Things to Know

[Tmayer13]

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 had $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.

Especially if that meth head does not have gas money to drive 4 miles............................................

 

[Windlooker]

The neighbor thing is dependent, right. If one can own large chunks, 600 plus acres, neighbors matter but not really. With that amount of land the owner can control the deer herd to a point. Smaller land owners, which is most, wound never buy if based on the neighbors. In reality it takes several years to truly know who the neighbors are.

The owners who surround my place are local farmers who could care less about my herd structure, lol. That said I get along with them, we kill some nice deer, and I love my place. My place consists of 2/3 timber and 1/3 crp/crop with running water traversing the property. Running water, not cattle ponds, is a must IMO.

 

[deerdown]

Ibh1983 gives some good advice.
I'll add on.
Farmers are just people, not all of them the salt of the earth. Some will try to take advantage of you just like the suits in the city.
While crp looks appealing, keeping up with crp being overgrown and some of the restrictions may not be the best long term deal.
If there isn't a structure, or utilities already on the farm, find out how far away utilities are, it can add a significant expense to bring them in.
A structure adds a lot of appeal for resale.
I prefer a shouse to a stick house. Half living quarters half shed.
Knowing your neighbors and having them know you can prevent a lot of issues of being an outsider because you didn't grow up there.
Good luck, ask a lot of questions of these guys on here, they know stuff and are willing to share.

 

[northcedar]

Probably extremely hard to discover or make the deal happen in most cases, but anyone who owns next to a nonhunted or sanctuary type property can be golden.

 

[sep0667]

Is having a liability insurance a wise thing to do i assume?

 

[crietveld]

Probably not possible for most people, but if you can buy ground you can live on your way ahead in my opinion. It’s easier to get to know the neighbors and become part of the neighborhood. This obviously doesn’t work for people that own multiple farms.


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