Been thinking of selling my 1800 acre Ranch

and it scares me to death, don't have a clue what to do with my life after i sell. Ranching is all i know, it is my life.
I would love to live out my life here but being by myself 99 % of the time the workload is getting to much at times and i feel burned out.
Our kids don't want it, they have their own lives elsewhere.
There's a enough money made on it to live comfortable but not enough to afford a hired hand to boot. Seasonal help is near impossible to find and unreliable at best.
Renting out the land is not an option either as the income from the rent would not be enough to make a living and i have no other income.
Getting old is a beotch :evil:
What the h"ll is a guy to do. :?:

When my brother retired from farming, he didn't plan to go to work but that the guy who rented his land wanted him to work for him during planting, harvest and anytime they needed an experienced operator for anything. He works pretty steady for them during the summer and spends the winters in Arizona about 50 miles from us.

Renter didn't want to hire any more inexperience help with the big units that he uses, plus my brother has a CDL so he can drive their big trucks. They pay him above average wages.

Good luck in what ever you decide!.......
I wish I could buy it....1800 acres sounds like a nice
number!...and you could stay on and show me the ropes?.........Sam

Bison, Dick2 has a good idea. If you sell, maybe you could work for who bought it but at your own pace and with them?

Where is the property located?

Good luck in whatever you do!

Sell it and move closer to civilization. There's old tractors to work on,antique tractor pulling,auctions,flea markets,traveling....


At least that's my theory if I can ever quit. Get an old van with an awning,a couple of tables and a lawn chair and become a flea market vendor.

I've been thinking of the same thing,but if you sell the government gets a big chunk of what you've worked for.

Give me another year or so till I get fully retired again and I will come and help you out as long as you are not located in Colorado.

Is this property where pasture ground isn't very good? Meaning the grass isn't all that great? The reason I ask is because 1800 acres of ranchland where I live would cost you an arm and 2 legs to buy and you could more than have enough to live on happily by leasing it out. If just wanting to slow down, maybe just operate part of it and lease the rest out. There are circumstances I don't know such as your age, health issues, mortgage or not, wanting to fully retire, etc. Without knowing these details, my advice would be an option that would maintain ownership. But if some of those details are forcing you a different direction, then selling might be a better option. Hard to say, not knowing details of your situation.

Maybe I should move north of the border. Where I live land brings $16,000 an acre or more.

Bison where is this land located?

By the time the lawyers and all the other "professional" types get done with the sale, not to mention the tax man, you won't end up with much.

I'd sure figure out a different route to go.

Allan

For those of you asking Bisons' location...If I remember correctly, Bison is in Canada.

Greg

Don't think I'm out of line posting, because Bison posted about this about 4 pages back ("Canadian Farmers)- he's about 800 miles north of the Montana border, east of the Peace River. He raises bison (buffalo), so you know the fences are good! Some of that country is pretty rough, but some other posts on that thread made it sound like the Peace River Valley was kind of a farming mecca. I could have worked my way into ownership of a spread near Prince George, BC many years ago, but it was a little too rough a country for me- no electricity, carry water in buckets from the well, and when I decided to walk out an look at the stock, owner made me carry a 30.06- "Watch for bear, but moose are actually more dangerous." Great, I kind of wanted a place where I didn't have to fear for my kids' lives every waking moment, so I passed.

Bison's deal seems worth looking into, especially for the young, adventurous types. As far as those who are saying gumment will get it all in taxes, lawyers will pick him clean, etc., my response is, essentially, baloney. I do some estate planning, and his options are pretty limited, as in a total of one: sell, and use the money to live comfortably for the rest of his life. He doesn't have any alternatives- can't afford to hire help, kids don't want it, he's getting to the point age-wise that he can't carry it on himself. What other options are there?

A good accountant should know your tax laws and how to legally work around them. One should be able to list out your options for you.

Maybe downsize to what you can still handle and enjoy life?

Thanks for the replies guys.
I am 64, still healthy and own all i have outright but for a very small mortgage on some of the land
I am located in Northern Alberta 800 ml north of the border.
Good farmland around here sells for 160 to 200+ grand a quarter, closer to town and along the main artery up to 450 so financially i won't have worries even after the greedy gub-mint takes his undeserved cut.
My place is bordering a huge forest reserve and is more suited for grazing than farming as i often have a sneaky killing frost early in the fall
i graze around 130 cows and their calves and 100 yearlings on 7 and a half quarters and it ain't all open ground either so it produces not to bad but of course it all depends on rain fall.
I have 300 acre in hay, it produces around a 1000 big rounds first cut in a good year, a second cut is risky so i let that sit, if it was fenced i could graze it.

I ain't really a fan of driving tractor,it's alright for a couple days at the time but any more than that gets boring ..i rather fix them than drive them so changes of helping someone planting crops on my land is not really something i would consider.

rrlund, i bought this place here 21 years ago just to get [b:5944a42c95]away [/b:5944a42c95]from civilization,...actually it is for me the closest thing to paradise, no traffic, no noise,..just nature.

As far as living in a civilized place if thats your goal you better stay where you are as it gets more UNcivilized in populated areas every day

How far are you from Grande Prairie ?

(quoted from post at 19:01:42 05/22/14) How far are you from Grande Prairie ?

Click to expand...

00+ km

I'm "in the same boat".

Land values around here are CRAZY and cash rent hasn't kept up.

And my kids don't give a *#&$!

My Grandfather homesteaded the place a year before we became a state, but after 126 years it'll probably come to an end.

Such is life, I guess.

I just found a buyer for a friends farm, 600k. Done seller to buyer. Not one penny in commissions. Couple hundred for escrow company and a few more for title search.

Bison
I am in the same sittuation you are in. I am 61 wife is 58. We are
financially ok, but don't want the responsibility of being in
charge of our farms any more. I feel guilty for not wanting to
farm anymore, but more guilty for having thoughts of selling
the family land. There is only 2 twin granddaughters- 5 years old-left for us
to give our estate to. They will be city girls who will want the
$$$ and not the land. Also I don't want to hold it together until
they are 18 or 20 to decide. I feel guilty for that also. All my
life I have operated under the philosophy that we are to add to
our net worth every year, never take out for pure enjoyment. I
feel guilty for that also. All I have ever done is work, don't know
how to hunt, fish, etc. I feel guilty if I am not onto something
that is beneficial to make $$$.

I work on breaking these feelings every day. I have come to
the realization that we have enough $$$ to get there on, but if
we work and make 2 times the $$$ to get there on, we are not
going to be afforded 2 times the years to enjoy it. So I work
harder on feeling that I deserve to see another side of life
besides work everyday.

As for as the taxes we built a new motel and bought another
one in 1998. Ran them until 2008. Buyer came along with a
good profit, we sold them. Friend of mine said just think of the
taxes you're going to pay on this sale. That sort of set me
enjoyment of the sale on the back burner for a couple of days.
I reasoned the tax situation out this way---we could not sell the
motels and not have to pay the taxes or we could sell the
motels-pay the taxes- get on down the road and better enjoy
our life of being full fledged farmers again. Sold the motels-
paid the taxes and never looked back. Don't know how my life
will play out at the end, but going to work like a short legged
mule to get rid of the guilt.

Look into selling the farm and financing it whether it be all or a
percentage with the rest down to help finance your new life.
Whatever decision you make I wish for you the best. Also
always remember there are a bunch of us farmers who are in
the same position, a lot of us just keep on keeping on and the
dreams and hopes of a better life fade away with age. God
bless!!

Don't sell the land so you can punish the government by not paying the taxes, or pay the taxes and get busy living a life that suits you and your wife. If you do not sell it you have indicated your children have no interest, so they will sell it and pay the taxes. When your farm is sold and the family no longer owns it the taxes will be paid, that is a given. Good luck.

I know it is a painful decision, but you need to look at it with the cold eye of a businessman. Farmland and pasture prices are at an all-time high. Yes, they could (and I think they probably will) go up some more, but there's no guarantee of that. But if you sell now, you know exactly what you're going to get. It sounds like you will get enough out of your land to ensure that you and your wife can retire comfortably. If you don't sell now, there's a distinct possibility prices could crash, leaving you and your wife in a tough spot. The time will come when you're unable to continue ranching, and you don't when that day will come. Certainty versus uncertainty.

As far as what to do after you retire, you'll sure need something to keep you busy. Sitting at home watching TV is a death sentence, but there's no reason to do that. Have you considered community service? Some folks spend their retirement traveling around the country in campers doing charitable work. One example in the US is Habitat for Humanity's "RV Care-a-Vanner" program.
RV Care a Vanner

A somewhat different outlook on land values and inheritance from our part of OZ

Called child abuse western Queensland style

Leave them the ranch

Or sell it all buy a huge motor home and travel. Come on down to the USA and go to tractors shows.
Every weekend there are always several going on somewhere.

I retired young from my super stressful exec job so I could hunt and fish and raise a few race horses. It has been 13 years and I am still so busy I need to hire help. The health issues come,, whether you like it or not. I keep going, but hunting and fishing have taken a hit due to bad back, knees and old age slow down. However, I would do it again. I love my little farm and my daily chores, but it is expensive.

I watched many of my fellow execs retire and turn into angry old men. Many downsized so they don't even have a garden to dote on. These people suddenly have literally, nothing to do but wait to die.

They play a little golf and naturally their game gets worse every year, watch hours of stupid TV shows and spend their days on the internet ranting about the country going to hill.

You need to find something you really LOVE to do, then design a small place to do it. My friends that are into old cars have a little garage with a hoist, and a clean place to work behind the house.

Managing your investments is not a hobby, it gets very boring after a while. How many bond reports can you read excitedly?

Please don't become another member of the greatest complainers generation. The world has a lot of problems but they won't get fixed by old men ranting.

Have fun! If you can afford it ...retirement is the time to enjoy what you have always wanted to do....not to go to seed and get bitter.

There is a saying in the race horse game and it is really true. "No man ever committed suicide when he had a promising 2 year old colt in the barn".

So true, a man needs to look forward to enjoy life.

One more thing. I loved my job, but I retired to have a second life and do the other things I wanted to do besides work and travel hard. You have to jump when you have a window, wait too long and some times the window disappears.

Thanks for all the replies guys, you sure gave me some things to think about.
One of them thoughts is that i will never be able to find a place as quiet as the one i have once it is sold and i will have to find somewhere else to live were me and the wife can be happy and any place i find that might come close will sure cost a big chunk of money as well(it seems like the smaller the place the higher the price).
I have decided I am perfectly happy were i am, i have the animals and my big new 2 year old shop were i can tinker to my hearts desire and that is to me far more important than a pile of money in the bank.
If push comes to shove i can always sell part of the land.
This fall i'm gonna down size the herd by 50 % or go to just grazing yearlings or calves over the summer.
I'll look into buying a travel trailer and maybe go south for the winter( i have a neighbor that does that and he loves it), we'll see.

PS, i had yesterday a real estate agent come over to discuss things,he charges 5 % commission of the sale price, that would be around 120 grand for just selling it.:shock:.
I told him i was not THAT desperate. :roll:

We are in a competitive area most realtors 2 or 3 percent on deals your size. Many deals are done just bewtween buyer, seller, and lawyers.
It sounds like you have had ranch quite a while I would check with a cpa on your tax liability.
Sounds like it maybe shock you. This is going to take some professional help in planning this out.

Can't imagine why you would need a RE broker. Most land sales are to neighboring farmers. Put the word out, it won't hurt your land prices and it won't scare off your employees. Maybe some locals are interested but afraid to ask, thinking that it might hurt your feelings.

Once you have negotiated a sale, then you will need a lawyer to put it in writing. Good idea to engage a real estate Atty before you begin negotiations.

I've sold a lot of land direct. Many brokers just get in the way.

I was going to suggest something like that. Keep back a few acres on the edge or along a trail to put a small place on, or see if he can live there, and work part-time for whoever buys it.
If a neighbor buys it and doesn't need the house, it could be worth it for them to let you live there, just so there's some presence on the place daily.

don't know what to tell ya , but interested in others ideas ..I could never sell out and live on my place while someone else is farmin it ,, lest it was my kin,, then I would luv to help out anyway they needed me ,,,.. I would have to totally relocate far away and reinvent my life , rather than drive past my place all the time