After spending time making adjustments to Petunia so she will be a comfortable home, we shifted our focus to the plan in Tennessee. Now that we are on the road and getting a little relaxation in, I thought I’d give you an update on that situation.
Several years ago we purchased a farm outside of Sneedville, Tennessee, which is about an hour and fifteen minutes northeast of Knoxville and not too far from the Kentucky/Virginia border. The property contained a small house, an old barn, and a collapsed chicken house. Aside from putting up a farm gate, removing the remnants of an electric fence, and cleaning up the garbage from where someone used it as a dump, we’ve pretty much let it sit. Time to change that since we will soon need a home base and a permanent address.
Old House Barn Part of the Field Remnants of Chicken House Some of the Trash We Carted Off Plus Tires, an Old Sofa or Two, and So Much More!
For retirees there aren’t too many places to call home that are better than Tennessee, especially now that they are cutting back the Hall tax (on some interest and dividends), which should disappear entirely by 2022. The state does not have any other form of income tax, and property taxes are relatively low, too.
Back when we bought our property, we thought the farmhouse could possibly be repaired. Upon further inspection we realized that it was too far gone, so we found a local salvage company who removed what could be repurposed and burned the rest down. (Apparently, there is a market among the wealthy for wood that has been painted with lead-based paint. Putting something in your home that has been banned since 1978 doesn’t seem like a good idea to me, but what do I know?!?)
Removing the house cleared the way for the new barn. The plan is a gambrel-roof structure with a lean-to on one side where we will park Petunia when we are there. We have a terrific builder, Nick Cantwell, who is taking care of everything. So far the septic has been installed, the site has been graded, footings poured, first block layers added, and under-foundation plumbing done. Hopefully, the foundation will be poured and the well dug this week. While the grader was working on the barn site, he also took down the collapsed chicken house, which made a huge difference. It’s looking like it will all come together by the end of June, fingers crossed.
View from Front Gate We Can See Potential! Old Chicken Barn Location
Now to get the house in Greensboro to closing.
See you on the path!
Talisa
