Owning land with family

[yoderjac]

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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Yes, there is the one specific question of the poster and me many variations of the question that the lurkers reading the thread have. Some folks answers will be particular and some general. I tend to consider the broader audience.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[ruskbucks]

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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I know quite a few people that have 40s that shoot a lot of nice deer.2- 4 hunters. Around the suburbs huge deer are shot on micro pieces of just a few acres. I tell everyone I know, that I would rather have a really good 40 than a average 80 if your main goal is just hunting.

 

[SD51555]

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?

Buy it yourself and ask your family to chip in a reasonable contribution to hunt with you each year. You retain ownership, they get their value out in one year and can walk away the next with no mess. Pitch it as a means to advance the property for their benefit, for things like plots, blinds, trail work, access work etc. It'd be schiddy if they just expected to use it for free.

 

[Bassattackr]

The only ships that don’t sail are partnerships..

I’d buy it alone.

 

[bwoods11]

My first hunting parcel was 40 acres and I still have it. It seemed like a lot of land to me. In a sense it is, 43,560 sq ft per acre.

Take advantage of every acre, improve it... good luck!

 

[Bill]

Alone.
Unless it borders property said family already hunts. Then I’d look for somewhere else to buy alone.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I am with everyone else. If you like these people, and want to continue liking them, but it alone.

A couple thoughts, as for size some land hunts bigger then it is, and some land hunts smaller. If the land is a flat open 40, 1 person could sit in the middle and cover it them self. If you have dips and valleys in a heavily wooded area, then you could get by with 3-4 people hunting it. I have a 25 acre parcel in the middle of 1000’s of acres of woods. I can get by hunting 3 easily.

If you can swing it, and the others can as well, maybe suggest you each buy a 40 acre parcel, and each manage your own, but share usage to each other’s land? Just a thought.

 

[jsasker007]

Looks like everyone advised not to do it with friends or family----what are you going to do?

 

[j-bird]

It takes a VERY rare relationship to share something you are passionate about....with ANYBODY! My family had a 20 acre property that was shared between 2 parties and most of the time it was OK...but over time and as things change.....the relationship WILL BE TESTED. Luckily in our case both parties ended up selling to my father. A ship can't have 2 captains!

 

[westonwhitetail]

In a world where no one can agree a sh**, it appears we have a near unanimous decision. Would you look at that..ha. Thanks all for the input. Right now I am either buying it alone or not buying it.

 

[SD51555]

Just wait until partners start having kids, kids have boyfriends and girlfriends, one of your partners gets divorced and cleaned out, a partner loses a job, one of the partners dies. Suddenly you have a new partner that isn't bought in to your system, or you've given away your interests for free to the surviving partners.

 

[westonwhitetail]

Alone.
Unless it borders property said family already hunts. Then I’d look for somewhere else to buy alone.

Bill, do you care to expand? One family member does own land within very close. That was one of my concerns is even if I buy it alone, it may be too close...the lines may get blurred

 

[TreeDaddy]

My dad was a lawyer and dealt with this kind of stuff

When he was making final draft of his estate,he told me: " Son, I'm leaving ranch to your brother because family owned property always end in disaster"

He divided total estate equally between children

Agree with what has been said in previous posts

bill

 

[Bill]

Bill, do you care to expand? One family member does own land within very close. That was one of my concerns is even if I buy it alone, it may be too close...the lines may get blurred

40 acres is a decent sized chunk these days in most places but for hunting it will get small with to many hunters.
I own my place alone. Back when I first bought it I invited friends and family to hunt. As time went on and I figured out what I was doing right and wrong I changed the rules of what, and more importantly how it gets hunted.

For several years I would Enter the season stressed because I knew the rules wouldn’t be followed. Then I’d end the season ticked off because someone always knew better than the rules and me.

Eventually I put an end to guests. With the exception of a very very short list.
It was the best thing I ever did. Animal and hunt quality went up. If one of those rule snubbers was part owner it would be nothing but frustration.

 

[Bill]

And I’ll add this. If you buy it alone, hunt it alone. Or make it clear it’s a special invitation only at certain times.

It was not easy telling friends and family members they weren’t allowed back. Worth it, but not easy. I wish I started out with limited use. Some folks are still sore after 5 years....

 

[jsasker007]

Most of my "friends" only come around a couple weeks before season wanting to hunt my property and act like i have a place set aside for them. I don't have any problem telling them no now(seems it's just a matter of time until they wear out their welcome). Also, most of the guys wanting to hunt on mine are hunting 3 to 5 five other properties already. I only hunt on my own land. It gets frustrating.

 

[buckdeer1]

I would buy alone also,Check into insurance policies if you dont do this as a deal say if partner dies the insurance policy you had on him goes to his heirs and you own all of property and vice versa.Always have lawyer and insurance specify what this is for

 

[g squared 23]

I owned a piece with my brother. He lived 3 hours away, and rarely hunted it, and we agreed that very low pressure was key, so I didn’t hunt it to death, and it worked out ok. I put a lot of time, money and effort into habitat work, and he did not. Maybe because he thought it was a waste, or maybe because he wasn’t planning on keeping it long. Regardless, I bought him out, and things haven’t changed much. I’ll still tell him he needs to come up and hunt it, and he’ll make excuses and not make it out, or maybe go once or twice.

Our short term partnership worked because 1. Our goals were the same as far as hunting and 2. i didn’t expect him to chip in for my personal habitat goals. As soon as my kids were old enough, they’d (hopefully) want to hunt it, and that would make things messy. So owning it alone is a bit lonely at times: I enjoyed sharing the excitement of a big one on trail camera or a close encounter, but it’s probably better this way.


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[Apple Junkie]

I agree with most of the folks above. So, if money is no object, buy alone.

In my case, 100 acres in a prime location came up for sale. I had already looked that the property, as had several other potential buyers. Oddly enough, my realtor called to tell me the seller wanted a specific price, and she’d take the strongest offer by the end of the following day. The price was more than fair, and everyone was going to offer full price. I figured you can’t get any stronger than to attach a certified check for the full amount along with the with the offer. I did not have enough cash I could lay my hands on the following day, so I asked my friend and hunting buddy to go in on half. Together, we scrapped up the cash necessary and offered cash on the barrel head. Together, we bought some fantastic hunting property at a fantastic price.

Yes, I’d prefer to be the sole owner of my camp, but life is not perfect, and I'd rather own half a loaf than none! Some times ya gotta do what ya gotta do to get things done. 20-some years in, we have had no conflicts, and when the tax bill arrived today, I am kinda glad I have a partner.

 

[H20fwler]

I agree that some small properties can hunt big, trying to do QDM on small properties isn't realistic. Even on bigger properties of hundreds of acres it isn't realistic unless most of the neighbors do same or it's HF. I say shoot what makes you happy and manage it however you want. Where I live ground is 10K+ an acre so smaller properties are almost all most can swing unless they inherit or marry into it.

As far as buying it yourself or with friends&family I would try to do it by yourself for sure with the only exception being buying it with one or more of your kids.