got free access to stock trailers, tractors, mowers, and many other items should I need them from family members. Dad is the 'baby' with 2 brothers and 5 sisters - all of whom are within a good hour's drive from this place. His closest sister is about 1 mile south of him, and did own the 78 acres that backed up to his property. I've contemplated purchasing it down the road, but it will be just that - down the road.

I like the idea too that if I get the preferred job at the school 3 miles away, my youngest (who is 8) will be getting as close to 1-on-1 teaching as possible since there were only 126 students in the entire K-8 school last year. My daughter will be joining the high school my wife and I graduated from, and there are only around 1500 students in the entire K-12 school, with about 325 students in 9-12th grade now. The school she goes to here in Tulsa has over 1250 students in 9-12 alone.

Its a good town, where everyone knows your 'people'. My wife's grandparents are well respected and very well known throughout the area. My dad is well known by many people, and that will help take me a certain distance. My mother is the branch manager at one of the 3 banks in town, and has been there for almost 25 years now in the same bank. I dated BOTH daughters of one of the banker's we do business with, and my wife dated the county Sherriff (when they were in the 8th grade).

We're excited and looking forward to getting after it and moved down there. The end of my school year won't come fast enough for me!

 

If you need a sixty year old "new" son with a shit load of cars and projects I'll be glad to move your way and fill some extra space. Then, I could give one of my kids my place just like your old man did, could be one of life's greatest rewards for all of us. I'm sure it will be for all of you.... Enjoy!

 

Sounds like a great deal. Im sure your dad is ready to take it easy and let you take care of the place. It has been a chore for him and im sure hes ready to take it easy now. I only have one suggestion. Make 'getting the boat running' first priority. THen take the old man fishing or one of these days you may regret not spending more time with him.

 

My old friend that used to live next door was with the Corp of Engineers and was there as the Engineer when they built that dam. Sure miss him as my neighbor.

 

Congrats!

That's a lot of lawn to mow!

 

SCORE! not a neighbor in sight lucky bastard! i wish my neighbors were at least 19 acres away from me.

 

Yup. My 8 year old has been fishing a few times, but hasn't been 'jug lining' or caught anything bigger'n sunperch. Jug lining (for those who don't know) is where you take something like an old antifreeze jug, tie about 15' of line to it, put on about 4 or 5 hooks, bait'em up, add about a 1# weight at the bottom, and then toss it out. When you hook into a big fish - there are huge catfish in Lake Eufaula - they'll take the jug and move it all over, and sometimes you have to chase the jugs as when you go to retrieve it, it'll be pulled underwater and pop back up somewhere else. Think like in the movie Jaws when the skipper of the boat hit him with those big yellow barrels.

The old lake is wild with debris that is just under the surface. When the level is down you can see many old roadbeds and trees that are now dead.

I have 2 kids that currently live with me - a 15 1/2 year old and an 8 year old. By the time he older girl leaves, the boy'll be ready to mow. My oldest asked what'll happen when the boy moves out, we said we'll adopt another! After all, isn't that what having kids is for? (KIDDING!)

Closest neighbor is about 1/4 mile away. Next closest is roughly 3/8 mile, as there is another 25 acres between what will be my house and theirs. I'll see if I can't find a larger shot of the area.

 

Greeeeeeeeeeeen Acreeeeeeeeeeeeeeees is the place to be! Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaarm living is the life for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! WTG big guy.

 

SWWEEEETTTTT Home Oklahoma!!! duh duhd duh duh duh duhuuuuhhh... Karma is good to you G, pass it on!

Mott

 

Hey there Goztrider, My inlaws live between Enterprize and stigler on hiway 4 I think it is. In fact they own 2 of the 4 corners of the 1 innersection where the hiway runs thru.

 

Great life story !!!!!!!!
congrats to you and family, but more so, all the best to your old man.

 

Food for thought, you really need to hire a real eastate attoney and of course check everything out with the bank. Does not make since that a bank will allow a loan to continue on a piece of property that is not in the borrowers name. And insurance for the property in a person's name who's name is not on the deed to the property??? Nope, I ain't buying it. Loan, deed, insurance all needs to be in the same name/names.....unless you guys in OK do it differently then what I've expereinced.

Also, just because he's had the property for 20 years doesn't mean there is any equity in the place. The way property values have decreased and the ease of 2nd morgages and equity loans in the past, more could be owed on the property then what is worth. Not trying to burst your bubble bud just make sure everything is on the up and up, family or not.

Good luck and I'm anxious to here how this turns out next summer.

 

I suggest that you consult a lawyer. I see some red flags.

!. Dad's Equity, "Sister"
2. Loan in Dad's name, control.
3. Homestead exemption, when Dad doesn't live there.
4. Mortgage company with hidden change of ownership.
5. Will, Trust,
6. Oral agreements aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Think about sitting in a courtroom explaining what your position is. I have been there a few times. I lost a 10 acre piece to a former partner's son.