Last year, I saw a burnt mansion for sale. Now, they let me see the home redone.

Williamson County is home to some of the highest property values in the state. So, when a 9,000-square-foot mansion was listed for $1.5 million, no surprise, the listing went viral.

But there was a catch – the home was ravaged by fire and was being sold “as-is.” It’s a fact that would scare away plenty of buyers, but not the Thakur family moving to Tennessee from Texas.

“My wife and kids know I’m quite particular when it comes to interior design. No matter what we bought we would have ended up re-doing most of it anyways. So, we figured if we are going to do a little fixer upper what’s a little more? How hard can it be, right?” Mike Thakur joked to me.

The Thakur family started renovating the Franklin home in March of 2023. Now a year later, they are putting on the finishing touches.

“I think it offers something for everybody. For a family with kiddos, we have four great bedrooms. We have the carriage house for guests, so they don’t have to stay in the house. Got a fitness room, the movie room, got two offices, the wine room downstairs as well the oversized kitchen and the chef’s kitchen.”

Alex Maxwell / WTVF

Of course, with any home renovation, nothing goes perfectly as planned.

“The surprises were few and far between, but where we had them, they were big ones,” says Thakur.

From an expansive driveway that collapsed to an entryway that needed more than one overhaul, Thakur wanted to re-use the home's ornate, handmade railings, but it didn’t match the home’s new motif.

Alex Maxwell / WTVF

“It just didn’t feel like it fit because everything is so straight-lined, which is what we wanted. So, I came in one night with my chainsaw, and we just chainsawed the thing off.”

After investing millions of dollars in the renovation, instead of moving in, the Thakur family seems ready to start all over again.

“Maybe this is the first Thakur home. Maybe there will be a few more down the road — I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Rhori recommends:

“One of the great things about working at NewsChannel 5 is learning about the remarkable history of the station itself. The names: Bob Lobertini…Chris Clark…Hope Hines…and, of course, Oprah. The newscasts, of course. But also: Night Train…Hee Haw…and TALK OF THE TOWN, which is now one of the longest-running locally produced talk shows in the country marking 40 years on the air. Our storyteller-in-chief Forrest Sanders offers this entertaining and nostalgic look back at the popular program we here refer to as…simply…‘TOTT’. Enjoy!”

-Rhori Johnston