Real Estate Matters

A well-drafted farm or ranch lease is the first step in forging a respectful relationship with your landowner or tenant. Having litigated countless lease disputes, we understand the value of a well-drafted lease. Oral leases are dangers. They fail to take into consideration big items like termination dates, liability, payment dates and amount, fencing responsibility, carrying capacities, and a host of other important terms.

If you have an oral farm lease, did you know that you have to provide September 1st notice? Avoid all of that hassle with a written farm lease. For a few hundred bucks, shelve that concern while picking up tons of protection in other areas. Leasing real estate is big business.

Not only will you receive a well-drafted lease, but we will also bring you up-to-date to with other leasing trends. With our value-added legal services, this is advice you can count on.

There a lot more to negotiating a wind turbine lease than how much your monthly rent check is going to be. Does the company have the financial solvency to make long-term payments? What happens the wind company goes broke—who is responsible for removing the tower (reclamation)? What if the company is broke? Have you thought about other issues, such as hunting, liability, indemnification, crop loss, resale values, and other long-term ramifications? God only made so much land. It is our job to protect it. We will help you make smart decisions when negotiating your lease or easement with a power company.

Gone should be the days of where you lease your real estate out to a hunting outfitter without charging them an appropriate fee, and also without getting some written protection. Hunting rights are widely regarded as a “property right”, no different than mineral, oil or gas rights. If your real estate is host to some of God’s beautiful creatures, then you should consider a hunting lease if you allow anyone on your real estate to hunt—whether it is for a fee or not.

A well-drafted hunting lease should include:

• The duration, which should include specific seasons, dates, or other limiting information
• The amount of compensation (whether per acre, per bird, or per season)
• Three-fold liability protection: 1) compliance with your insurance, 2) requirement of proven outfitter insurance, and 3) written waiver signed by each hunter.
• Allowance for property damage and other unpredictable events.

If you are a hunter or outfitter and are needing assistance in procuring hunting leases, we have assisted outfitters in this process—whether it be contacting landowners at your request or drafting lease agreements.

Real estate is a bundle of rights. In America, under a private landownership form of Government, collecting a fee for selling one of those rights is one of your liberties. It can be a beautiful thing when an entrepreneur provides compensation to a landowner, for something they have been giving away for years to non-family members. Especially when it is done the right way, with everyone protected.

Whether you are leasing hunting rights or selling them, a handshake just doesn’t cut it anymore.