# Anyone Dealt With These Folks?



## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

I was wondering if anyone has done business with Bruner Land Company of Byesville, Ohio? They have a lot of property and have been around over twenty years. The person I've been e-mailing seems very easy to get along with and has reduced the down payment on a lot I asked about. So if anyone has any information positive or negative, I'd appreciate some feedback on them. Thanks.

Nomad


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## OneCuteShasta (Mar 19, 2007)

My family had a negative experience with them. We weren't buying land though. My great grandmother had a 100 acre farm in WV that they wanted to purchase. We told them it wasn't for sale. They kept bullying us to sell it, saying if we didn't sell it, they would take it. There was a rich man that owned adjacent property to ours, that wanted the land. After about a year of harassment, we finally gave in. They were very rude and threatening with us.


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## james dilley (Mar 21, 2004)

I don't think I would deal with them, I met with them once. Very pushy, just wanted to hand you A map. And it was up to you to find the right place. Now however JJ Detweiler in Hartville Ohio was very honest and sent A salesman to meet me. And that was A decent salesman.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Sounds like 4 Rivers Realty, another "land company" that tries to sell you on something and doesn't follow through.

My advice is to steer clear of ANY company that gives you any sense of misgiving. It can save you from a serious waking nightmare.


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

I talked to a salesman from Detweiler not too long ago. They need 20% down. I don't have that much. I can do 10% on most properties I'm interested in.

Here's a fly by night if I ever saw one:

http://heritage-unlimited.com/index.html

I tried to buy a lot in Kentucky but they kept dragging their feet on getting me pictures and the information I needed. I live about 300 miles from the lot and wanted to know a few things before I drove that far to look. After about a week of me asking questions they just stopped responding. A person from this board did me a favor just to see what would happen and dealt with them on the phone instead of e-mail. The person kept saying she had no information on the property and would have to wait to get it from a salesman. After a few calls the woman said a salesman would call back and of course they never did. I know there is a scam going on there somewhere I just can't figure out what. I would have bought the property if they had made any effort to sell. Oh well, maybe I'm not supposed to have a place in the country. Maybe I've lived in the city so long that I have to stay here. I sure hope not.

Nomad getting discouraged


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Nomad, don't give up.

We had a place in WI (bought through the company mentioned above), and it was an absolute heartache. We wound up selling at a loss, just to get out of there.

After we'd licked our wounds for a while, I started looking again, but armed with the wisdom of experience.

I looked online, looked in the back of Countryside and Backwoods Home, and checked the Real Estate section here at HT every single day.

Eventually, we found our place on HT. The price was great, the location was a surprise (but Nick and I know that God gives some of His best gifts in interesting packages), and we are very pleased and happy. 

Keep looking, keep practicing your skills, adding on to what you know. You'll get where you're supposed to be.


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## Pam6 (Apr 9, 2009)

Look at the deed restrictions. If I recall correctly this is the company that puts outrageouse restrictions on the property....like no livestock of any kind including chickens.


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Pam6 said:


> Look at the deed restrictions. If I recall correctly this is the company that puts outrageouse restrictions on the property....like no livestock of any kind including chickens.



Believe me, I looked very closely at the restrictions. They are different for each farm they divide. I intend to have chickens for eggs and more than one farm limited the chickens to three and some said no fowl at all. It would hardly be worth having three chickens. I am going to have a small truck farm and evidently that is allowed on all of their farms. I will also have a wood shop to sell the furniture I build. Only a few allow that. All seem to allow cows, horses, sheep, goats and llamas. Pigs are usually out and as I mentioned so are fowl. It depends on the location. There are some remote farms that will allow swine. Some restrict single wides others don't. The lot I am looking at has a house on it that will need to be taken down. Technically I would be in violation of the restrictions because of the condition of the house. But I asked and was told I would have all the time needed to remove it. I also want to build a straw bale house. They don't care, but I may have a problem with the county. I don't see all of these things in other areas I've checked like Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. I think it's a bit too much here. And it isn't just their company. It's pretty similar all over around Ohio.

I guess as long as we're mentioning land sellers, I need to tell of my CountryTyme experience. I found a lot I thought I might be interested in a few weeks ago. I got directions and was told that the corners would be marked and there would be a company sign at the road. Thank goodness it was only 25 miles. I drove up and down the road three times and four pairs of eyes didn't see one bit of evidence of a lot for sale. I could tell from the satellite view that I was very close, but I never did find the right spot. I sent the company an e-mail the next day telling what happened and expecting an apoplogy and maybe some kind of explanation. Nope, nothing. I never heard a word about it. Business must be pretty good if they can treat customers like this. But I still have hope. I get discouraged and want to give up, but that's not in me. I'm not a quitter and I'll find something soon.

Nomad


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Another thing I just thought of: If you are serious about a piece of property, have your own survey done, and get a lawyer to look things over.

The property lines were misrepresented by the selling agent when we bought the place in WI, and the person (for lack of a better word) who bought the adjoining piece of property discovered the misrepresentation and blocked access, despite the easement.

Argh. Just be careful.


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

We haven't dealt with Bruner directly but our place has Bruner deed restrictions. It appears you read them carefully which is good. Bruner generally won't enforce them (in fact there is a disclaimer in our titlework that says it is up to the property owners). That said, we wouldn't go after neighbors for minor violations but we would for something like running a junkyard or such.

The important thing to look for is what the impact of "bad" neighbors buying adjacent parcels. You can sometimes get a bargain from Bruner if it is the last parcel or something oddball. They make their money by buying wholesale (large parcels) and then sub dividing.

You definately want to check prices of other comparable properties in the general area of the property you are looking at.

Mike


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Mike in Ohio said:


> We haven't dealt with Bruner directly but our place has Bruner deed restrictions. It appears you read them carefully which is good. Bruner generally won't enforce them (in fact there is a disclaimer in our titlework that says it is up to the property owners). That said, we wouldn't go after neighbors for minor violations but we would for something like running a junkyard or such.
> 
> The important thing to look for is what the impact of "bad" neighbors buying adjacent parcels. You can sometimes get a bargain from Bruner if it is the last parcel or something oddball. They make their money by buying wholesale (large parcels) and then sub dividing.
> 
> ...



We found a lot that we thought would be pretty good for our needs. It had an old house on it that I think would need to come down. After visiting a couple of times and talking it over we decided to pass because we'd have the cost of removing the house before we could even get started doing what we want. That was one reason. The others included being about 95 miles form here which would make it difficult to run down there to work on the place, there was no cell phone coverage and the nearest medical care was 19 miles away which I can't live with. I found another lot that had an old barn on it which looked halfway decent from the satellite view. So we drove up there...85 miles...last Monday to take a look. When we arrived somebody had reduced the barn to a pile of rubble. I e-mailed Bruners about there lack of keeping up their web site, but got no answer. I think I need to find someone else to deal with. They were less than cordial after I changed my mind about the first lot.


Nomad


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

Nomad,

Where is "here"? I generally look for/at larger parcels but if I had a better idea of what you are looking for I'll keep an eye out. I seem to remember you posting about your needs/wants a while ago.

Mike


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Mike in Ohio said:


> Nomad,
> 
> Where is "here"? I generally look for/at larger parcels but if I had a better idea of what you are looking for I'll keep an eye out. I seem to remember you posting about your needs/wants a while ago.
> 
> Mike


I'm still looking, but not as aggressively because of the cancer. Once I get that taken care of, at least I hope I do, I'll put in more time looking again. My wants have changed over time. What I'm looking for is a place to live and grow some vegetables to sell in a small stand on my property. That and a front porch where I can sit in my rocker will be just fine. I am limited by the money I can put down. I can come up with 10% in most cases not to exceed $2000 or a bit more. When I was a kid there were not more than a couple of houses per mile, but all I can ever find are lots with neighboring lots on both sides and behind. I guess things are just getting more crowded. We live in Stark County, but I know we can't afford anything here. If you happen to see something that could work for me, I would appreciate a heads up. Thanks.


Nomad


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

Nomad,

If you keep a lookout towards the south end of stark county you might be surprised. I drive down 43 all the time heading to Carroll county. There was a place just off 43 (Chapel Road) that went at auction (needed some work) with 4 acres that went for less than $40k. If you were able to get an FHA loan on something like that you might have swung it. There are a couple of places (don't know the pricing) with for sale signs where 43 jogs west by Waynesburg. 

Mike


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Mike in Ohio said:


> Nomad,
> 
> If you keep a lookout towards the south end of stark county you might be surprised. I drive down 43 all the time heading to Carroll county. There was a place just off 43 (Chapel Road) that went at auction (needed some work) with 4 acres that went for less than $40k. If you were able to get an FHA loan on something like that you might have swung it. There are a couple of places (don't know the pricing) with for sale signs where 43 jogs west by Waynesburg.
> 
> Mike


I don't like airing all of my laundry, but I suppose I have to in this case. We lost our home to foreclosure late last year. Then I lost my job in December and haven't been able to work since because of my bypass surgery and the lack of jobs. So...we had to file bankruptcy a couple months ago. That's why I'm having to deal with the land sellers that don't care about credit as long as you have a down payment. Their thought is that many of the people will default and they will sell the land again anyway, so they give easy credit. I've seen some really good places that would be perfect for us, but I can't get them. Thanks for your help though. I could probably wait a couple of years and get a VA loan, but I'm not getting any younger. I want a place I can enjoy for the time I have left and then it will be for my daughters. So I'm looking now and hopefully will find something before planting season next year.

Nomad


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

Nomad,

I wish you luck. It's not always easy and I think most of us aren't too far removed from financial hardship.

You just need to nose around and keep your eyes open.

Mike


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