Kevin from WI asks,
Hi Bill! Long time follower and supporter. Thanks for all the information and advice you pass along to your loyal following. We greatly appreciate it! Looking for your point of view on difficult land neighbors. I know its been awhile since you owned a smaller plot of land, but us 40-80-120 acre guys live it more than we'd like to admit. Lot line deer stands, four wheeler rides at prime time, target practice during turkey hunting. The list goes on and at times makes land ownership trying. I have read many POVs on how to deal with these neighbors, and ways to reconcile those relationships. Would appreciate your advice and approach. Thank you Bill! Kevin
Bill responds,
Topic: How to Deal with Bad Neighbors:
Anytime you can engage your neighbors without bothering them, you can work on developing a good relationship, but there may come a time when you realize it is a lost cause and you need to sell and move on.
Kevin,
I appreciate the support. Thanks.
It is not just a problem if you have a small property. If you have a larger property, you will probably have even more neighbors. It is best if you know what you are getting into before buying land. There are ways to get some idea what the neighbors will be like just by driving around and paying attention to what you see. It would be even better if you could meet a few of them first. But, no matter what, the neighbors are the biggest crapshoot ((and risk) when buying recreational land.
When I sold the farm I owned in southern Iowa, I had 27 neighbors. Those are the people who either had land adjoining mine or lived on acreages either adjoining or directly across the road. I got along with all of them, but had a few issues along the way that I had to overlook.
The key for me was stopping by to talk with them regularly. If there was something they wanted to do on my farm that didn’t cause me any issues (like arrowhead hunting, mushroom hunting, walking or horse riding, etc.) I would let them go. I think that helped to keep the relationships positive.
Also keep in mind that things don’t stay the same forever. People move or the kids leave home, the deer chasing dog gets run over, or the guy hunting the neighbor’s fence finds another spot closer to home, etc.
I have seen this often in my land ownership days. But, unfortunately, you can’t count on change. There is always risk that things will not get better any time soon.
The key, I think, is to be very patient with the annoying stuff and to try your best to be friendly at all times. If they are breaking the law, you have to deal with it through legal channels (call the game warden or sheriff), but if they are just taking advantage of you or are annoying in some way that is not illegal, you don’t really have any grounds for a dispute. They own their land, it is their right to use it any legal way they choose.
I know a guy that sold 160 acres near me because he was losing sleep over it. I don’t blame him for that, but I do blame him for what he was losing sleep about. He was “afraid” someone might trespass on him. He was obsessed about it. You have to be able to go with the flow to a certain degree or owning land will never be enjoyable. In his case, he just couldn’t get over that fear and finally sold the land.
With that in mind, you have to decide if you can live with the issues the neighbors present and not have them spoil your experience. Maybe you have to dial back your expectations. If dialing back makes the property less valuable or you just can’t enjoy the experience (or if the issues are too extreme), you should probably sell and move on. Good luck. (12/10/21)
