Cemetery on Property? (agents, insurance, properties, legal)

[Airborneguy]

In a recent discussion with my wife I brought up that I think I want our next house to have an small, old cemetery on the property.

I researched the basic laws regarding this situation and am not bothered by having to allow family members to visit (if they exist). I’d also have no problem maintaining it (that’s sort of why I want it).

Anyone here who has one on their property? Concerns I’m not thinking of? Problems with relatives of the deceased?

I know it may affect resale value, but whenever we go next, I expect to be living there when I die so that is not a concern for me.

[Diana Holbrook]

It's cool of you to not mind one that happens to be on a property... it's a little unusual to want to seek one out.

[Airborneguy]

I get that, most would probably agree with you. My current house is surrounded by cemeteries, so I’m used to it. All joking aside, having a cemetery next to your house guarantees no building (at least on that side), which leads to the old quiet neighborhs joke.

Between the two that surround my house is a plot of woods which also contains a small, “forgotten” military cemetery. I walk my dog through there a lot, reading names, picking up the occasional flag, etc. I enjoy the peacefulness.

I guess I’ve just gotten used to it.

[BirdieBelle]

Historic cemeteries are a hobby of mine, and there are quite a few in my area.

Many people are freaked out by them, but it's nice that you can appreciate them.

I do believe that you would be seriously limiting your potential properties, though, with this requirement. It's more of a "nice to have."

In terms of concerns, though, having to provide access to descendants is the main thing. Some cemeteries never get visited, and some have annual ceremonies with guests.

You would definitely need to find out the exact location of any access easements and consider the possibility that there may be unmarked burials on the edges of the known cemetery.

[TrapperL]

Cemeteries on your property can be a headache, depends on your State laws. I have relatives from the civil War in a dedicated parcel in the country. The folks that own the surrounding land are a pain to deal with to go see it. They don't take care of it and it's going to crap. The County that owns the cemetery in perpetuity won't do anything. So it's just there.

My step parents owned a huge ranch/farm. They had cattle and farmed peanuts. They had a place that the original settling owners which were family, allowed slaves and after the Civil War, indigent blacks to be buried there. Nobody took care of it and it got over grown with trees and brush. As my step parents aged, they sold the place to a developer. He bulldozed the entire piece of land, stacked up all of the headstones with the trees and brush and set fire to it. Now, nobody has a clue who these people were or where they are actually buried. The developer sold lots to mobile home owners and now it's starting to look a ghetto in the country. I can't imagine owning any home that there's a high probability that there is somebody unknown buried in the front yard.

That you want to buy a place with a cemetery and are willing to care for it is commendable. I hope you find exactly what you're looking for.

[petsandgardens]

I happen to have three friends in this situation right now. One just bought an old old small church building, long disbanded and long unoccupied, which needs a lot of work, and the cemetery is beside it. The cemetery does not belong with the house although the land around it does. And the cemetery is deeded such that it will always be there and always be a cemetery. The cemetery has always been taken care of by the descendants of the people buried there.

Several of the descendants are very upset and are contacting the new owner about what will happen to their great grandparents and great great grandparents. Somewhere along the line, the line of communication broke down and some of the descendants were not aware the arrangement was that they the descendants would take care of their family plot. And, just as much an issue, there was no one to feel the responsibility to remind the family that their plot was getting messy.

So that was settled and it's a small enough area that word spread about that to the benefit of all.

The new owner had to be very reassuring about his honoring the dead, about his making no changes, contacting the descendants with any issues, etc.

Another one, the property did not yet go to closing and there are people calling the agents and the new buyer hysterical because they were promised they could be buried there, they have a plot next to grandmother and did the new owner know all about this, etc.

Combining all three here are some issues that might come up. But they can all be fixable.

The whole idea of cemeteries can be trying and emotional, even for people not scared of them. So you'll have some issues with some people.

You want to be sure of any original deed restrictions. Any deeds that show the acreage (one friend though he was getting twice as much). There are just very old property issues aside from cemetery issues.

There are sometimes trespassers who think it's cool to have a party in a cemetery, supposedly a scary place. There are sometimes people who want to turn over headstones when drunk, angry or on a bet.

Be sure of who is supposed to keep up the plots and try to get in touch with a family rep so you can let them know if there is a problem about their plot.

You sound like you can stand the monthly Teddy bear at some tombstones.

Check if there's a deed for future graves and what will happen with that. The third friend ...and actually yet another now that I think of this...still gets the occasional notice that there will be a burial at the end of his field. They both have a cemetery for just one family each so contact is just made with one family in each case. One family keeps the plot immaculate. This family will also have holiday commemorative short services on short notice when it comes together for them. And family visits when relatives come to town from a distance. The other family hardly ever has a burial and keeps it in horrible shape.

But I think you said you will keep it looking good.

You might think about relatives visiting without notice or driving by and you having a rousing bbq and baseball game in the yard. Not that you want that but just a thought.

One more thing...consider if you want the cost of repair or update. The first guy I mentioned is looking into replacing some of the damaged wrought iron fence with another historic one. He loves historic things and has a little money and is willing to do this and not even ask for any money from relatives. I don't know what he's doing about the stones with tops broken off. Don't know how that even happened.

Here's another thing to explore...insurance for having what, strangely, can be an "attractive nuisance". As well as insurance concerns for people hurting themselves, say walking on soil not always that firm.

Whew. Well, hope it all works out for you.

[Airborneguy]

Wow thanks for that post, you offer a lot to consider.

I think the only aspect I may take issue with would be new burials. My goal would be to find a property that has a very, very old cemetery in place so that new burials hopefully won’t become an issue. Ultimately I’d likely allow it though.

I have zero issue with visitors based on the location of the plots. I wouldn’t buy a property where the cemetery is close enough to the main house that visitors would be a nuisance for us. I do want it to be within view of the place though as opposed to tucked far back on the property.

[petsandgardens]

Sounds exciting. Keep us updated on your progress.

[JONOV]

There is one on some property that my family used to own. Basically, the relatives of the deceased had a permanent easement to access and maintain it. I don't know if it was legally an easement, but the laws were such that they could use it. It was non-issue for the family since it involved going down a field road, basically a two-track between to tobacco fields.

[399083453]

Here in new england, its quite common to have graves on the land or nearby. Its no big deal.