Bought a new L3560, state shut down the project. Sell or keep?

[Carl_NH]

If you sell it for $56K the buyer would need to 1) have the cash, or 2) take out a loan for some amount and interest rates are high now probably 6-7% range adds $5K to the overall cost for a 3 year loan for example.

If the buyer were to go to the dealer for a new unit, say $61-62K and put down 10% and finance at 0% it probably would be the same $ out of pocket vs your unit with interest.

See what your dealer will offer then the cost to downsize to what you want - that's the only way to make an informed decision.

I agree with Yander and 2Manyrocks - keep it for now if you can.

 

[2manyrocks]

Maybe let the dust settle with the regulators first, but can you get a permit to do the work that you want to complete?

Did you have a Kubota 0% interest loan?

In times of inflation, a low hour piece of equipment can be an inflation hedge, especially if you have very low borrowing costs compared to the inflation rate and provided that you can pay your loan.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Maybe let the dust settle with the regulators first, but can you get a permit to do the work that you want to complete?

Did you have a Kubota 0% interest loan?

In times of inflation, a low hour piece of equipment can be an inflation hedge, especially if you have very low borrowing costs compared to the inflation rate and provided that you can pay your loan.

Yes, I am on a 0% loan and low relative balance. I am also paid months ahead and do not have to make payments if I do not wish, the way they deal with over payment at Kubota is that you can stop sending payments until you get back on schedule, so you can send 12X the monthly payment 1 time a year if you desire.

I think I am going to do what many suggested and sit on it. The tractor is still useful now and again and it's not really costing me much to keep it. And I do think I want to get the final inspection from the state done and then in the spring try to come back at them with an application for a permit along with an E&S plan set up by an engineer. From what I hear, that should be around $400 for the engineer, and the permit is much less if I can get them to go along with my plan.

It does chap my rear end that you are not free to do as you wish on your property. We own it, pay our taxes on it and then they control what I do with my patch of dirt. Kind of bogus to me.

 

[dodge man]

What bugs me is more often than not our plans would show silt fence surrounding the entire project. On the low side I get it but it would even be on the high side, last I checked water doesn’t run up hill. Some of this stuff is a good idea to keep silt out of our streams but as usual our government requires us to go overboard.

 

[Langanobob]

Not sure what your priorities are but it seems like you can find a profitable use for it, if you wanted to bad enough. I’d be inclined to keep it.

 

[civilian]

Did you start/buy with the BX25D on this project? Or did you already have a use for it around your property? I have a B26TLB and a BX2230 on 80 acres of woods. Both still are used on the property. The smaller was for cutting grass and snowblowing, and the BH was bought when we decided to build a house on the property. It came in handy back filling, digging trenches, etc. If you sell the L, would a BX work or is that too small? I am in the group to keep the L, and useas needed. But if it is too big for your other projects, think more about selling. Jon

 

[2manyrocks]

If there's even a possibility that you might re-start this project, I'd say absolutely keep it. If you sell it because you're frustrated with the permit situation, a new replacement tractor will cost you more to rebuy what you already have and who knows when the dealer will be able to get one. Could be an experienced engineer could get the permit squared away with the least fuss and then you'd already have your tractor to get back to work. As much as the dealer might be thrilled to trade you out of what you have and re-sell you another tractor or two, I don't think that would work well for you.

 

[Streetcar]

Yes, I am on a 0% loan and low relative balance. I am also paid months ahead and do not have to make payments if I do not wish, the way they deal with over payment at Kubota is that you can stop sending payments until you get back on schedule, so you can send 12X the monthly payment 1 time a year if you desire.

I think I am going to do what many suggested and sit on it. The tractor is still useful now and again and it's not really costing me much to keep it. And I do think I want to get the final inspection from the state done and then in the spring try to come back at them with an application for a permit along with an E&S plan set up by an engineer. From what I hear, that should be around $400 for the engineer, and the permit is much less if I can get them to go along with my plan.

It does chap my rear end that you are not free to do as you wish on your property. We own it, pay our taxes on it and then they control what I do with my patch of dirt. Kind of bogus to me.

The state regulations are there to protect your downstream neighbors. Nobody wants their property damaged by neighbor

 

[WVH1977]

Here is a though outside the box. How about sell your current house and property and buy a bigger property with more land to use your new tractor on?

 

[nybirdman]

Keep it,you will never fine one cheaper.The Grand L's are pretty nimble and plenty of power.

 

[groundcover]

And if you find someone from the state snooping around your property you'll want that bigger backhoe !

 

[hornett22]

What bugs me is more often than not our plans would show silt fence surrounding the entire project. On the low side I get it but it would even be on the high side, last I checked water doesn’t run up hill. Some of this stuff is a good idea to keep silt out of our streams but as usual our government requires us to go overboard.

Yet they do the bare minimum.

 

[Surshot]

Best idea is to say yes sir to the Corps of Engineers, been there. Their badge and gun section carries a gold US Marshal badge. I have seen those too. If they show up, someone is going to jail. You have a nice honcho, otherwise it is always, they pay a contractor to restore and you get the bills, plus the profit margin as allowed. Just lucky they did not seize your equipment on their property. A guy and his son, near me gave them a hard time, 5 years in the federal pen, each.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Update, I talked to the state yesterday. We are done. Appears that he stopped recently and looked around, he is closing the case and sending me a letter stating so much.
So this coming spring I am going to start the process of getting a permit to go left into the side field another 40-50 feet. To do that I will also need to vertically extend my septic clean outs as high as I will be filling, so around 30' of vertical extension at the lower end.

 

[deezler]

What bugs me is more often than not our plans would show silt fence surrounding the entire project. On the low side I get it but it would even be on the high side, last I checked water doesn’t run up hill. Some of this stuff is a good idea to keep silt out of our streams but as usual our government requires us to go overboard.

And then why is silt fence removal never a part of commercial or large residential construction? At least half of the time it just gets left in place to rot. Direct pollution of the soil by low quality plastic sheeting, and ugly to look at.

 

[ctgoldwing]

Sad story. I almost had the same thing happen. When I had my last tractor, an L3400 w/BH, I was going to modify the low area of our land. There was a small 'wetlands' area adjacent to it and a 'dry water course' that I wanted to dig out and create a small pond, maybe 100 X 60. I just started when the neighbor on the street below told me there was a town official that had stopped by. . .
I went to the building department to ask was there a problem. Oh yeah
They told me in no uncertain terms not to disturb anything there even if the entrance and exit of the dry water course remained the same. I would have to restore the land to its undisturbed condition.
Wasn't important enough for me to fight.

 

[kthompson]

NOT pretending to be any kind of expert on wetlands but have been told you are allowed to dig a water hole for your livestock. Not a pond but a water hole. No idea what size a water hole can be. Will agree with those who have said don't push your luck there. They can easily pull the info on that land from years ago to know what has been done to it. We had a home site we were allowed here to build up with NO permit but did not affect any water flow due to it was considered a "yard". It was less than an acre. It might be worth paying someone who works with wetlands for advice on what can be done if anything. I have never been one that had regulators want to tell you what your options are, well not very often any way. Think they are trained to tell you how you messed up.

Along that line, there is a tract of about 100 acres the developer is cutting the high are by as much as 5' and moving the dirt to the "low" area (read wetlands) to build that up to build houses on. We have seen that too many times in our county. Then the buyers don't understand why the survey does not show it as wetland and it flood s several feet.

As to the tractor, if it were me, I would look to see if there is any way to use the tractor for hire, now that your time is free. lol Get necessary insurance if you do this. Kubota might let someone take over the loan, you would have to ask. The other part is for me, once you own a tractor, you will keep finding needs for it.

 

[orezok]

Before I retired as a Fcilities Manager for a school district, we had an older High school which we tore down and replaced with a new one ($100 million plus). Adjacent to the project was a major storm channel that only flowed water during heavy storms. Our onsite drainage system flowed to the channel just as other properties did. After all, it was a storm drainage channel!

The channel was dirt bottom with reinforced levies. The water district who owned the channel cleared any ventilation that grew in the channel each year to keep the flow going with no permits. Perhaps they were grandfathered.

The new school plan upsized our storm drain outlet per approved plan. We started work and the Corp came in and gave us a stop notice for working in a “wetlands” without a permit. The “wetlands” were created by the housing project just upstream of us by draining their excessive landscape water to the channel. This resulted in some weed growth next to our property.

We had to jump through hoops for months to get permits. Ended up having to fund pulling “weeds” from a different wetland miles away for 2 years.

Had out timing been different, the water district would have come through, plowed under the weeds and there would not have been a wetlands!

The Corp will even screw other government agencies for their fantasies.

 

[swines]

Find a civil engineer and get some help in meeting all of the local, state, and federal requirements. If you turn in a set of drawings with a PE stamp on the package that will go a long way toward making sure you don't have more problems. Professional engineers carry liability insurance and they don't want to use it - meaning, they're conservative in their approach to a project, but you won't have much of a hassle with inspectors.

 

[bdhsfz6]

What galls me is the way the EPA treats the little guy compared to the corporate giants.

Our development maintains a bridge over a small creek. it's in poor shape and requires a lot of work. Every time we spill a shovel full of dirt in the stream, the EPA shows up threatening fines and equipment seizure. Walmart built a new store about a mile upstream and it ran brown for months. All they got was a slap on the wrist!