Now I am completely surrounded

[lynnmor 7,305]

The horse boarding facility on my west side was auctioned off an hour ago for $925,000.  Now I have Amish on every side, which may be good or bad depending on their intended use.

[Pullstart 62,843]

That’s better than a housing division in 5 years for 9.25 million…

[Rob J. 1,941]

Hard to compete with cash buyers. 

[Pullstart 62,843]

12 minutes ago, Rob J. said:

Hard to compete with cash buyers. 

I am not sure how this type of real estate works.  At auction, does it matter where the money comes from?

[Rob J. 1,941]

1 minute ago, Pullstart said:

I am not sure how this type of real estate works.  At auction, does it matter where the money comes from?

It does if you don’t have enough credit to beat their cash price. Which most not all but people don’t. You walk into an auction you have to have the money then and there or a guarantee from a bank for the money. Auctions, cash is always king. 

[ri702bill 8,316]

Usually not - but, usually has to be paid IN FULL that day..

[squonk 41,087]

They pretty much don't bother anybody. Keep to themselves for the most part. I used to deal with a lot of them at the Napa store. Only bad part their boots, (If they were wearing anything on their feet) had manure on them. Some Mennonites you have to watch. Friend of mine owned some woods bordering their farmland. They started cutting down trees to make their fields bigger. He caught them and told them He'd let it go but don't do it anymore. Well they kept on doing it and played dumb. He finally got the law on it.

Edited May 13, 2023 by squonk

[Rob J. 1,941]

4 minutes ago, squonk said:

They pretty much don't bother anybody. Keep to themselves for the most part. I used to deal with a lot of them at the Napa store. Only bad part their boots, (If they were wearing anything on their feet) had manure on them. Some Mennonites you have to watch. Friend of mine owned some woods bordering their farmland. They started cutting down trees to make their fields bigger. He caught them and told them He'd let it go but don't do it anymore. Well they kept on doing it and played dumb. He finally got the law on it.

The worst for me is sitting in McDonalds drive thru and the Amish cart in front of me decides to leave their deposits. It just runs my appetite. 🤢🤮😂

Edited May 13, 2023 by Rob J.

[Rob J. 1,941]

My experience up here is they use up the land and move on. They strip the trees and over farm it. They hunt whenever they feel like. They also aren’t as pure as they portray either. I’ve seen em drink, gamble and gaze through smut mags. Awhile back 4 young Amish men went on a booze cruise in a buggy. Quite the scandal. 😂

 

But all in all they’re decent people. Not the cleanest though. 😉

[Pullstart 62,843]

8 minutes ago, Rob J. said:

My experience up here is they use up the land and move on. They strip the trees and over farm it. They hunt whenever they feel like. They also aren’t as pure as they portray either. I’ve seen em drink, gamble and gaze through smut mags. Awhile back 4 young Amish men went on a booze cruise in a buggy. Quite the scandal. 😂

 

But all in all they’re decent people. Not the cleanest though. 😉

I don’t know any Amish or Mennonite families personally.  The best personal example is of the Amish boy who hitches a ride to the Portage, WI show every year with some neighbors.  He will jump in and help anywhere, no matter the occasion.  Just won’t run the equipment.  I know plenty of corrupt Christians, great Godless and otherwise.  4 guys can’t ruin it for the whole religion, just like the holier than thou folks can’t ruin my beliefs.    I am happy to hear that such communities can run without a plastic card in their pocket and they can afford the things they commit to buy.  

[squonk 41,087]

My wife has some good stories. She worked in a state park down the road and the cops had to chase a car all thru the park. They went thru the playground and everything. 4 drunk Mennonite girls. 

 

Now she works in a thrift store. The Amish guys buy up all the romance novels whilst the teenage Mennonite girls buy up the shortie shorts and spaggetti strap tops! 

[Rob J. 1,941]

2 hours ago, Pullstart said:

I don’t know any Amish or Mennonite families personally.  The best personal example is of the Amish boy who hitches a ride to the Portage, WI show every year with some neighbors.  He will jump in and help anywhere, no matter the occasion.  Just won’t run the equipment.  I know plenty of corrupt Christians, great Godless and otherwise.  4 guys can’t ruin it for the whole religion, just like the holier than thou folks can’t ruin my beliefs.    I am happy to hear that such communities can run without a plastic card in their pocket and they can afford the things they commit to buy.  

Well first of all I never said all Amish, so let’s correct that right here and now. I am surrounded by Amish and Mennonite. I do know what I’m talking about. 

[lynnmor 7,305]

The terms for this auction, and most I think, was 10% cash or good check immediately, then the remainder in 60 days.  There was a gal from Farm Credit there, probably already prearranged to bankroll certain bidders.

 

All building rights were already used up, so there wasn’t a danger of the property becoming a development.  Of course the current house will need the most of the wiring and plumbing to be scrapped.  Then I would expect to see the house expanded to accommodate a huge family.

 

It might be a good thing, time will tell, but there is the possibility of odors, flys and dust to deal with.  That extremely large barn could house enough hogs to destroy the living conditions for miles around.

 

Mennonites were mentioned above, all I will say is keep a close eye on your possessions when they are near.

[Rob J. 1,941]

By the way, these other “holier than thou” Christians you talk about don’t live tax free. So while one group of Christian’s are forced to pay taxes others aren’t. So long as you don’t drive a motor vehicle. So they just rent them and a driver. I’d love to pay for a rental and a driver to not pay income and property taxes. Any day of the week. 

[formariz 11,987]

1 hour ago, Rob J. said:

So while one group of Christian’s are forced to pay taxes others aren’t. So long as you don’t drive a motor vehicle.

Correct me if I am wrong but I always understood that all regardless of religion have the same tax obligations . Because of self employment some groups do not pay SS tax or UI insurance but they also do not benefit from it. I am curious as to the law statute saying that if you do not drive a motor vehicle you do not have to pay taxes. Care to enlighten me on that particular one ? I may just go full Uber if that is in fact the law.

Edited May 13, 2023 by formariz

[Ed Kennell 38,162]

                                                  

13 minutes ago, formariz said:

all regardless of religion have the same tax obligations

Same here in PeeAaa.       

 

13 minutes ago, formariz said:

if you do not drive a motor vehicle you do not have to pay taxes

Our real estate taxes are determined by the assessed value of the property X the millage rates set by the township and the school district.  Not in any way related to ownership of vehicles.

Clearly you do not have to pay for the registration of a vehicle you do not own.    Non-motorized vehicles do not need to be registered.

[formariz 11,987]

4 hours ago, squonk said:

Some Mennonites you have to watch. Friend of mine owned some woods bordering their farmland. They started cutting down trees to make their fields bigger. He caught them and told them He'd let it go but don't do it anymore. Well they kept on doing it and played dumb. He finally got the law on it.

Sadly you have to watch human beings in general. Doesn’t matter what religion , race or ethnicity. Greed and avarice is not proprietary of any particular group. After all I have been the recipient of such actions by members of my own family. 

[wh500special 2,173]

Wow, if this is how we’re gonna talk about religious groups on this site I’m more than a little worried where things are going to lead if we get to other cultural, ethnic, and faith traditions.

 

 If we’re letting the actions of a few form our opinions of the many we might all worry about how THIS group is going to look to those on the outside who are looking in when we have discussions like this. 
 

Steve

 

[Rob J. 1,941]

1 hour ago, formariz said:

Correct me if I am wrong but I always understood that all regardless of religion have the same tax obligations . Because of self employment some groups do not pay SS tax or UI insurance but they also do not benefit from it. I am curious as to the law statute saying that if you do not drive a motor vehicle you do not have to pay taxes. Care to enlighten me on that particular one ? I may just go full Uber if that is in fact the law.

Difference here is your typical church is devoid of paying taxes on property where the church is but the parishioners go home and pay the taxes. Amish only pay taxes when they go buy something and in some places do not have to even do that. An Amish company can under bid most conventional construction companies because they pay little for labor. The downside to all this is living a meager lifestyle. 
 

Let me be clear, I’m not disparaging the Amish or their way of life but far too many miss understand the Amish and how they really live. 

[WHX?? 48,815]

5 hours ago, Rob J. said:

 

But all in all they’re decent people. Not the cleanest though. 😉

I'll  second that Rob.

Had them put a steel roof on my house. Had garbage cans every 20 ft and asked them not to leave metal scraps on the lawn as my horses feed here. I might as well been talking to the wall when I saw one walking by a can but saw him drop his candy bar wrapper on the lawn. 

Floors me the most is I was quoted 5500 for the job and they only took 4000. Talk about leaving money on the table. I had to write out separate checks for every guy on the job. The ones without beards I had to write it in their parents name. 

When I gave them their ride home asked me if I could stop at quik mart.

They came out with 12 paks and asked me if I could stop before their place where they hid them out in the woods. 

No lie guys I just said whatever. 

[Ed Kennell 38,162]

Contrary to some misperceptions, the Amish do pay taxes: state and federal income taxes, sales and real estate taxes, and public school taxes. They are exempt from paying Social Security taxes, however, because they consider Social Security a form of insurance and therefore refuse its benefits

[WHX?? 48,815]

Ed nailed it. They don't paid road taxes in the form of gasoline cause they don't use it but still use roads. I guess hooves don't rip it up as much as a 30 ton truck. I'm ok with that.

I did ask one once why they don't use parade bags for their road horses... he told me they got enough fertilizer...trying to get rid of it!

RIP Road Apples. 

Not only that cash is king with them. 

[squonk 41,087]

The local sects that have to use machinery with steel wheels only pay for local road maintenance around here.

[Beap52 811]

We have several communities of Amish around here.  I've met some of them at our local lumber yard and had several as customers at a locally owned farm and ranch store I worked at for a while.  Some have good reputations and others don't.  I've have heard it speculated that Amish, as individuals, don't own much and save on taxes by the "church" owning most of the property.  Most communities have small stores--mostly grocery and their prices can be pretty good.  One of the fellows in our Sunday school class drives the Amish families around.  They are a tight knit group but sometimes he is allowed to join in on certain celebrations. I think the opinion that he has of the folks he associates with is pretty good.  Like every community and culture, there are good and questionable.

 

Many folks don't realize that Amish and Mennonites are different.  The Amish are the buggy drivers and the Mennonites, around here, are Dodge drivers.  Their vehicles are almost always black with a little chrome as one can get.   One of my friend's pickup was hit by a Mennonite driver.  The car was owned by the community with minimal insurance allowed by law.  He had quite a time getting his vehicle repaired. 

[WHX?? 48,815]

Reading all this I think what we should be doing is going by our own experiences on learning how to live with them and not some stupid reality TV show.