Tennessee, Going once, going twice.....Sold !!!!

We have moved ourselves West to Sevierville, Tennessee which is next door to Pigeon Forge and Dollywood at the base of the Smokey Mountains.  Our plan while here is to meet up with some roadie friends who have been traveling also and look for some land.  The purpose of the land is to hang out on it when we don't want to be traveling and to eventually live on when we decide we won't be doing the traveling thing anymore.

Our home location is on the bottom and these are a few of the ones we found to look at.

So we're here in Tennessee looking around at property going from one place to another.  We find this one property on Repass Road last Thursday.  We hadn't been looking for more than a couple of days.  It's 47 acres and really nice, mountain and lake views, grass land, lots of timber.  Then we realize it's up for auction in 2 days.  How much research can we squeeze in one day before the auction.  We need to look at more for comparison.  I am personally really scared when Tom wants to bid on it.

Traveling around from sun up to sun down on Friday we are exhausted and our heads are swirling.  So we decide to go for it and bid on the property.

Aerial view of the property.  The trees on the bottom of the cleared meadows and above the meadow  are the property lines.

The story behind the property was the family was selling it because their father passed away 6 months ago in a tractor accident.  On the way to the auction we're both nervous and excited.  Tom a little more excited than me.  I am just scared.  The auction starts and our property is number 3.  The bidding starts high around $150,000 and nobody bites.  Then it drops some, still no bites.  Finally someone puts a bid in at $40,000.  That goes for a bit and it sits at 50,000.  We put in a bid at 60,000.  The next bid hits at 65,000.00 we bid at 67,000.00.  Another bid at 70,000.00.  Our limit is fast approaching....

We bid 71,000.00 another bid for 72,000.00  we throw in a bid at 75,000.00 it stays.  The other bidders are out.  I am thinking Oh my gosh we're going to get this.  It stays there.  My heart is beating in my chest and my ears.  I almost can't hear what's happening.  We are going to own this.  The bid assistants are pushing the other bidder to bid just a little more.  But he declines.  Everything starts to move in slow motion.  It seems quiet except for the auctioneer doing his thing.

Then bang back to reality I hear a bid for $80,000.00.  My head is pulled back to the sounds of the auction.  The bid assistant is trying to get us to bid more.  Tom and I both say no.  That was our limit, no more than that.  They try to push us and push. We say no and I put the card away.  The property is sold to someone else.   The auction continues and we move on.

Reflecting back we both pleased and a little disappointed we didn't get it.  Deciding it all happened too fast to really have done the research needed to buy it.  If it had been a super deal then it would have paid to it and resell it.  But we did what we could and didn't want to risk any more than that.

Now we keep looking and we know the right one will come along.  We'll know when we see it and that place will feel right.

Off to explore more of Tennessee.