1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, and now your host, 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt 4 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 1: Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by First Life. 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: This episode is all about the things that can go 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: wrong when you're buying some hunting ground. Now, last week 7 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: I talked about buying hunting land well, which is you know, 8 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: honestly a dream for most of us. For some it 9 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: will remain just that a dream, but for others it 10 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: will become a reality. That's a huge life wind if 11 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: you can pull it off. But it's also a big 12 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: scary investment where a lot of things can go wrong. 13 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: And to top it up some of the lofty expectations 14 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: we have a I don't food plots, hitlist box and 15 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: you know, finally not having to deal with other hunters. 16 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: I can also go wrong in a lot of ways, 17 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: ways which you should be aware of before you buy. 18 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 1: And that's what I'm going to talk about right now. 19 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: I've got two land buying stories to tell you about 20 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: that are both cautionary tales. The first one involves yours 21 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: truly and a small twenty nine acre mix a high 22 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: and low ground located just a bit north of the 23 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: Twin Cities. Now, Buddy and I bought that land after 24 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: I saw homemade for sales sign in the ditch. The 25 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: price was way too cheap, which should have been a 26 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: red flag for us, so we did the responsible thing 27 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: and hired a real estate lawyer to make sure we 28 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: weren't making a huge mistake. The lawyer found out that 29 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: the seller hadn't paid its property taxes in years, so 30 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: the tax bill on the place was six teen grand. 31 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: Had we just written the guy a check like he 32 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: asked us to do and not gone through that process, 33 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: I think we would have been on the hook for 34 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: that money. But we were smart about it, mostly because 35 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: my buddy had been burned before and that felt like 36 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: we had dodged a big problem there, just because of 37 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 1: his advice to hire that lawyer. So fast forward two 38 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 1: years and we decided we wanted to put in a 39 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:25,519 Speaker 1: driveway so we would have a nice spot to park 40 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: when we hunted out there. When I finally tracked down 41 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: the right person at the Department of Transportation here in Minnesota, 42 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: he informed me that the state had bought all roadside 43 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: Eastman's on that highway in two thousand and three, way 44 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: before we bought it, and for miles along that stretch 45 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: of highway. In other words, we could park in the ditch, 46 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,239 Speaker 1: but we couldn't build even an earth and drive off 47 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: of the highway. Our lawyer had missed that and had 48 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: actually put it in writing that we had the ability 49 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: to build in the land, including a driveway. The seller 50 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: said as much too, but he never said anything about 51 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:00,080 Speaker 1: how he got paid off for that Eastman, and he 52 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: was obviously full of shipped to begin with, because he 53 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: lied to us about the taxes too. Anyway, when I 54 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: called up the lawyer to see what our options were, 55 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: I found out that he had had a major chess 56 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: grabb or a few months earlier. He was no longer 57 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: with us. We were, to put it bluntly, I guess 58 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: ship out of luck. We still had legal access, although 59 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: it wasn't ideal, and we could still hunt it. So 60 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: my buddy and I sat on it for a few 61 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: years until someone bought the land behind us. This fellow, 62 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: after building a permanent stand on our land without permission, 63 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: then casually mentioned when we confronted him about it, that 64 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: he wanted to buy our property too. It actually worked 65 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: out much better than we hoped, and we got out 66 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: of it. Not only did we make some money, but 67 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: we also no longer owned right next to the kind 68 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: of guy who didn't really much respect property rights. That 69 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: was a close one with a lot of stress in 70 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: the details that I'm just leaving out, and it taught 71 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: me a lot about covering all of your bases if 72 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: you decide to buy, and how things can still go wrong. 73 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: It was also a reminder of something you hear often 74 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: when the topic of buying hunting land comes up, which 75 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: is to vet your neighbors as well as you can. 76 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: In our case, we couldn't vet a guy we didn't 77 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,359 Speaker 1: know was going to be our future neighbor. You know, 78 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: land changes hands, people die, people move, Stuff happens, but 79 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: at least you should be aware of who your neighbors 80 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: are at the time you're considering buying land. Try to 81 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: chat with every neighboring landowner you can, or at least 82 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: every landowner in the neighborhood. If you have any connections 83 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: with conservation officers in the area, it's not a bad 84 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: idea to shoot them an email and ask if they've 85 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: got any concern about the folks around there. They probably 86 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: won't let you in on too many secrets for obvious reasons, 87 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: but you might pick up a vibe that you're about 88 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: to buy a deer ground right in the middle of 89 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: a group of outlaws. Now, if you do this, please 90 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: be respectful of their time. This is pretty low on 91 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 1: their priority list, but most eliots will find the time 92 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: to help you with this. Now onto my second story. 93 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: What happened to a buddy of mine. He bought a 94 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: house on forty acres about ten years ago with the 95 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,039 Speaker 1: intention of creating a little deer in Turkey oasis that 96 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: he and his boys could hunt. It was going pretty 97 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: well for quite a few years too, with my buddy 98 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,520 Speaker 1: putting in food plots and planning apple trees and selectively 99 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 1: logging all that good stuff. And even though his areas 100 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: pretty hunted dense, he managed to keep enough dos around 101 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: his place to always get a crack at a decent 102 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,040 Speaker 1: buck either while he was bow hunting while he was 103 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: gun hunting his plan. In other words, I was going 104 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: pretty well until his next door neighbors moved out and 105 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: someone new moved in. The guy who moved into that 106 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: ten acre parcel is the kind of guy whose identity 107 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: is really tied into hunting and fishing. He flies the 108 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: flag loud and proud, But as my buddy got to 109 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: know him, he realized this dude was a poaching machine. 110 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: Dear turkeys, ducks, fish, It didn't matter, and he wasn't 111 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 1: shy about it either. And it turns out he had 112 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: been on the radar of the d n R from 113 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: past violations. Well, this dude decided it would be easier 114 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 1: to shoot some deer over were illegal bait piles, then 115 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:03,359 Speaker 1: it would be to do things by the book, and 116 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: my buddy agreed to let the authorities access advantage point 117 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: on his land. In other words, he cooperated with the 118 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 1: investigation on the promise of staying anonymous. Well, when that 119 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: dude eventually got busted hunting over bait and for quite 120 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: a few other violations, his timing could not have been better. 121 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: It was all really getting to roll along, just as 122 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: COVID shut the courts mostly down and created a big 123 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,559 Speaker 1: legal backlog. At the same time, someone at the state 124 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 1: messed up and left my buddy's name on the documents 125 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,920 Speaker 1: that went to his neighbor's lawyer. As you can imagine, 126 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: this didn't do much for their relationship. Fast forward like 127 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: two years, and that guy got off on every charge 128 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: except one that wasn't even related to hunting. He's back 129 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: to his old ways, but also dead set on punishing 130 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: my buddy. He built a shooting range right along the 131 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: fence line, which he uses all season long during the 132 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: last hour of shooting light to keep the deer from 133 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 1: moving to my buddy. This is a nightmare. He worked hard, 134 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 1: he bought the land, he tried to do the right thing, 135 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 1: and then one unscrupulous asshole and our ranks changed it 136 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: all for the worse things happened, my friends. And when 137 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: it comes to property and big deer, some of those 138 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: things can be really ugly. There's no guarantees neighbor wise, 139 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: because you don't know who could move in. Generally, you 140 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: can lessen the chances of dealing with these types of 141 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: issues the fewer neighbors you have. Now, let's say you've 142 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: got a theoretical on a forty acre chunk that borders 143 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: a road to the south. I've got a landowner to 144 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: the east, to the west, and to the north. That's 145 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 1: three not so bad. Now take that same forty and 146 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: put it in a denser population situation, and you might 147 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: have people who own smaller chunks of land next to you. 148 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: Instead of just three neighbors, several have ten to twenty 149 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: acre parcels, and now you've got a lot more people 150 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: to contend with. Maybe they are mostly good people who 151 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: hunt or who don't hunt, but are just fine with it, 152 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: and you'll be all right. But you know what they 153 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: say about one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch. And 154 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: this might sound crazy, but you can find an awful 155 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: lot of information about people when you go to buy 156 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:06,679 Speaker 1: some land. What I do when I see a listing 157 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: that is interesting to me is head on over to 158 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: on X to find out who owns the land I'm 159 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: interested in. A quick Google search on the name an 160 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: address can tell you whether this is a property that 161 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: was recently inherited, whether the landowner is behind on taxes, 162 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: and a host of other stuff. You can also look 163 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: up the neighbors to see what is going on there, 164 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: at least as far as public records are concerned. This 165 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: is a great way to get a feel for why 166 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: the property might be selling and who your new neighbors 167 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: might be. It's not enough, but it's a good start, 168 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: and it's also possible just to scroll over on on 169 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: X the land and all the neighboring landowners to see 170 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 1: if maybe some of your neighbors have food plots, maybe 171 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: they've got four wheel trails and obvious signs of hunting. Now, 172 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: while it might seem like a plus to butt up 173 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: to someone who is actively managing for deer, I'm not 174 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: totally sold on that. Some of the worst people I've 175 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: met my hunting life have been hunters who are into 176 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 1: trophies more than anything. And now I'm generalizing here, so 177 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: hold off before you fire off nasty grahams to meet 178 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: it or in an effort to cancel me. It's just 179 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:10,319 Speaker 1: that some of the worst things that come out of 180 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: hunting come out of the trophy over everything mentality, and 181 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: that can lead to bad relationships. If you shoot someone 182 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,079 Speaker 1: else's up and comer, you'll be on their ship list. 183 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: If you shoot the booner they've been babysitting for six years, 184 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: you might make a list that's worse than their ship list, 185 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: but I don't know what you'd call it. And of 186 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: course you might meet someone who loves working the land 187 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: and hunting the deer and hit it off great, which 188 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 1: makes a good case for chatting up the neighbors before 189 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: you buy. And unless you've got a friend in the 190 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: FBI who isn't opposed to breaking a bunch of laws 191 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: to dig into I don't know random strangers info. Side note, 192 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: please don't attempt that you really have to do just 193 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: all you can. If you do pull a trigger on 194 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: the land and you haven't met the neighbors, you probably 195 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: soon will. There are different ways to handle this stuff, 196 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: but here's what I do. Whenever I meet them. I 197 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 1: try to be very kind, but I clearly lay out 198 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: my rules. I always explained that the land is for 199 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 1: my family and mostly my daughters, and that I don't 200 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: tolerate trespassing. I also casually throw in the fact that 201 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: I run a lot of cell cameras, even if on 202 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: that property I actually won't or don't. Then I trade 203 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: numbers and I tell the neighbors if they hit a 204 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: deer and they need to go on to mine to 205 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: retrieve it, it's all good as long as they let 206 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: me know first, and I assure them I'll do the same. 207 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: If there is some request, like one of my neighbors 208 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 1: who loves to snowshoe with his wife in the winter, 209 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:34,839 Speaker 1: I tell them to go nuts for doughnuts once the 210 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 1: season is over. I also, on one of my properties, 211 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 1: allowed the snowmobile trail to stay in place since it 212 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: only crossed a small portion of my land and it 213 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: was used during the off season. Now maybe it's b s, 214 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: but a little good will seems to go a long 215 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: way in neighbor relationships. Now, dealing with neighbors can be terrible, 216 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: or it can be a non issue for twenty years. 217 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: You definitely want the ladder, and one way to get 218 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: closer to that is to understand the property boundaries. And 219 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: I mean really understand them. This is an important one 220 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: and it requires a recent survey. Many of the hunting 221 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: land listings are offered up before the tract has actually 222 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: been parceled out of a larger chunk, so the boundaries 223 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,199 Speaker 1: and the listing aren't exact. This is good to know, folks. 224 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: Oftentimes land listings will show superimposed boundaries that might be 225 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:27,079 Speaker 1: spot on or not really that close. Figure that out 226 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: before you go to the bank. It's also worth noting 227 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:31,559 Speaker 1: that a lot of times landowners sort of settled for 228 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,080 Speaker 1: agreed upon boundaries that may or not be legally correct. 229 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,280 Speaker 1: The old fence line through the woods might be good 230 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: enough for forty years between two landowners, but if it's 231 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 1: not actually the line, a new person in the mix 232 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: might be interested in establishing the real boundaries. This type 233 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: of thing happens all the time. It's bad enough with 234 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: a shared line, but a whole different thing when it 235 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: comes to access. If you don't clearly understand your legal access, 236 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: don't sign anything. Trust me, some listings have proposed easements 237 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 1: or potential access that doesn't mean much yet. Don't buy 238 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: anything that you don't have a clear cut legal way 239 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: to access. And for any of those iffy access is 240 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: if you live in a place with real winter, like 241 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: I do, pay attention to whether you could get in 242 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: there in the winter. If it's a little two track 243 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 1: across the seller's land to get back to the landing 244 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: they're selling you, you might not be able to access 245 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: that land for I don't know, five months a year, 246 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:28,959 Speaker 1: or if you live down south it might flood in 247 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 1: the spring. Pay attention to that stuff, think about it. 248 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: It's also wise to understand if you'll be dealing with 249 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: any building restrictions, wet land restrictions, in anything, anything that 250 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: could keep you from utilizing the land the way you 251 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 1: want to utilize it. The more information you have, the better. 252 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,560 Speaker 1: This goes for making an offer to and understanding what 253 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: the land is worth at the time. Just as an example, 254 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: the last property I bought in Wisconsin consists of about 255 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: ten acres of really nice high woods and about twenty 256 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: acres of mixed low ground. I made my offer based 257 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 1: on that breakdown because the high woods at that time 258 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,439 Speaker 1: was worth about twice what the low ground was worth. 259 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,080 Speaker 1: Going into it with a reasonable offer that shows you 260 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,160 Speaker 1: understand land values seems to get the deal done in 261 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: my experience. Now here's where I'm going to cover my 262 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,680 Speaker 1: ass because I'm not a real estate lawyer. I'm not 263 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: a realtor either. I'm not really a professional anything, especially 264 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 1: when it comes to land buying. So don't be shy 265 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: about enlisting professional help. In fact, I encourage that just 266 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: about with any big adult endeavor, a good professional will 267 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:41,080 Speaker 1: cost you up front, but it's very very likely to 268 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: save you on the back end. Plus you'll have a 269 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: less stressful experience throughout the entire process because you have 270 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 1: someone who knows this stuff inside and out and is 271 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: advocating for you. That's worth a lot. Now, there are 272 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: probably thousands of important details I'm missing with this podcast, 273 00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: but I want to end it on a note about 274 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: setting land goals. As I laid out in the last episode, 275 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 1: you can find small, affordable chunks of land in a 276 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 1: lot of places throughout the country. They may not be 277 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,600 Speaker 1: ideal for growing huge bucks and having a long list 278 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,599 Speaker 1: of names on your hit list each season, that's okay. 279 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 1: Understanding where you're at in life and what you can 280 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: afford that's important. I look at land buying like this, 281 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: and although I realized this might be a weird comparison, 282 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 1: but hear me out. When I was a freshman in college, 283 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: I hung out with quite a few of the dudes 284 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 1: on my floor or the dorm. One of them was 285 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,280 Speaker 1: nicknamed fried Rice because he was a huge fan of 286 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 1: getting stoned. He was also really weird about women and 287 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: that he was so picky he never even really tried. 288 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: He'd often talk about his dream girl, but that dream 289 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: girl was so far out of his league it wasn't 290 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: even funny. I mean, it would be like a first 291 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: year bow hunter saying that he's only hunting public land 292 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: in Alabama and only picking his bow up if the 293 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: buck is at least a typical anyway, fried Rice was 294 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: an act like that, Picky, I don't think. I think 295 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: he was just terrified a rejection, so he safeguarded himself 296 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: against it by holding himself to him possibly high standards. 297 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 1: I've seen quite a few of my hunting buddies do 298 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: this with land. They'll say they are waiting for the 299 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: price to be reasonable so they can hit some arbitrary 300 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: number of acres, but land doesn't usually get much cheaper. 301 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: That's the beauty of it as an investment, and although 302 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: it's tied to a host of regional factors, something like 303 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: I don't know, eighty acres in a lot of places 304 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: might be way out of the reach of almost everyone 305 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: who would listen to this podcast. That could mean several 306 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is a lot of 307 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: cash eat for the average deer hunter. It's also a 308 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: way to keep yourself from ever taking the plunge. Instead, 309 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: like I said in the last episode, if you're interested 310 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: at all, start looking. You might not be able to 311 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 1: buy a half a section of sweet deer and turkey 312 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: ground that will provide tons of income and crop rental 313 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: and keep you in fresh tax at or may for 314 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: your walls every season, but you can also do a 315 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: lot with twenty or thirty acres. I'm continually amazed at 316 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: the variety of work that I can do on my 317 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: small properties. Just maintaining a little kill plot is both 318 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: fun and a lot more work than I expected it 319 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:18,680 Speaker 1: to be. You could spend days upon days creating trails 320 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: or cutting brusher trees and still have years worth of 321 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: work to do. When I bought my first acre parcel 322 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 1: a decade ago, I foolishly thought I'd run out of 323 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: things to do within a year or two, and I 324 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: was so freaking wrong. Every year I find more things 325 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: to mess with it, more reasons to go spend time 326 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: with my dogs and my daughters, more reasons to poke 327 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: around in the winter, more time to daydream about putting 328 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: in another kill plot, or making a few brush piles 329 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 1: for the rabbits, or maybe opening up a few of 330 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: the random apple trees in there to more sunlight so 331 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: they grow more. On that small parcel alone, we hunt 332 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: deer and turkeys and grouse occasionally bears and rabbits and squirrels. 333 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,400 Speaker 1: Do I wish I had a I don't know, a 334 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: couple hundred more acres to work with. You bet your 335 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,360 Speaker 1: ass I do. But the only way an outdoor writer 336 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 1: is going to get that type of land is if 337 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: he goes back in time and buys Apple stock in 338 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 1: Since I can't do that, the next best thing is 339 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: a shop for good land deals that are more in 340 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: my financial wheelhouse. I strongly urge anyone who is interested 341 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: to do the same. Do this. If you're in your 342 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:25,199 Speaker 1: prime earning years and maybe getting a little gray in 343 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,919 Speaker 1: your beard, or if you're a young go getter wondering 344 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 1: if you're ever feel financially secure and if you'll ever 345 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: get out from under a mountain of student loan debt. 346 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,400 Speaker 1: The timeline may be vastly different for each of us, 347 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,400 Speaker 1: but the goal is the same, to own a little 348 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:43,440 Speaker 1: piece of deer grown. While you're thinking about that, think 349 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 1: about this. Next week, I'm going to start talking a 350 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,679 Speaker 1: little more in depth about archery tackle. You may remember 351 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago I did an episode on 352 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:54,480 Speaker 1: whether anyone really needs a new bow? Well, now I'm 353 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:56,800 Speaker 1: going to devote some time to bow accessories and then 354 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: maybe the arrows and broadheads. Hell, I might even talk 355 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: about deer gun and some bullet choice and a few 356 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: of the offseason things we should all be thinking about 357 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:08,960 Speaker 1: gear wise. That's it for this week. Thanks so much 358 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,400 Speaker 1: for listening to the Wire to Hunt Foundations podcast. I'm 359 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:13,760 Speaker 1: your host, Tony Peterson and this episode was brought to 360 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: you by First Light. If you want more white tailed info, 361 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 1: head on over to our YouTube channel or visit the 362 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,120 Speaker 1: mediator dot com slash Wired actually do both.