Ray Carman – Auctioneer

Well, needless to say, this has been one amazing weekend! When was the last time we can remember having 15+ inches of rain? There has been flooding all over. Anyone seeing the news or has been on Facebook can attest to how amazing this weekend has been.And to add to the list of amazing, was how people came out for the auctions in the middle of it all this past Saturday. Our company had two great sales thanks to people coming out despite the weather.

This got me to thinking about some of the craziest weather in which we have ever held auctions. So, for the next few weeks, I thought I would share some of those stories.

I have always said that if you get asked to work at one of our auctions for the first time, you better prepare yourself, cause it is going to be a doozy. This held true for Chris Helson when he first joined us for an auction back in the late 90’s. We had one of those sales booked that you knew from the start it was going to be a LONG day. I mean, this house was packed full of things to sale, and many of them were things that would bring good money. So just to start it off, we knew we would be there for awhile.

Then the fun was added to when a large front moved in for the weekend, and the skies poured cats and dogs ALL day. We were literally draining pockets of water off the tent all day, walking in 3-6 inches of mud, and just as wet as we could get. And amazingly, as history has proven true. people came out by the droves for this auction sale. Our tenet was packed, and no matter the torents of rain, people were there to bid and to buy. What a day!

Do you remember an auction where the weather was “out of the ordinary!” If so, let me know!

Ray Carman

This is the last week for memorable items from this past 100 years. Although, I may throw in some more as time goes by.

This weeks item is one that was really amazing to see. Back in the mid 90’s, we had an auction on Pumpkin Branch Road, which is on the Macon and Trousdale County line. We were selling an older home and lot and lots of great antiques. In two of the rooms were some old, late 1800’s, high back beds. And they were AMAZING.

But it was not just the bed itself that was so memorable, but rather what was on the back f them. We had sold many high backs before, and since that day, but NEVER had we sold ones that had this written on the back “Bought at ….. Estate Auction. Sold by Jim Carman. Paid $1.75″

You see, Jim Carman is my Great Grandfather and is the one who started this amazing run for the past 100 years in our family. He held many auctions in that very area over the years, and often when a large item was sold, they would right the # of the buyer on the back. However, this individual decided to mark the beds with what auction they were bought and how much they paid. It truly was a still moment in history as I held up the headboard and my father, Harold Gene Carman Jr, auctioned off a piece that we know for certain was sold by the patriarch of our family business. I will always remember that day and that bed.

If you have a memory of my family and our auctions, I would love to hear them.

Have a great week and we will see you again soon!

Ray Carman

Yes, we will be having two auctions today, RAIN or Shine. One is 25 acres and home over near Red Boiling Springs. Lots of nice personal property too. Starts at 10am.

Crew #2 will be in Westmoreland at 10am offering 18 super choice investment/development acres with sewer, gas, and water available.

So come on out and see us at one of these great auction sales!

Ray Carman

Memorable Item #3.

I first want to say I am sorry for getting this up so late today, I have been running around al day delivering auction brochures, making auction proposals, and helping my dear wife get things ready for her BIG weekend yard sale. But enough of the excuses.

Back in the early 90’s, we were fortunate enough to have an auction in Gainesboro TN for an estate near the square. This was an older brick home, and had an amazing lifetime collection stored in this house. In the basement was where we found memorable item #3.

It was an old safe.

Not just an old safe, it was an extremely heavy, well made, hard to move, but had to come up a narrow staircase old safe. I was a young-ling at the time, in my late teens, and would have figured I could have moved the world. I do not think there had been much we had found that I and my brother, Gene Carman III, could not find a way to get out of a house. But this thing, Oh MY!

And the narrow staircase made for it to be all the more interesting. It took four, young, strong backed, and weak minded men, to get this thing out. We had even rented a very heavy duty hand truck to help us move it, and during the move it fell and dented the hand truck, to the point my dad had to buy it from the moving company from which it was rented.

I do not remember what it brought, but I remember the journey very well. I even remember it was purchased by a local attorney across the street and we wheeled it to his office and put it in the closet of his personal office. And if I were guessing, it is still there.

Hope you all have a great week and can come see us for what may be our very next memorable item!

Ray Carman

Well, as time has slipped by, we have sold countless items at numerous sales. But there are always those few items that will forever stick out to you as you move along. Kinda like the garden hoe we had to sale over and over at auction school in Indiana.

The second item I will never forget was a common, ordinary walking stick.

We were having an auction for an estate in which an elderly man had passed away. He had a nice assortment of antiques and items in his house that we sold for the family. I remember he was well liked and loved as many relatives were in attendance this particular day.

As we have auctions, often someone will bring an item or a box of items and ask us to auction them separately or right away as they may have to go or just want to see it sell. On this day, someone brought up a common ordinary walking stick which the gentleman had used on a daily bases. It was a simple wooden stick with your typical cane hook. Now usually these will sell as a handful and bring $5-$10. But this day, something different took place.

The bidding started at what you might imagine, just a few dollars. But then it started going up, and up, and up. Two family members were bidding and both were in tears. They each wanted this item extremely bad, as a memory from the man who had passed. They cried, and they bid, and they kept going till this common stick had reached the price of $400. Yes, I said four hundred dollars.

When it was all said and done, they hugged each other, and life has carried on. But as a young an working the auction, I have never forgotten how the memory of a person can be left so deep in ones heart, that even a simple stick can become the symbol of your life to those who loved you!

Have a great week!

Ray Carman

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who came out to the two Gene Carman auctions today. I was not at the first one, but heard the sale went great and the 106 acres brought 165,000 in spite of not having any city water.

Second sale went well too. The house needed some work and updating, however, it still brought 90,000 and the personal property was selling very good as well.

Without the consumers who come and attend, bid, and buy, our sale would not be a success. So thanks for coming and making us look great!

Ray Carman

When property transfers to a new owner, it is common policy to make sure that the title is clean ad the new owner will have a free and clear ownership of his new purchase. However, have you ever thought of the other issues that might pop up with your title?

In our day and age, HELOC’s and lines of credit are often opened and used to make upgrades, repairs, or use for other things. When a LOC is opened, the bank places a lien on your property in order to secure any potential debt you place by using said LOC. This can have several implications down the road.

Often, people refinance or swap banks. It is paramount, that in that process that you are SURE that each previous LOC is not only closed, but also that the lien has been released for several reasons.

1. If not done properly, when you go to refinance, you may hit a road block with an unrecorded release that can hold up your process.

2. If you happen to get into a pinch, and “re-borrow” money from the old bank, they may simply use the old LOC lien and thus cause some major title issues for you and your new mortgage holder.

3. And when you decide to sell or auction the property, you may run into some hurdles that could take months to cure, especially if you have the scenario of #2 in your title chain.

So here is something you can do to help stem the issue. If you ave a LOC or have refinanced your home. have an attorney or title company run a quick title check on your property. It may cost you a couple of hundred dollars, but in the long run, it could really save you a ton of headaches and frustrations.

Ray Carman

Well, it is Monday again, and I almost forgot in all the hoorah of the day to tell you another Memory.

I am often asked if I remember any certain one item that sold at an auction, and why? I thought I would take this month and talk about some items that have left their mark.

This week it is a simple box of sheets that left a firm impression on my mind. Why a box of sheets you ask? Well, I was about 10 and we were all working a large auction together. Pa Carman, Gene Carman Sr, was selling along and this box of sheets came up for bid. Sitting next to Pa was my aunt, Karen Armstrong. When the box was held up, Pa said, “Well folks, here we have a box of sh*ts, what will you give for them?” Slip of the tongue.

I was standing down front and I zipped around to look at Pa, wandering what was next. The crowd was silent, and slowly Karen begin to chuckle, and then we all turned into one laughing chorus, that is except Pa. He wanted to know what was so funny. He had hoped that slip of the tongue had slid on by. But needless to say, everyone there got one big laugh, as Pa told Karen, “If you would not have laughed, nobody would have noticed.”

But, we did, and forever that box of sh*ts has lived in infamy as a reminder to all who auctioneer, beware of the slip of the tongue!

Have a great week and we will see you next time on Memory Monday!

Well, here is another funny moment from a Saturday Auction.

I was around 20 at the time and we had an auction in Jackson County. An agent who worked for us had booked the sale and it was a house and lot along with a house full of personal property, which included many tools. I remember the day well, because it had rained a-lot the evening before, so the ground was quite soggy.

During the course of an auction which has power tools, we try and run a drop cord (extension cord) out so we can show that the item works and is in proper running condition. This day was no different, as we were moving along. The booking Agent, Eddie, had come out with a skil saw to sell. Now let me catch you up real quick on Eddie. Eddie was the kind of guy who you could “goose” or scare real easy. He was, you might say, “jumpy.”

So Eddie brings out the skil saw and plugs her up. What he did not see was that when he dropped the cord back down he had landed it in a small puddle of water and the cord for the saw had a small short in it. So when he stepped up to show it off and pulled the trigger, well, poor ole Eddie got quite the shock. The saw went a sailing, and well, we all went to laughing. Thankfully it was nothing serious, but ole Eddie had just cut a trail and jigged a jag getting away from that saw.

Come back next Monday for some more Auction Memories.

Ray Carman

This poem was a favorite at all our auctions when I was a teen.

Ray Carman