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My brother and I inherited a nice piece of farmland in SEMO and now we want to sell it. We have a farmer renting it right now but he is a low-down dirty dealer and he regularly ripped off our grandmother when she was alive and has been attempting to do the same with us--he was there at the funeral pressuring us to sign papers. Now we just want to sell it and be done and the farmer's contract on the land ran out at the end of December. Problem is that he put in a crop of winter wheat on the land and at first I just laughed b/c I thought that he'd just end up forfeiting what he put into that but my brother is afraid he can sue us for it and that it will jam up the sale of the land if anyone is worried about what this bully of a farmer might do--he's a big man who likes to punch people if he's unhappy with the way things are going. The contract does say that he forfeits all rights to the land when the contract is up though. Anybody know anything about this kind of stuff? For all I know he's bluffing and didn't plant anything there but another farmer said he has a history of doing this to people and he usually gets what he wants. Ugh, he goes to my church and I've stopped going b/c of him--the church is too small for both of us. (this is a man who sidled up to me at mom's funeral and bragged that he'd banged my sis and would be happy to do me the honors as well.)
Oh my God he sounds like a piece of work. I have no advice but I just wanted to offer my condolences both on the loss of your grandmother and the fact that you need to deal with him.
I'd definitely get in touch with an attorney that specializes in Real Estate and see what he has to say.
1. Restraining order (very easy to get)
2. List it for sale
Yes it is listed for sale but a couple of buyers have expressed some hesitation about buying it when he has a crop on there--they're afraid of legal hassles. We're afraid he's trying to ruin the sale and that it may actually work. Restraining order though? To protect us or the farmers who're looking at the land? My brother told him not to put a crop on the land b/c we're selling and he did it anyway, but of course that was verbal.
And thank you NYgirl--g-ma actually passed away 3 years ago at 94 and I miss her every day. Yes the lawyer sounds like the best bet and I'm sure we're in the right, but it could cost us money we'd rather not pay. I can't stand this man, but I loved his mother--can't figure out how she raised such a bully.
The first thing you want to do is have a friend/ church member/ family/someone you know in the area take a look at the land and see if a crop is indeed growing there. Have them take a few photos and email them to you so you can see for yourself.
If there is a crop there, then you want to see a lawyer. All you want to do to start, is to ask one question.
The question is- if a contract to farm land ends in December of 2013, who owns the crop planted in the fall of 2013 that would not be harvested until sometime in 2014.
Asking that one question can't be all that expensive. You want to use an attorney experienced in farm leases/ agricultural land. Once you have a legal answer, then you can figure out how to proceed with the sale of the land.
The two possibilities are 1) you own the crop. 2) the crop is owned by the previous farmer leasing the land and he has the right to harvest in 2014. It does NOT stop the sale of of the land to others. Land ownership and crop ownership can be two different things. This second scenario simply gives the farmer who planted the crop the harvest. It does not give him the land or the right to keep using the land for free. A new owner would control the land use and any rental of the land.
You do need an attorney to tell you this. In the meantime, list your land for sale, show it to interested buyers. Have your real estate agent explain the situation while you are getting an answer from a lawyer.
If the nasty farmer bothers your real estate agent, etc. get a restraining order against him and make sure to enforce it.
Generally, the rule is that if the tenant received notice the lease was not to be renewed and then planted the crop, he would not be entitled to the crop. If he planted the crop before he received notice the lease would not continue, then he has the right to harvest the crop. Some details of this will vary from state to state.
If you never gave him notice and just waited for the end of the lease, the lease can continue for another year even though you and he did not sign another lease due to rules on when to give notice (assuming the least is an annual one). Notice of intent to not continue the lease is state dependent as well. Farmland is slightly different than regular leasing for residential purposes. So, I am going to echo the advice of everyone else - contact an attorney and make sure that attorney has experience in farm leases.
Restraining order though? To protect us or the farmers who're looking at the land?
To protect you. Restraining orders are great for redneck schmucks like this. Its very, very likely he will violate the order, because he is stupid. You dont need to live your life watching out for this guy and his threats. Your starting a paper trail because this guy will cause you more trouble. People like this always do.
Agree with Southbel's comments and she's offering good advice.
Stepka, you likely need to chat with an attorney -- first, for the possible restraining order and, secondly, to understand your legal rights to list the land for sale.
A few dollars spent now by chatting with an attorney may save you much heartache and many more dollars in the future.
BTW, did you chat with your minister about this guy? I know of no church that would stand for what you allege that he did. You shouldn't have to leave your church because of this guy's actions. If this guy is doing this to you, he's likely doing it to others.
Last edited by TexasDillo; 02-06-2014 at 10:46 AM..
A few things:
-The land is already listed for sale and we have some interested buyers. Some of them have expressed some dismay that the farmer has planted a crop there.
-The farmer told us he planted a crop after the land went up for sale, which was just this week. He has done this to others as well.
-My brother told him verbally that the lease would not continue past the end of the year and told him specifically not to plant any more crops. Unfortunately it's not in writing that I know of. I told my brother that all communications should be in writing from now on.
-The farmer is crazy and has a short fuse but he's unlikely to actually stalk someone--he's more likely to just go off when he gets mad and punch whoever happens to be standing there. Punched his own elderly father once.
-The pastor of the church just happens to be his sister and she's well aware of his shortcomings but has no control over his actions. We're all down to around 10 so not much help there.
-In fact, the entire community is well aware of what this man is like and that's where we're running into trouble--he may be totally in the wrong legally, but many would just rather not hassle with dealing with him and would buy other land where he's not involved. I know we can still sell it but may have to accept a lower price b/c of this man.
Wait, here's the ad:
Quote:
We have Farm land FOR SALE; we are accepting offers on 80 acres ML of prime tillable farm land located near xxxxxx Missouri. This property has been leveled and has had a new Irrigation well 12” X 95’ drilled in 2013. Offers accepted until February 15, 2014 at which time we will make a decision.
So, if he can bully others out before the final date of the sale, he can affect the price we get. My brother wants to pre-emptively sue him but I'm not sure that's wise or not.
My cousin is looking for a lawyer around here right now--she's an attorney herself but will need to speak to someone local and I'm going to see if I can drive over today--school is out due to weather so not sure if I can get in and out of there in my Camry or not.
Your replies were all very helpful and I'll come back and let you all know how it all comes out.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,300,551 times
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I'm sure MO real estate law is well defined over crops. I know it is in CA. It's also probably the most missed question on the CA real estate exam as most agents have no clue about rural farming.
Attorney time. Good Luck!
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