by Heineken » Sat 06 Sep 2008, 22:35:13
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Byron100', 'J')ust now read through this thread. Having worked for a local planning dept. back in the 90's, I did learn the difference between ROW and easement...very big difference. Since it wasn't practical for the farmer to chop his farm in two for a dedicated ROW, he provided the easement to your land, which does give him continued control of the land on which the easement passes - except to erect barriers to access, of course. As long as you have the ability to gain access to your land without his assistance, I do think the farmer is in the right, although I wouldn't call him the most polite of neighbors. He probably does have the fences up for the purpose of segregating various strips of grazing land - lots of farmers do that. I do agree with you in that he probably took down 3 out of the 4 fences during the process of selling the property to you, which is a bummer, I must admit. :/
Land that requires passage through someone else's land typically sells for less than road frontage land - sometimes much less. Hence, your low purchase price, and that's where the trade-off comes in. I'm sure the farmer would have never sold that land if someone was going to come in and put a house there, for instance. But if I was in your shoes, I'd start figuring how much income I could get from those pines nearing maturity and make plans to sell off that timber as the second generation of trees (the ones you planted) grow to take their place. This should keep the land value relatively constant, IMO. Then, when you're ready to sell, you would have at least provided some return on your investment for the time it's been tied up in owning that section of land.
Speaking of land...I'll probably be making a trip up to New York sometime over the next year to scout land possibilities. I wonder if land values up there have risen or fallen since 2004, which is the last time I was up there, which averaged out to about $2200-2400 an acre, if I remember correctly. Sure is some beautiful country up there, that's for sure.
Thanks for the comments, Byron.
Apparently I could build a house back there, but I'd have to apply for a variance from the county. However, I have no intention of building there and never did (beyond installing the storage shed and attached deck I use as a cabin). I bought the land for recreation and investment (maybe it's not such a great investment, however).
The 50 acres includes about 40 acres of loblolly pine. Most of them are approaching 12 inches in diameter, meaning they're already commercially valuable for chip-and-saw, and in just a few more years will be potential sawtimber. The field I planted is unlikely to attain commercial value within my remaining useful lifetime, but could be attractive to a buyer.
I'll keep the land as long as I live in Virginia, which depends on all sorts of things. Could be a long time yet, maybe even the rest of my life.
It's possible I'll never cut the timber. I might even place the land under a conservation easement. My way of thumbing my nose at commercial interests. If I do cut the timber, it will be when it's very large and thus very valuable (assuming there's a market by then, of course). Really large SYP sawtimber could fetch more than enough to recoup my investment in the land---and I'd still own the land. On the other hand, it might burn up or get eaten by beetles.
I love the property and the time I spend there, and it's worth the hassle of getting in and out.