Lease neighbors land...How much??

[SGTLOWE]

I recently bought 40 acres in MO. It has about 20 wooded and 20 pasture. My neighbor, who is an elderly widowed lady, owns 10 adjoining acres. The problem is that there is not a fence line separating our land, as it used to be one tract and is enclosed by the same fence. Her land is just a long narrow strip on the edge of mine. When I bought my place, I talked to her about it and she stated that I could do whatever I wanted with it. I cut it this summer and had planned on fertilizing it this spring. I let my Amish neighbor put 18 head on there to winter graze free of charge since I was not doing anything with it yet. Now my neighbor seems upset I put the cows there and thinks I am somehow taking advantage of her. I figured to make it easy on everyone I would offer to lease her 10 acres. If I keep it cut and fertilized how much should I offer to pay for the lease? I want to be fair and keep up good relations. Thanks for any advice.

John

 

[schmism]

i guess purchesing it would be out of the question?

you might try explainging to her your doing another neighbor a favor by letting him graze it free, so your not making anything off of it.....

 

[California]

The only rule-of-thumb I've seen in this sort of case is to pay an amount equal to her property tax.

But listen and see if her concern is really that the place is not as quiet, or accessable, for her as it was before the cattle. That action may have crossed some unspoken line that she never told you about.

 

[BB_TX]

I agree with heart to heart talk with her. It may be that she simply does not like having cows on her land. There is obviously some mess that goes along with cows. Or it could be she thinks you are making money by grazing it. Or it could be any number of other possiblities. A good quiet talk with her showing your concern about her feelings may bring out her real concern and then you can address it.

 

[DUMBDOG]

To eliminate a lot of problems, either buy it or fence it off. This will lead to a lot less problems in the future. Either that or a written lease that spells out what you can do with the land to prevent any further problems in the future. Common rental values up here are about five per cent of the land value.