Lease Land To Hunt Club

hunterridgefarm · Jan 19, 2006

My wife recently was deeded land from her parents of aprox. 200 ac. in the South Mountain area of NC. We are considering leasing this land to a hunting club. The property is bordered by undeveloped land, several 50-100 ac tracts.

We will have to purchase a right-of-way to have access to the land.

Does anyone know pros and cons of leasing to hunting clubs. Aprox $ you can get from a lease?

We do not want to limit our use of the land if we lease.

scesnick · Jan 19, 2006

How could you limit your use of the land? you are the owner not the leasee. I live on 76 acres that is bordered by roughly 3 square miles of state game lands. I do not lease it out I usually rent out the little cabin we have by the week. $500 per person per week. That includes a fully stocked fridge, firewood. etc...
The biggest and most important thing to do is to get with your lawyer and have papers drawn up. especially about liability issues. ( unless you want to lose your property)
handshake deals are left to family members only
I know my neighbor, who is a farmer, leased his land and his insurance company threatened to drop him. Why? I have no idea. they just didn't like it.
I always thought that a right of way was something that you had a right to and didn't have to pay for. I guess unless it is landlocked by private property.
Good luck with you hunt club. It is a very good supplemental income if it is done properly. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

HGM · Jan 19, 2006

You might be able to contact realtors in the area for pricing ideas, somtimes they handle leases as well. The game comission may also be able to help.

The property I have been involved with in the past had one or two individuals as primary lease's(?) they in turn lease out to other members. You should have some type of leagal document to protect yourself holding the primary lease holder responsible for his members. Dont forget to be specific about cutting trees, nailing up stands, vehicular use, camping, drinking, or whatever you are concerned about. When you lease it to a club, unless you have a specified time that you will be there and they are not welcome, you could very well be sharing the land with them. To my understanding, with a lease agreement, they have as much right to be there as the owner unless expressed in the agreement...

When you figure it all out, I may be interested if its not too long of a drive from Atlanta. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

hunterridgefarm · Jan 20, 2006

("When you lease it to a club, unless you have a specified time that you will be there and they are not welcome, you could very well be sharing the land with them. To my understanding, with a lease agreement, they have as much right to be there as the owner unless expressed in the agreement...")

HGM,
Correct, that is why if we lease we will have a contract stating they are only allowed on the proprerty certain times of the year. And I would limit my use of the property during hunting season.

scesnick,
The property is landlocked by private land owners. The "establish cart path" to this property has not been used for 20 years so we must now purchase a right-of-way.

I could very well limit the use of the land by not having "usuage" defined in the lease contract.

I like what you are doing with the cabin...you have given me another idea to consider...thanks /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

dmccarty · Jan 20, 2006

hunterridgefarm,

Check out the NC Extension Office website, NC Extension. The NC state website which links to state agencies is, NC Gov

The section you most likely want is, Forestry Publications.

These are docs that might be of interest:
Landowners and Recreationalists.
Landowner Liability

Hope this helps,
Dan

fishman · Jan 20, 2006

Leasing is big business here in Texas. How much you can get "per gun" depends largely on the quality of deer on the place. Where your property is geographically also plays a big role. Run of the mill leases in Central Texas are going for $1000 to $1500 per gun, with one hunter per 100 to 200 acres pretty standard. This is with no amenities. I have no idea if this applies to your situation.

The first thing I would do is contact your local state wildlife biologist and tell him/her what you are thinking of doing. They may provide a survey of your property's hunting resources at no charge. They may also have a network of hunters looking for leases. On the downside, you may have to purchase a lease license. This is the law in Texas, although I'm sure some don't follow it. It costs a few hundred dollars. However, involving the state wildlife biologist, who probably deals with these types of situations every day, would likely pay big dividends.

Farmwithjunk · Jan 20, 2006

I've been aproached a couple times about leasing hunting rights on my farm. I had one bad experience with a hunter (and his stray bullets) on dads ground, and chose to say no.

It was recommended to me then to contact state (at local level) wildlife agency for their input AS WELL AS contacting my attorney for his opinion of any potential "contract" between me and the hunter. I'd say that's still a good idea today.

HGM · Jan 20, 2006

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I've been aproached a couple times about leasing hunting rights on my farm. I had one bad experience with a hunter (and his stray bullets) on dads ground, and chose to say no.
)</font>

Its an unfortunate fact that allot of folks can provide similar stories... There are quite a few large tracts around me that I would love to hunt and have asked to hunt, but because someone took advantage of it and maybe tresspassed or poached there before the land owner is reluctant to give me a shot(no pun)... It's getting more dificult every year to find a lease and the cost will surely continue upward.

hunterridgefarm · Jan 20, 2006

Thanks for the feedback guys. You have given me a couple more things to think about and other sources to contact for information.

I just left my insurance agents office and he is checking on liability issues not just for the hunt Club but also since I am going to lease a 29 ac farm in another county to a farmer. I carry an unbrella liability policy now and have increased it but my agent is double checking a few things.

I should be meeting with an attorney in the next couple of weeks.

I'll let your know what has to be done. The lease will be determined by how quickly I can get the right-of-way and the road built.

Would'nt it be great if you did not have to worry about people suing you /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

millsnhills · Jan 20, 2006

I have been a partner in a few leases just east of you. We typically pay 6-10$ per acres and the high end would be for prime leases.

The 220 acres a buddy of mine just leased they paid 5000.00(multi-year) for it and its just for the hunting season as farmers use it during growing season. There are no go limits on any of the leases I have been involved in before.

You need to make it clear of when their lease would run i.e. year-round or say from August to January for instance. You do not want to be on the land with your family during hunting season if you do a lease it just would not be safe.

You DO want to go through an attorney and ensure those who do lease the land POST it and do purchase an insurance policy to cover you in the event an accident happens on your land.