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Things to Know

sep0667

sep0667

Land of the Whitetail
What are things to know or consider for a first time land owner or looking to be first time land owner?

This could be very broad. Anything from allowing access for friends and family or finances or legality issues. Renting tillable rights, how to introduce yourself to the neighbors etc.

What are things that you wish you knew when you bought your first piece of ground?


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Imo, your neighbors are everything, either good or bad. A good relationship regardless of their hunting practices is important as you don't want a neighbor not liking you.
I chose to not let anyone hunt at my place until I personally harvested a deer. No reason other then to say that I was the "first " .anyone you invite, expect them especially if they have a good experience to want to be invited back. Also, depending what relationship to you, they always have a friend that wants to go too. Etc.
 
Do you own the land already ? My philosophy has been buy land with crop land or CRP. 50/50 60/40. The income will help you buy more acres, and it will be more attractive for future sales.
 
chipterp said:
We partnered up buying a large piece and hunt it and manage it together but we parceled it off so they own half and we own half if there’s ever any problem.
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That is the best way to do it.

I own one in MN with partnership . We have a solid agreement/everything is spelled out and it’s worked. But buy your own if possible.
 
What do you guys do that do not live close to your land? I mean as in maybe 45 minutes to an hour away and more.
What I am meaning is when hunting season comes unless you’re planning to do an all day sit how do you break up the day or even the weekend? Do you camp in a tent overnight do you bring a camper with you do you have a small cabin on the property?

In my mind unless you live on the property or within a couple milesIt’s a big pain in the butt to hunt the morning then go back home then come back for an afternoon. Or even just to go home at the end of each day I want to get up early and go back for the next day.


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sep0667 said:
What do you guys do that do not live close to your land? I mean as in maybe 45 minutes to an hour away and more.
What I am meaning is when hunting season comes unless you’re planning to do an all day sit how do you break up the day or even the weekend? Do you camp in a tent overnight do you bring a camper with you do you have a small cabin on the property?

In my mind unless you live on the property or within a couple milesIt’s a big pain in the butt to hunt the morning then go back home then come back for an afternoon. Or even just to go home at the end of each day I want to get up early and go back for the next day.


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We have a cabin but besides the rut which usually sucks anyway most of our sits are afternoon into evening anyway. During the rut you can head down a little later hit the stand around 10 take a break and then go back out for the evening.
 
sep0667 said:
What do you guys do that do not live close to your land? I mean as in maybe 45 minutes to an hour away and more.
What I am meaning is when hunting season comes unless you’re planning to do an all day sit how do you break up the day or even the weekend? Do you camp in a tent overnight do you bring a camper with you do you have a small cabin on the property?

In my mind unless you live on the property or within a couple milesIt’s a big pain in the butt to hunt the morning then go back home then come back for an afternoon. Or even just to go home at the end of each day I want to get up early and go back for the next day.


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I usually go to a small town close, get a break, get something to drink/eat and head back. That usually takes up about an hour, and I then decide the game plan for the afternoon. I'm currently about an hour 15 minutes away from our place so if I hunt morning I usually stay for evening. Once our house is built we'll only be about 15 minutes away so my game will change then.
 
I personally would buy something with a structure on it. I know it increases the price, maintenance etc. I purchased without a place to stay and evolved over the past 20 years from hotels (about 20 min away ) to a 30 foot camper that lasted 11 years, and finally built a Morton bldg with half finished as a camp. It worked out but in hindsight…..
 
sep0667 said:
What do you guys do that do not live close to your land? I mean as in maybe 45 minutes to an hour away and more.
What I am meaning is when hunting season comes unless you’re planning to do an all day sit how do you break up the day or even the weekend? Do you camp in a tent overnight do you bring a camper with you do you have a small cabin on the property?

In my mind unless you live on the property or within a couple milesIt’s a big pain in the butt to hunt the morning then go back home then come back for an afternoon. Or even just to go home at the end of each day I want to get up early and go back for the next day.


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The piece we just got is exactly 45 mins from my house. Earlier in the year I would only hunt the afternoons. But come Oct 30ish I just sat all day. Several days I would want to go home but by the time I made it home I would have to turn back around to head back for the afternoon. So I have an battery pack that i can plug into my phone, so on the weekends I would watch football and I brought snacks, LOTS of snacks. Having a good box blind is key for several all day sits.
A few days in late Oct I just walked back to the truck had a snack, took an hour nap and then headed back out.

I am still navigating this whole farm thing myself, I have made good with "most" of the neighbors. One in particular was not happy about us hanging No Trespassing signs. And when I say not happy, he was PISSED!!!! This is still something I plan to address in the offseason as I hope to mend the relationship somehow. My other neighbors are great. I talked to them about what my plans were, offered to help them out with anything they needed, and I also gained access to my farm through theirs. I even gained hunting access to one neighbor without even asking. So I would recommend trying to talk to your neighbors immediately.
 
We bought our first farm a little over 3 years ago, just under 120 acres total. It's 10 miles from our house and I absolutely love it.

We gave up a little quality for the convenience of being close to home but I wouldn't change it for anything at this point. With 5 kids it would be a nightmare trying to get things done. At this point I've got my 4 year old son with me about anytime I'm on the farm. Last night we left the house at 4, in the blind by 4:15 and saw 15 deer in an hour long sit. I'm not disagreeing that neighbors & location are super important but don't loose sight of what it's all about. My season has consisted of killing every doe that will get close to me and my 4 year old. The track jobs and memories are even better than the thought of having the perfect farm. (Ours is 8/10 so I'm not complaining :))
 
Windlooker said:
I personally would buy something with a structure on it. I know it increases the price, maintenance etc. I purchased without a place to stay and evolved over the past 20 years from hotels (about 20 min away ) to a 30 foot camper that lasted 11 years, and finally built a Morton bldg with half finished as a camp. It worked out but in hindsight….. Also, you can’t control your neighbors, they are who they are, do the best you can with them and worry about your place.
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From my personal experiences buying a dozen farms in last 7 years. Some of these only certain people will understand but they all have a special meaning to me:

-Work on developing relationships with multiple lenders
-Shop interest rates and fees
-Time is of the essence. Real estate deals can and do fall apart when people have too much time- Get things SIGNED ASAP
-Be wary of buying a farm from a meth head
-Easements can be troublesome- Do your homework!
-Be smart about cash rents- consult people in the know- Do not let your farm get mined!
-If buying hay ground expect that the ground has been raped. This can be a MAJOR cost getting fertility back in order. This could easily add $300/a+ to your effective purchase price
-Bad neighbors will ruin a farm quicker than anything- Can ruin the entire experience frankly
-Neighbors take offense to No-trespassing signs- Strange but true
-Sometimes it is cheaper to higher the guy with the right equipment than trying to do it yourself.... both time and money
-If selling timber, consult a forester- Do not deal with a single logger


Quick off the top of my head.... prolly think of several more.
 
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