Owning land with family

[westonwhitetail]

What’s your guy’s experience owning land with family or friends? There is a 40 in a good hunting location and I could buy it my self but some family is interested in sharing it. We get along great but I kinda want to be able to make all the decisions myself. We’ve hunted together forever but I would do things differently myself sometimes. Kinda would like to have something I get to call the shots on and try it my way and then maybe in the future I would go in on another piece with them. What’s your guy’s thoughts?

 

[swampyankee]

I think you know the answer based on what you wrote. I like owning my own stuff, have no problem letting friends/ family hunt or borrow stuff but at the end of the day I own it.

 

[Buckly]

Thoughts.......40 acres is too small for even 1 hunter much less friends or family. I would be looking at much , much larger property if you’re looking at hunting and no issues. If you just want a place to hang out and be a family and friends place with no emphasis on hunting then it could work.

 

[Booner21]

What’s your guy’s experience owning land with family or friends? There is a 40 in a good hunting location and I could buy it my self but some family is interested in sharing it. We get along great but I kinda want to be able to make all the decisions myself. We’ve hunted together forever but I would do things differently myself sometimes. Kinda would like to have something I get to call the shots on and try it my way and then maybe in the future I would go in on another piece with them. What’s your guy’s thoughts?

I would do it yourself if you can swing it if not I would wait until you can. I almost bought in with my dad and it would not have turned out good. We both ended up buying separate places that we can do exactly what we want with. I leave mine alone from July to January and focus on deer exclusively he is on his every week fiddling around and taking other hunters. He is happy I am happy.

If you do go in I would have the discussion up front on how the property will be used and by whom or i can almost guarantee it will lead to issues of some sort down the road. If neither really cares then may work out fine.


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[Jordan Selsor]

40 is a small tract. I’d do it alone for sure.
I have owned ground with family. Sold that piece an bought the next one solo. Just my opinion my friend. Joint land ownership has its challenges

 

[Someday isle]

I’ve got 35 acres. It’s not much but it’s enough for me. I have two adult children who hunt a little. I can’t imagine trying to manage it with other family members or friends. With 40 acres you can set your own goals and make your own habitat plans and gear it towards your hunting and stewardship ideas. I’d think you’d need a couple hundred acres with family involved. My brother and brother in law help out sometimes with projects. My brother doesn’t hunt but he cuts firewood. He can have what he wants as long as he makes sure I’m okay with what he cuts. My brother in law knows he’s invited to hunt antlerless season and muzzleloader for helping or on weekends my boys don’t hunt. Just my experience but 40 acres I’d go it alone.

 

[yoderjac]

What’s your guy’s experience owning land with family or friends? There is a 40 in a good hunting location and I could buy it my self but some family is interested in sharing it. We get along great but I kinda want to be able to make all the decisions myself. We’ve hunted together forever but I would do things differently myself sometimes. Kinda would like to have something I get to call the shots on and try it my way and then maybe in the future I would go in on another piece with them. What’s your guy’s thoughts?

Managing people is much more difficult than managing deer. We went the LLC route and had the LLC buy the land and each person owned shares in the LLC. There are many considerations that need to go into the LLC member agreement. What happens when someone wants to sell? What if opinions on how to mange diverge? How do you manage hunting pressure? You have to learn to compromise and so do the others. As the song goes..."Ya don't always get what you want..."

The big advantage of going this route is that you have a chance to acquire enough land to give you the scale to do QDM (depending on how many folks and the cost of land in your area). Without sufficient scale, you won't be successful at QDM. The second advantage is that, even if you could afford enough land for sufficient scale by yourself, do you have the resources to manage that much land by yourself? Having help with the work is important.

When you own property yourself, you have a free hand in management and hunting decisions. That is the biggest advantage of owning it yourself.

There are advantages and disadvantages both ways. A lot depends on your personality and the personality of the others and how well they align (not just now when starting, but how well they will stay aligned in the future.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[MRBB]

do it alone, adding friends and family is asking for problems down the road, land will be worth more and , life changes can happen to anyone at any time and that can l;ead to hard feelings, pressure to sell, or worse!
if your looking for INCOME to help afford the land,
offer to the family a yr to yr FEE to USE the land and do it RIGHT< have it drawn up by a lawyer and make it LEGAL
as I know of far too many friendships ruined over things like this, and a lot of Major HATE in families that were PART of a piece of land

and GOD forbid someone dies, and watch the claws come out by family members THINKING they deserve something!
its one of them things, that when value and money are on the line, feelings change REAL fast, then close friends and family can soon become your worst enemies, and trust me, I been there on this stuff and it never ends pretty or CHEAP!
I will Never ever go in on anything large like land with anyone EVER, one owner is all that should ever be on land IMO!
other wise it turns into a major problem down the road EVERY time!

 

[Tree Spud]

If you want to stay friends with your friends, and still like your family ... buy it alone ... remember, no good deed goes unpunished!

 

[TreeDaddy]

Managing people is much more difficult than managing deer. We went the LLC route and had the LLC buy the land and each person owned shares in the LLC. There are many considerations that need to go into the LLC member agreement. What happens when someone wants to sell? What if opinions on how to mange diverge? How do you manage hunting pressure? You have to learn to compromise and so do the others. As the song goes..."Ya don't always get what you want..."

The big advantage of going this route is that you have a chance to acquire enough land to give you the scale to do QDM (depending on how many folks and the cost of land in your area). Without sufficient scale, you won't be successful at QDM. The second advantage is that, even if you could afford enough land for sufficient scale by yourself, do you have the resources to manage that much land by yourself? Having help with the work is important.

When you own property yourself, you have a free hand in management and hunting decisions. That is the biggest advantage of owning it yourself.

There are advantages and disadvantages both ways. A lot depends on your personality and the personality of the others and how well they align (not just now when starting, but how well they will stay aligned in the future.

Thanks,

Jack

Jack,

You will never be mistaken as a fan of the Stones......

bill

 

[MN Slick]

Speaking from experience, DO NOT buy with friends or family!!!!

 

[yoderjac]

Jack,

You will never be mistaken as a fan of the Stones......

bill

But if you try, sometimes, you get what you need.

 

[Mortenson]

My dad and I have bought a few pieces as equal partners, with 1 of those being a hunting tract that adjoins our main hunting farm that my parents own. We're probably one of the rare situations where it works out well. Most things we buy as partners. We get along well enough to live next door to each other, we in fact do. He let's me dictate how the hunting goes down these days. He basically just agrees to most of it. The only thing I don't like, but just have to laugh at, is how he still fills doe tags on the gun opener. The one most sacred day. Old habits die hard.

I agree, if you can swing the 40 ac alone, do it that way.

 

[gwm]

Buy it alone.

 

[bwoods11]

I have Farms that I own by myself, and one that I own with a friend (not family). If you can afford it, buy it yourself.

 

[yoderjac]

I had the option of buying about 50 acres of land myself (about what I could afford at the time) or going in with others to buy a 380 acre pine farm. We formed an LLC as I said in a previous post and I went the group route. We functionally have 5 owners each owning different percentages. We covered lots of contingencies in our member agreement up front when we formed the LLC to buy the land.

There have no doubt been significant challenges and it has stressed some of the friendships between partners. With both witting and unwitting cooperation with some adjacent tracts of land, we are still on the ratty edge of having sufficient scale to do QDM successfully. Even with all the challenges, so far, looking back, I'm glad I went this route. It is probably not the best route for everyone, but it will be for some. One thing that is absolutely required to make it work is setting aside the excitement of buying a new piece of land, and focusing on what could happen in the future and getting as much as possible agreed to in a legally binding members agreement up front. While it is rare to have to go back the the agreement to resolve an issue, memories of what we said or meant change over time as peoples situations change. You also need to make sure your partners are mature enough to say, "I signed it. I may not like it now, but I'll abide by it."

Thanks,

Jack

 

[kl9]

Thoughts.......40 acres is too small for even 1 hunter much less friends or family. I would be looking at much , much larger property if you’re looking at hunting and no issues. If you just want a place to hang out and be a family and friends place with no emphasis on hunting then it could work.

My brother in law hunts on 40 acres. Has taken over 8 deer in last 10-12 years that are over 150. Ever year has a chance at one 150+. Explain to me why he should sell this place and buy a bigger one instead


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[yoderjac]

My brother in law hunts on 40 acres. Has taken over 8 deer in last 10-12 years that are over 150. Ever year has a chance at one 150+. Explain to me why he should sell this place and buy a bigger one instead


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It all depends on your objectives. From a hunting perspective, the right 10 acres can out perform the wrong 10,000 acres. From a QDM perspective, you can't have a measurable impact on the deer herd with 40 acres.

Size isn't everything....so my wife keeps telling me! ...But for some things...it's a requirement!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[kl9]

My brother in law hunts on 40 acres. Has taken over 8 deer in last 10-12 years that are over 150. Ever year has a chance at one 150+. Explain to me why he should sell this place and buy a bigger one instead


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It all depends on your objectives. From a hunting perspective, the right 10 acres can out perform the wrong 10,000 acres. From a QDM perspective, you can't have a measurable impact on the deer herd with 40 acres.

Size isn't everything....so my wife keeps telling me! ...But for some things...it's a requirement!

Thanks,

Jack

There wasn’t any mention of QDM or anything except hunting in his post. I think the statement was pretty clear in its purpose


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[yoderjac]

What’s your guy’s experience owning land with family or friends? There is a 40 in a good hunting location and I could buy it my self but some family is interested in sharing it. We get along great but I kinda want to be able to make all the decisions myself. We’ve hunted together forever but I would do things differently myself sometimes. Kinda would like to have something I get to call the shots on and try it my way and then maybe in the future I would go in on another piece with them. What’s your guy’s thoughts?

In your particular case, based on what you said, I'd probably buy it myself and say something like "Why don't you save your money in case we find another place we like down the road. You know you're always welcome to hunt with me in the meantime."