# ????????????????



## L&Jfarms (Jul 16, 2008)

So i am looking to buy a farm of my own hear soon so i have to ask... I have this neighbor down the road from my family farm. It is owned by a older single man. He is 79 and he has no family members that i know of that would take the farm over.
So i was wondering what i should do to let him know that i would like to some day buy it from him. Do you think i can wright him a letter? Or should i just pay him a visit? What do you think?
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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Write a letter telling him in general what you'd like and seeing if you could go visit, at his convience, and talk it over.

have what you want and what you can offer ready for that conversation, in person.

Angie


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

What rose said except maybe a bottle of a "medicinal remedy" instead of the cookies. Most older farmers that I know enjoy a good snort (or two) over a plate full of cookies. :icecream:


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## rockhound (Sep 25, 2009)

A personal visit sounds like the way to go.....BUT
What if you buy his place, where will he go? He might resent you wanting to buy, thinking about his own future. Maybe you can offer him a deal where he gets the money AND gets to live there as long as he wants. Just an idea.


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## txquilter (Dec 29, 2009)

I like Rockhound's idea. He may not want to keep the farm up but feels he has no place to go and can't afford to move. If you were to purchase the property and allow him to live there he might actually feel a sense of relief. You could even then start your homestead and share the "fruits of your labor" with him. If he truly has no one then he might enjoy this new found friendship and kind spirit.

Nothing beats a good face to face conversation with someone older than us. They thoroughly enjoy the personal conversation. I would strongly encourage this over a letter.

Good luck!


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## Navotifarm (Dec 16, 2009)

Your neighbor might have some desires and concepts similar to mine. For instance, as an older person who wants my land to remain a farm rather than be snatched up and subdivided by a developer, I have been looking for what Joel Salatin calls a "surrogate heir." The idea includes my selling my land to a young farmer or couple with a win-win agreement whereby I have a "life estate" meaning I continue living here as long as feasible in my home and have a regular income from a fair price for my land.

The buyers, in turn, as barter for the life estate, have a reduced down-payment and an "easy mortgage" meaning a lower interest rate. As seller, I hold the mortgage so I get the interest and the buyers are spared a lot add-on "points" or loan costs. 

I attended a "farm transition" course put on by a local ag agent which helped me refine my thinking. Perhaps your local agent will offer a similar course since the aging of farmers is a problem being looked at in terms of land transition and preserving farmland. 

Your elderly neighbor has surely given thought to the matter of "who will get it when I am gone?" You can't just go busting over there and confront him with brash questions like "Can I have your land when you croak?" But perhaps you can find an intermediary who can introduce you as someone with an interesting proposal once you have checked with the local property tax office and a good appraiser to determine fair market value and how you would pay for the purchase of this land? 

Good luck!


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## Madame (Jan 1, 2003)

So Navotifarm, where are you located?


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## MN Gardener (Jan 23, 2008)

Navotifarm has a great idea. That would benefit everyone.


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## bluetick (May 11, 2002)

My elderly cousin gave up dairy farming a few years ago when his wife became ill and later died. He recently sold his farm to a neighbor, but arranged to have lifetime rights to live in the farmhouse. It worked out well for him.


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## Navotifarm (Dec 16, 2009)

" So Navotifarm, where are you located? "

Virginia not far from Charlottesville.
Glad to be accepted to this forum, where I have learned. So much helpful information. Already. Except nobody gave a good answer to the question about deterring snakes! I have black snakes which get in my rabbit hutches and eat the kits in addition to getting in my chicken coop and gobbling eggs and suffocating chicks that are too big for them to eat. Also, scream, I have copperheads. Sure would appreciate some advice on snake derailment!


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## Natural Beauty Farm (Feb 17, 2003)

I bought my first house like that when I was 18. Knew a lady that did not have any family and told her I'd buy the house, but she got to stay in it for the rest of her life. Her lawyer set it up, I made monthly payments to her through the lawyer and when she passed I got possession of the house. Since the payments legally stopped upon her death, I ended up paying about half the market value. She got extra $$ to live on and take trips and I got homemade cookies every time I visited. It was a win win deal.


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## Navotifarm (Dec 16, 2009)

Generally, the heirs of the seller would be entitled to the balance of the payments in a sale with a life estate. Maybe there weren't any heirs in this lucky buy deal?


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## Farmer Porky (Jul 26, 2008)

What has been proposed is what the mortgage industry calls a"reverse mortgage" but with the better benefit of lower costs and the piece of mind that the farm is going to someone that wants to preserve it. Our state of Virginia has a program that links up old farmers with new farmers for such a purpose to preserve the farms,though I do not know any of the details. My wife and I have talked of the same thing when we are too old to run things.


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