How do you spot a timewaster?

[Walterp]

Julie and me have spent years trying to extricate ourselves from an unhappy and dysfunctional family partnership; but, somehow, the harder we tried to break free, the tighter the bindings became. Maybe I should've guessed this at the outset...'cos that's probably a good working definition of 'dysfunctional', isn't it?

Anyway, we've now finally forced a sale by auction of the one farm that was jointly-owned. The other holdings we farm we already either own (or rent, for some off-lying ground for Julie's sheep) so it's just the one bit of the one farm we have to buy back.

So it'd be easy, right?

Yeah, but.....even when you've beaten off the erstwhile family partners (on the grounds of litigation fatigue, getting impoverished by greedy lawyers, or just not being determined enough) you get to meet 'viewers' instead.

Now I've always thought that anyone who took the trouble to 'walk' a farm was, along with all that walking, also ready to talk the talk: were they interested? or not? did they REALLY have the money? or not? in other words - are they serious? Admittedly, some viewers are dead straightforward - they say what they think (perfectly sensible remarks like "nuts, nuts, they're all nuts..." and "I'm not getting involved in that carp...") but, equally, others are very hard to fathom.

Why, for instance, would someone without the money bother to walk a place? Are they pretending they're more interested than they are? Or just pretending that they have more money than they do? But why would they bother, either way? Is curiosity REALLY that strong?

Me? I've got the Heineken test - taken from a charming old gent who sold up near Llandeilo a long time ago - which says that if, after talking to a viewer for half an hour, you feel like taking him into the kitchen and offering to open a couple of cans of beer and have a chat about the farm, you've identified a prospect. Relying on beer-gut instinct, perhaps...

But my Heineken remains in the fridge, unopened. Does that mean that there are more farm 'tourists' than I thought, or that I'm just not asking the right questions?

 

[Badshot]

One post and you've answered months of questions on BFF

 

[rob1]

Good to see your still around Walter, I really missed your posts on BFF

 

[Andy26]

I think there are just lots of timewasters and dreamers, you'd probably find a serious buyer would barely need to look at the place, they'd already know what they need to know.
I guess when a farm is not being sold by auction, then a good agent can filter out a lot of the timewasters. By definition being a public auction, then the public come for a look?

 

[neilo]

Good to see that you're still about WalterP.

But yes, lots of 'serial farm walkers' out there. I used to know of one old fella that counted it as part of his holiday to go walking around farm for sale. He never did move, and died on the farm where he was born.

 

[JP1]

Good to see you back Mr P and silencing a few speculators along the way

 

[Samcowman]

I would have thought a lot of people would be just going for a nose around the farm just to see what other farms are like as hey might not get off of their own very often. Much like people who go to market and never buy any cattle but go just to have a look and see what's about. It would be nice though to have enough time to sit watching 1000 cattle go through the ring

 

[Enry]

Good to have you back WalterP

BBF was a poorer place without you!! Your post reminds me of the song "These boots were made for walking...." Have these viewers been wearing walking boots??

 

[Thick Farmer]

How can you be sure that someone isn't sent to the auction specifically run the price up?

I assume the purpose of this is that you will effectively buy your own farm from the partnership, so if it was me I would be worrying about other members of that partnership trying to increase the price.

 

[Walterp]

How can you be sure that someone isn't sent to the auction specifically run the price up?

I assume the purpose of this is that you will effectively buy your own farm from the partnership, so if it was me I would be worrying about other members of that partnership trying to increase the price.

Blimey! What a corker! That's exactly what I think....

Julie and me thought long and hard 'bout this: the only sensible thing (we think) is to work out what your home/main unit is worth to you (answer: more than to anyone else) and bid to that maximum. If it goes beyond that, we'll be selling up and looking for a replacement farm in the Borders (Scots or English) and 'dropping' the place on the successful bidder.

Then, perhaps, we'll get the chance to be farm walkers.....

 

[Philip Watkins]

The flip side of that is get someone else to bid for you. If you are not seen bidding maybe it won't be run up as much.

 

[Gaz]

Agree with Philip on this, have you got a neighbour willing to help out? If your limit is say 150k then if it is just you and what you suspect to be a shil bidder you bid upto 120k then pull out make your dissapointment seen, at that point the shil and partner will be flapping, tip your mate the wink and get them to go in at the last min, they would be brave to then bid up an unknown buyer.

 

[Robigus]

Good to see you back. But to me you will always be "Walt Earp", Wyatt's troublesome brother.

 

[penntor]

Just sold a house at auction, there must have been 60 - 70 people who viewed it, so many that the auctioneers set up mass viewing appointments. At the auction there were actually only 3 to 4 bidders. Also remember a house that my father sold at auction back in the 1980's, I was doing a barn conversion next to it, and the number of people who came over the weekends just to 'have a look' was incredible. Probably 50% of people in both these cases were just looking to be nosy or for 'entertainment'. I suspect it will be the same with a farm auction, people are nosy and just like to look around. Interestingly, at the same auction that I sold the house there was some land for sale, great interest from the horse brigade but it was sold to a farmer who only contacted the auctioneers that morning, he obviously knew the ground and did not need to look at it.

penntor

 

[Sussex Martin]

Good to know you are OK Walter. Best of luck with the sale.

 

[Andy26]

Agree with the advice to have someone bid on your behalf, with strict instructions of course!

You could start bidding yourself and pull out at say 75% of its value, then your anonymous bidder can take over if needed. You don't want the shill bidder to be able to buy below market value and 'flip it' a month or two later, most probably back to yourself.

 

[Alf]

If you want to buy it back ,should you not be hoping that they are all time wasters ? .


Time wasters usually have to much to say for them selves .

 

[Clive Tee]

You can't tell. We'd been looking for 5 years and got nowhere. Then one Sunday we saw a place on the interweb and went to see it because we were bored. It was somewhere in Shropshire and we were looking in Perthshire at the time! Anyhow, we bought it.

PS. When we sold our smallholding, it first went to someone who obviously loved it. They backed out right at the last minute. Back on the market, and it eventually sold to someone I never even met, and who took forever replying to letters etc and showed little or no interest (or at least appeared to) !!!

 

[Derrick Hughes]

How many sit on a tractor at a show without buying it

 

[AGN76]

I think someone realised they'd replied to a 6 year old thread!