My very business-y brother has taken over the land deal, and so it looks like it's going to happen very soon. I'm kind of stunned.
I've been vague about it because I feel like the words could be search engine/spam magnet, and also because I feel so conflicted about it. But basically the deal would be granting right of way on my dad's unused land for a pipeline for a very controversial type of mining venture.
When I saw the deal was going ahead very quickly, I wrote a very friendly and trying to be neutral but still impassioned email to my brother, letting him know why I thought we should each donate a portion of our proceeds. He wrote a very nice note saying he would consider it and that he understood why I wanted to think about our kids and grandkids when we accepted money from this company. So I'm leaving it up to him; I've definitely convinced at least one sister to donate part of her proceeds to an environmental group.
My brother says the deal currently looks like $78K apiece. I am assuming I will send him $1000 for doing so much legwork, $750 to my third sister who's not taking part in the deal since she got just $75K on her related deal, $10K to an as-yet-undetermined environmental cause, and $20K to taxes (though there may be some loopholes if part of the payment is compensation for damages to the land?). Looks like that could leave $46,250 of straight profit. Just kind of a phenomenal number that could wipe out some of our current goals and contribute to our pie-in-the-sky goal of buying a new home without selling NT's flat. If we decide we can't wait and do need to sell his flat to raise some cash, it still accelerates our goals to an almost unimaginable degree. I was hoping for some windfalls this year, but I was thinking in the hundreds, not the tens of thousands!
We'll see. It all seems made-up so I'm not going to assume anything until I have the actual check in my hands. But my brother is pretty confident it's going through and that the only variable is what the exact number on each person's check will be.
Looks like the deal is going through ...
March 28th, 2014 at 04:51 am
March 28th, 2014 at 06:11 am 1395987107
Whatever the outcome, I know you'll put the money to good use.
March 28th, 2014 at 11:21 am 1396005665
March 28th, 2014 at 11:47 am 1396007230
March 28th, 2014 at 12:12 pm 1396008773
March 28th, 2014 at 12:28 pm 1396009703
I would probably apply that $10,000 to student loans with a goal in mind. The sooner you clear those debts, the sooner you all can be more flexible in your employment. Then you can donate your time and energy to environmental causes where your efforts could make a difference.
I know first hand that you can accomplish a lot locally by doing the homework and organizing working groups to pressure local authorities to make environmentally responsible choices. The key is having the time to educate yourself and get involved. Clearing debt gives you more control over your time.
March 28th, 2014 at 01:47 pm 1396014463
March 28th, 2014 at 02:18 pm 1396016298
March 28th, 2014 at 02:24 pm 1396016688
MonkeyMama, from what I understand, we'll be getting paid directly by the gas company. I think my dad is gifting us the right-of-way rights for the land, but any profit we make from it we'll be on the hook for taxwise. However, my brother said maybe 50% of the payment will be compensation for damage so we may not owe taxes on that. I don't quite understand how that would work since the land isn't in our names, but he's got lawyer and big-money connections like nothing I've got, so I believe him.
March 28th, 2014 at 02:29 pm 1396016995
March 28th, 2014 at 03:23 pm 1396020200
March 28th, 2014 at 03:55 pm 1396022141
Congrats on the windfall!!!
March 29th, 2014 at 12:52 am 1396054359