Question about land owners

Due a death in the family and other family members selling their sections of land, I find myself trying to renegotiate with one of the owners. We’ve agreed to keep the price per acre , which is good, but one out of state owner wants a provision for his kids to hunt once to twice per year. The provision would state they can only hunt one weekend during late season, one weekend during dove season and maybe one weekend for hogs.

The other sticking point is the family may acquire an additional 60 acres from another family member that has a big spring fed tank. The family will lease the additional acreage if acquired, but a significantly higher rate. Their asking price would make it cost prohibitive for me to lease the additional acres. The owners would lease the 60 acres as a corporate type duck and fishing lease. The additional 60 acres does butt up to my section, but no one would have to cross my areas to access the tank.

I’ve been on the lease for 8 years and would like to stay, but not if the frustration would be too much.

Bigger headache than it’s worth and should I just walk away?

Give it a year and see how this works out. If your frustrated after next season walk away.

How much you can put up with depends on if you have other options. I'd start looking for something else, but hang on to what you have until you find another one. If you walk away from your present lease, they won't have trouble replacing you but you might not have an easy time finding a new place.

Don’t walk away yet

"The other sticking point is the family may acquire an additional 60 acres from another family member that has a big spring fed tank. The family will lease the additional acreage if acquired, but a significantly higher rate. Their asking price would make it cost prohibitive for me to lease the additional acres. The owners would lease the 60 acres as a corporate type duck and fishing lease. The additional 60 acres does butt up to my section, but no one would have to cross my areas to access the tank"

Think about this carefully. Let them lease it out at a higher rate to someone else and your new lease neighbors may envy the tract of land you are leasing.

Hope you don’t have to but I would start looking.

Sounds like a lot of good advise. You probably should factor in WHY the new acreage would be priced so much higher. Does it offer something that yours does not? After you determine that then think about what Hud was implying may happen. But, as always, you never can really control the longevity of a lease situation, so you can probably enjoy it for a few years. Besides getting priced out I dont see a big downside to the adjoining 60 acres being leased to others. As far the shared use by the family, thats just something that only you can weigh out the pluses and minuses. There are no PERFECT leases so its always a matter of weighing pluses and minuses. As others have said or implied, good leases are hard to find, so dont run off till you know what your replacement will be like.

if they are duck hunting the pond next too your property, your deer hunting is not going to be good, at all...

Not always true.
I can show you some video of deer out in the field while we are duck hunting about 300 yards away. One of the videos is of two 150"+ deer fighting for about 20 minutes and you can hear us calling and shooting in the background.
Depends on what the deer get used to.

Don't walk away. If you have a good deal on your lease that is price per acre, I'd try like heck to find away to lease the 60 acre/pond even if that means bringing in others to offset that $.
I agree with Hud and I just don't like deer hunting with duck hunting activity that close even if deer get used to it. Good luck

Looks like there is a fly in the ointment regarding the 60 additional acres for the LO. Due to the ownership complexity of the 60 acres, the land owner I’m leasing from will likely be unable to purchase. Works out great for me and not so much for the LO. I’m going to stay on going to stay on the lease after all.

#nailedit - excellent advice and exactly what I’d do and advise.

I would make the "kids hunting" provision work in you favor, tell him you're ok with them hunting 3 or 4 weekends if they supply 2 or 3 sacks of corn on the weekends they come hunt. I do that for friends I take hunting, I don't make them pay to hunt but they have to buy 2 50# sacks of corn.