Talked to a fellow in the last week that told me of an estate sale (don't know where but presumably here in NY. The fellow passed a few years ago apparently without heirs and the auction was within the last year. I'm not here to complain about what people do with their possessions while living. That is their business. But in this case the scrap man was very busy right down to hauling away tractors because they had deteriorated badly. The worst part for me upon hearing this story was the only winners were the scrap dealer and the lawyer who collected whatever fees they could to clear the property for sale. It's too bad the fellow in question did not have a plan to pass on the equipment he obviously valued personally. There are people out there who would value the equipment as much as the previous owner did but can't afford several hundred dollars for something that is not vital to their household or business. If it matters where a person's treasure winds up once they are gone then maybe some kind of arrangement should be made before they are gone. In the case of the tractors these were not undesirable oddballs. Don't know every tractor involved in the sale that I am referring to but there were a few IH row crops (560 gas) and a couple of 2 cylinder JD's.
- Thread starter NY 986
- Start date
Sure is sad, my friend who I worked for over 5 winters taking care of his beef cows when he went to Florida, i found out from his son a month ago that all his equipment was sold, i asked his dad 2 years ago about buying a hay wagon, his dad said he was keeping the equipment, his in a wheelchair, so i called his son this year about the equipment wanting to see if i could buy his NH 492 haybine, thats when he told everything was sold a month ago, darn, a few weeks later the guy on here fred goodrich posts pics of 3 of my friends case tractors, !! I made a reply, but no response from that guy. Sad how things can turn out.
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
Probably sold it all to Goodrich which is understandable,sell everything to one person,no hassling with selling to several dozen buyers individually.I have bought a few estates out like that over the years,that way everything is sold at once rather than the few best pieces and then having to deal with the junk that is left.
It just comes down to some people are super stubborn and think they will never die. I had a great uncle that was a life long bachelor. Super hard worker, spent the bulk of his career repairing nuclear reactors. Dad and I always got along with him great, the rest of the family, not so much. He absolutely refused to make out a will of any kind. On one occasion, he had a will drawn out by a lawyer, then refused to sign it. It was a mess when he passed. The only winner was the state, and the state appointed estate manager, which happened to be his bank's manager. It was sad to watch his possessions sell at auction, and the bank and state take all the proceeds. The only thing I wanted was an old Plymouth Arrow pickup he had bought new. It had been in all 48 lower states, had over 400K on it, and it was currently not running. I made the estate manager an offer on it, and made the youthful mistake of telling how I knew it's TRUE miles, every oil change was written on the bottom of the hood in marker. He refused my offer and said I could buy it at auction. Auction day, the truck was still filthy, except the bottom of the hood was scrubbed clean. The auctioneer sold it claiming the odometer reading was original, which showed low teens. Of course the truck brought stupid money because of the fraud. Then the estate manager had the nerve to come up to me at the auction and make a remark about how much the truck brought. I just told him we both knew what he did, and I would sleep good that night.
Kansas4010
Well-known Member
It's not surprising at all. Almost every week someone starts a post about the prices of old tractors being down. How many people say they'd rather let them rust down to nothing before they sell anything cheap. Then another post comes along about how they can't figure out why young people don't have any interest in old tractors. With attitudes like that what do you expect. When I was younger I really liked antique tractors and wanted one. All the older guys with deeper pockets bought them. Now I still like antique tractors but if I don't have a use for one I wouldn't even consider buying one.
Well, yes. Of course it is. But it can be more than that. The subject of the story had some pretty good pieces of equipment but obsolete by today's standards. As I understood it most of the equipment was in condition where it should not have gone to scrap other than being obsolete. In the end the scrap man paid more because he had value in each piece beyond scrap. He would salvage wheels/ tires, hubs, structural steel, hydraulic cylinders but the rest got the cutting torch. He also had a contact list of buyers including those out of state for certain complete pieces. But in the case of this estate nearly all the pieces got the torch to some degree. As I understood it this fellow while living took pride in what he had and would be mortified if he could look down so to speak at what happened to his estate. It was suspected that his tractors were tampered with after he passed to make them sell cheaper but the auction came quite later than expected. All but one tractor had the engine stuck.
I don't know about that. Old tractor prices were down but seem to be doing better the last several months. At least regionally. I'd like to do something but don't have the spare money to throw 4,000 dollars at a 2,500 dollar tractor for something that would not be a worker.
In this case I disagree. The impression I got was that it mattered a great deal that his possessions did not wind up at the hot end of a cutting torch. I think he just kept putting off and putting off setting up a plan then one day he passed on. The point is that one day the wrong kind of tomorrow will come then it will be too late to do anything about it. As one poster here stated in his example the rats moved in on the estate once the owner was gone. Now there is the other extreme to all this where the owner could not bear the thought of anybody else running his equipment. Ive heard of guys taking cylinder heads and transmission covers off of tractors when there were no known mechanical problems. Did they do this so the tractor would most likely never run again?
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
I'm assuming the fellow that died and had owned the tractors and equipment bought and paid for them himself.So how is it really anyone else's
business what he did or didn't do with them? His stuff he did what he wanted to do with it and I'm sure he had his reasons why and didn't need to have others meddling and telling him what he should and should not be doing.Anyone that wants to make decisions on what is to be done with equipment/tractors needs to buy some and decide with those they own.
business what he did or didn't do with them? His stuff he did what he wanted to do with it and I'm sure he had his reasons why and didn't need to have others meddling and telling him what he should and should not be doing.Anyone that wants to make decisions on what is to be done with equipment/tractors needs to buy some and decide with those they own.
Please reread the thread. It had been related to me that the deceased owner would have been mortified that his equipment had been basically vandalized and most likely have been equally mortified to know that the community's rats were on the place within days of his passing. That a rat in a three piece suit was in charge of liquidating the estate. Nobody is telling you as an individual what to do. Whether you want to plan ahead or let the chips fall where they may that is up to you. Further, there was nothing said about people endlessly hounding him while alive or that people ever bothered him at all. A major point to me is if a person is going to pass on and the only people there to receive the proceeds are money grubbing lawyers then why not implement a plan where somebody could receive something who would legitimately appreciate it?
Why? You are a young man to the best of my knowledge. You have time to formulate a plan (God willing) to see stuff goes to where you want it to go. If you do not want it to go to family then fine. I don't know your personal affairs so I don't know who you are feuding with if anybody at all. I'm just saying if it you do not have an heir nor expect to have an heir then maybe identify somebody who could use it or appreciate it after you are gone. If the money is not going to a love one then would it not be better that the equipment goes to where it would be appreciated versus a money grubbing lawyer who would laugh at your life's ambitions?
Crazy Horse
Well-known Member
Everyone talks about how sad it is when an old tractor is hauled to the scrap yard, but really, not too many really care. Alive and running now they have no great value, or at least their value is dropping. Why hold a wake when an old chunk of steel starts on a journey to give a new Honda owner some pleasure? And another thing, when the last human takes a breath on this planet (which might not be all that far into the future in the timeline of history), there will be lots of old iron still sitting on fence rows for the cockroaches and microorganisms to play on and admire.
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
Who is to is to say what the guy that died would have really wanted or not wanted at this point? Maybe he flat didn't give a hoot? Maybe he liked money grubbing lawyers and wanted them to have the proceeds?
I guess that is where the thinking maybe needs to change. Most farmers I know really are not in the market for a 1960's self unloading wagon so they are not going to bid for something they do not want. The guy that might have a use or to just collect one usually does not have the spare cash for such a purchase. If you don't care where your equipment ends up once you are gone then I am not going to reach you. But if you are all gaga as to how good a piece of equipment your 1960's self unloading wagon is and would hate to see it scrapped then maybe we have something to talk about. Also, reread some of my response. Yes, the scrap man bought most of the equipment but he paid more than 4 cents per pound for it. He factored in the value of tires, wheels, jack stand, structural steel that he could quickly turn into cash at a higher value than dumping it into the wholesale scrap bin. But be sure that anything else on that mower-conditioner, forage wagon, whatever got cut into short steel. All I am saying that if it matters to you that your stuff not be cut up for scrap and has legitimate value and use then maybe do some planning now as to what will happen to it. Is it really a win as some would suggest that the lawyer collect on your lifetime of work when your stuff is sold. I know that it all can't be saved but I know I see stuff that is good enough to use or collect just go to be torn down in the end.
More than once I have indicated that I was told this guy would have been mortified at the outcome of what happened to his stuff or the people involved if he could witness it from the great beyond. Why is this so hard to accept? I don't know why this subject is so hard for some to face when it is presented on a site named YESTERDAY'S tractors? Why it would be so strange to want to preserve some equipment? I don't know one person here personally so my comments are not a personal jab aimed at anybody here. I just like old equipment and would like to see more of it preserved where justified.
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
So its all about what you wanted not what he wanted right? I like old equipment and tractors too but what my neighbor does with his or might have thought or not thought isn't mine or anyone else's concern.If him or anyone else would be truly concerned what happens to their possessions after they die they'd do something about it while living. I have a plan BTW told the wife to call the auctioneer before heading out to the funeral, set an auction date,give the buyers 30 days to move what they bought and then call my buddy that owns a salvage/scrap yard he'll take care of what is left.
BarnyardEngineering
Well-known Member
- Location
- Rochester, NY
What you were told and reality may well be two completely different things.
I know a LOT of farmers with the, "It will rot into the ground before I give it away for nothing," attitude. They have a dollar value in mind, and if that dollar value is not met, it sits.
The jist I get from your posting here is you expected this guy to give away his equipment to "people who would appreciate it." Did he know anybody that would appreciate the equipment?
Putting myself in his shoes I know of no one to whom I would want to flat out give my farm equipment. I know of a LOT of rats who have done nothing but take or attempt to subvert our farming operation over the years. They would greedily accept any "gift" but they would not appreciate it, and would most likely either turn right around and sell it, or park it in the weeds and let it rot.
That leads me to my main point, that of greed. Most of this wailing and gnashing of teeth is out of greed if you ask me. People looking for that super smokin' pennies on the dollar deal or a straight-up handout. It makes me sicker than seeing the equipment rot into the ground and go to scrap.
I know a LOT of farmers with the, "It will rot into the ground before I give it away for nothing," attitude. They have a dollar value in mind, and if that dollar value is not met, it sits.
The jist I get from your posting here is you expected this guy to give away his equipment to "people who would appreciate it." Did he know anybody that would appreciate the equipment?
Putting myself in his shoes I know of no one to whom I would want to flat out give my farm equipment. I know of a LOT of rats who have done nothing but take or attempt to subvert our farming operation over the years. They would greedily accept any "gift" but they would not appreciate it, and would most likely either turn right around and sell it, or park it in the weeds and let it rot.
That leads me to my main point, that of greed. Most of this wailing and gnashing of teeth is out of greed if you ask me. People looking for that super smokin' pennies on the dollar deal or a straight-up handout. It makes me sicker than seeing the equipment rot into the ground and go to scrap.
Blackhole49
Well-known Member
- Location
- White Lake MI
Glad someone knows when the time will come. I sure don't.
You're taking a lot of offense to a thread that merely SUGGESTS that if you care about the disposition of your assets you may want to be somewhat proactive about it while living. NOBODY is saying that there OUGHT TO BE A LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know what you have going on in your own life but this is not a personal attack on you. As far as your plan goes that is your business. Why are you so sure that the deceased in this case wanted every to be sold for scrap? By the way I had no stake WHATSOEVER in this while it was unfolding so it is not about what I wanted out of it.
Nobody here is saying to give your stuff to your sworn enemies. As to greed that is not it at all. We all sit here from time to time thinking that some tractor or other piece of
equipment deserved a better fate than it got. This is not 1965, 1985, or 2005. There is a limited demand for say a forage wagon made in the 1960's no matter how nice it is
because it lacks capacity or the ability to quickly bulk unload. I'm just saying that instead of guys sitting around moaning about how something should not have gone for
scrap that they can actually do something about it. Their choice.
equipment deserved a better fate than it got. This is not 1965, 1985, or 2005. There is a limited demand for say a forage wagon made in the 1960's no matter how nice it is
because it lacks capacity or the ability to quickly bulk unload. I'm just saying that instead of guys sitting around moaning about how something should not have gone for
scrap that they can actually do something about it. Their choice.
Truth is once you or I or anyone else are dead this sort of thing will not matter to the deceased party anymore. Due to my current health issues I have been giving some thought to this very matter and may designate a few things to go to certain friends . One issue with this is that things can change in time (people leave the area, die, have any number of life issues) and then the plan would need to be revised.
farmerjohn
Well-known Member
The bottom line to this whole thing is this-every single one of us is going to die someday but not everyone is able or willing to accept and deal with that. Some people put off estate planning because they are afraid to deal with it or think they have more time or just don’t care. It turns sad when families get the short end of the stick because their loved one did not care enough to plan for the disposition of their assets in a manner that would benefit them. The older I get the more I realize that things really don’t matter that much, but what we leave behind in the way of our character and the way we lived is much more important.
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