A Guide to Buying Rural Property

[Pat]

Ken, My gorilla tactics were meant to be as much for tongue-in-cheek humor as to be acted on except for the judge and lawyer comment and the "Come, let us reason together" one too.

The general concensus on various forums and among my associates and neighbors as regards the dogs running loose problem is to simply shoot and dispose of any packs of dogs on your property. When dogs pack up they will do things they would never, in your wildest imagination, do by themselves. It is a waste of time to talk to owners, in most cases, and they can not often be determined until the "dog tags", if any, are collected.

Packs of dogs get pretty wild and will attack a child or a calf. The general feling around here among the many REAL farmer/rancher types is that they would shoot their own dog if it chases stock or won't stay on their own property. I have neighbors that have done this. They feel it is the right thing to do to prevent creating problems for others. This is not the prevalent attitude of the newer crop of city folk to move into the country but remains the attitude of the country raised youngsters I have met (youngsters means under 30.)

Strange you should mention Lawton as I went there last night for a walk in the park after a rib feast in Chickasha with my cousin and her hubby. Spent the night with them just west of Lawton and today with my aunt and just got home about 1700.

We are about 25 miles east of I-35 and 25 miles south of I-40.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Hey Doc, You said, "I guess stupidity is not the exclusive provence of the rural folk or the city folk."

and

"I'm not a pessimist, I'm an appropriately cynical optimist"

You are absolutely right, there is more than enough stupidity AND ignorance to go around. I characterize myself as an optimistic realist who hopes for the best but deals with reality.

My problem neighbor shoots without proper backstops and thereby tresspasses on my property in a dangerous fashion.

Shooting onto or over another persons property constitutes tresspass and you can file a complaint each and every time. If it is frequent, I suggest you Xerox the form except for the part for the date and your original signature. Eventually after the file builds up to a weight or volume you consider critical mass for your DA or county prosecutor, get a meeting with him and request some relief from the actions of that scoflaw. It would be good if you first had a lawyer send the offending party a receipt requested registered letter making lawful demands that he immediately cease and desist his unlawful tresspass by shooting.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[krick]

Pat Back in April of 2002 a group from our Church assoc. went to Lawton To a place near Meers to build a church camp building Camp Y'Shua and enjoyed the area the BBQ at Meers would be hard to beat and price was not bad either. Traveling through the Wichita Mountains wildlife Center was enjoyable also
Knew the methods of determent was more or less tonge in cheek although would work.
Have a nice day ken

[Pat]

Krick, I hope you got a chance to drive up on top of Mt. Scott. Quite a view. I too enjoy driving through the wildlife refuge. I have many memories of it from various times in my youth. One is my uncle photographing the buffalo with a Kodak "box" camera. As the viewfinder distorts distances and he always liked to try to get close enough for a good picture, he ended up between a momma and her calf and got chased around a tree for a while. Another time he got chased into a pond and every time he thought momma buffalo had lost interest in him and he tried to wade out of the pond, she'd come back and drive him back in. This show lasted over an hour.

There is a WORLD CLASS Easter Pagent staged each year up there that draws in a LARGE audience. If you haven't seen it, it would be worth a visit.

Did you eat in the old general store/post office with the world famous GIANT hamburgers? Nearby is Medicine Park with some restaurants overlooking a large winding creek (small river) where the visitors throw stuff down to the multitudes of turtles in the water below.

Were it not for the Wichita mountains, Lawton would be a pretty flat boring area unless you wanted to see the cell where Sitting Bull was kept at Ft. Sill.

There was an issue not well covered in the rural property buying guide. That was buying enough property or property situated such that the requisite privacy would be maintained. If someone comes to the country and buys a few acres with unoccupied wooded land beside them they are possibly in for heartbreak if they build their dream home on this idylic view spot with privacy only to have the owners of the woods, cut it down, sell the cordwood, and subdivide for a low cost housing developoment of duplexes and quads, complete with a community childcare center on the border of their property. How about a pig farm? It is rural land, likely zoned agricultural or "mixed."

The only protection you have against later becoming surrounded by 20 yr old dilapitated trailers inhabited by folks who would make the boy who played Dulin' Banjos in "Deliverance" look like a Greek god is to buy enough land with enough trees or hills or whatever to effectively screen you from that and their used appliance collection and used car collection.

You can't reasonably expect to move to a rural area with ag zoning or even mixed zoning and expect somehow to inflict CC&R's on the region. You need to buy enough land to have a buffer zone between you and what is there or could conceivably be put there in the future. You can't rely on the other guy to never sell out and for the woods not to be clear cut and replaced with a corporate pig farm and its aromas. Cattle feed lots aren't much better. A poultry hatchery is about as foul smelling (forgive the pun) as can be experienced given the number of dead hatchlings and rotted eggs to be disposed of.

Yet, Mr. and Mrs. Justin Fromcity may be dissapointed if something like this happened to them. There are folks who buy in the winter and after the spring grass is going well, cattle and their droppings and flies show up and they want to sue everyone in sight and get all the zoning changed so they won't smell anything and the flies won't bother their guests on the veranda.

Of course they have a BIG lot of nearly a whole acre, way bigger than the big expensive ones in the city and they want to rearrange the commerce of that end of the county so that their acre controls over a hundred. If someone actually needs to control say 160 acres (a quarter section) let them buy or lease it. It shouldn't be impossible to buy a quarter section with a contract that leases back most of it to the seller at no cost with the proviso that no activities on the attached list will be permitted. The prohibition list could restrict activities on the land to crops only, no animals and no hunting except by the new owner or no tree cutting without permission or whatever you agree to.

This could keep the land in productive use while insulating the new owner from an unsertain future. Termination clauses could allow the new owner to retake full possession of the land in a fair manner and in a time consistent with allowing the user of the land to get full benefit from his activities. For example, if you have planted a grain crop you should be allowed to harvest it.

I thnk this sort of arrangement could be of benefit to both parties.

That is my story and I'm stickin't to it.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[krick]

Pat the Old Post office with the Gaint hamburgers was the place where we had several meals all good.
Going to Lawton took Hwy 70 from Broken Bow to Waurika then north on 81 to Rush Springs then to Meers had a good trip. Returning went to Texas to visit friends.
Used to travel Okla before the interstate funneled all the traffic on one road to get anywhere. Still like Hwy 412 to get to Colorado seems can go 50 miles and never see a car.
Keep up the good posts you have, don't type much mostly read .
se'ya ken

[Pat]

Krick, Thanks for the kind words. Rush Springs is the location of the watermelon capital of the civililzed world, if not the universe. They have a terrific watermelon festival.

Don't let anything always be herding you onto the interstate with all the sheep. Keep using those less traveled paths and enjoying the trip as much as the destination, where practicable.

I still miss good ole Route 66.



[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[porqupine]

This is a horrifying thread. I am Sooooo glad I live way up north. The cold temps keep city folk and appently hot headed rural folk cool and friendly.. Man I usaed to love the South. North Georgia mainly but Alabama too.

What have you folks turned into. so mute hate and disrespect.

And Pat your litigious side is way to strong for me. Please guys just get along.

Everyone has a right to live and enjoy this great country. City people just need some time to adjust and country folk are the best of the best when you get to know them.

Hey Pat I'm seriously wondering if you've ever witnessed the effects of throwing gasoline on a fire. Wow! Flameout. Please never encourage anything but the most civil of discourse between landowner and prospective hunter. One or both may have access to deadly weapons.

I know you said tounge in cheek, but things have a habit of getting out of hand.

The new arrival from the city should be coaxed and cajoled not threatened and extorted.

Anyway do me a favor all of you city, southerner, rural bumpkin or what have you, stay away from Vermont we have enough problems as it is. We jsut got rid of Howard Dean and it looks like the rest of you might elect him President.

Have a Nice Day
Cadillac Tony