How about one from a landlord about switching renter

The previous post got me thinking again and I'm not too happy. I have been in charge of my folks estate for 2 yrs now. The original neighbor retired this year and turned it over to his nephew. He had been off handedly letting him farm it for the last 2-3 yrs and just basically making an appearance during harvest. I thought this was kind of insincere on his part since my dad rented to the uncle not the nephew. Well this year the nephew did an atrocious job planting, starting after supper and doing most in the dark. There was no need for that, it was good weather and its only 36 acres. lots of gaps unplanted and edges that need a full 6 rows to finish. The guy is always hurrying and has the phone in one hand at all times. He has wrecked several pieces of equipment hitting things, even knocked down a power line on tractor this spring. He is hyper and always starts in too soon to plant and harvest. I would like to find a new renter. Many would like it. Including family members of this guy. I hate to be the jerk of the neighborhood but it is just business...isn't it?

Cash rent or shares?

If it's shares, you have a case for seeking out a new renter. If it's cash, just take his money, because he's only hurting himself, from the way I understand your explanation of what's going on. Does the nephew have a day job that keeps him from farming your folks' place during the day? More details would get you a more intelligent answer.

The usual disclaimers apply...your mileage may vary, objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear, void where prohibited, and alcohol may intensify any side effects.

My various brothers-in-law, nephews, etc., and I have an agreement. Kinship is kinship and business is business, and the two don't mix.

If I work on someone's vehicle in my shop, they expect to pay the same as any other customer, and vice versa when I make use of their talents. I'd say forget about relatives, go for the best deal and don't lose any sleep over it.

Around here a poor job of farming means the renter loses the lease, a good clean job of farming might have other landlords knocking on the renter's door. Last fall a neighbor retired and recommended me as being a good farmer who will pay the rent on time to his landlady. It is a half section and I rented a quarter and my son rented the other quarter. This summer the landlady died and we got our lease termination notice the other day. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

There is nothing wrong with a landlord wanting to change tenants it is HIS ground. Just be up front about it. I would tell the Uncle and the Nephew what you are unhappy about and tell them that this harvest is the last of the original rental. Just be FIRM and tell them this harvest is IT!!! Then follow up with a certified letter spelling out that your terminating the rental agreement. I do not know what state you live in but some state like Iowa have specific laws on farm ground rentals. Here is a short over view of how it works in Iowa.

"A farm lease automatically continues from year to year unless a notice of termination is given by either party. Under Iowa law, the lease termination notice must be properly served by September 1, prior to the end of the lease year. The termination notice must fix the termination of the tenancy to take place on the following March 1. If notice is not served, the lease continues for another crop year upon the same conditions as the original lease."

Then after you have notified the current tenant pick your next tenant how ever you want to. Advertise, hire a land management out fits that handle it all and take bids on the rent, or how ever you want to find the next tenant. In my eyes if you tell the current fellow and then switch tenants there is nothing wrong in that.

I would recommend that you have a written contract that spells out some things. A real common one here is that the land can NOT be sub-rented out to another party. That is what you have going on right now. You can spell out whatever you want in that contract. My sons have one farm they rent that they can not do ANY work after 8 PM at night. The fellow works a job where he has to get up at 3:30 AM and he goes to bed early. They are fine with that as they knew it before they rented the farm and he explained why it was IMPORTANT TO HIM. That is the key. Make sure your tenant KNOWs what is important to you. An example of this is messy looking fields. Some would not care but to you it seems like they bother you. (I am the same way. So I am not throwing rocks)

So rather than be unhappy with your current tenant clear the deck and start over if that is what you really want. Even if you would KEEP the current fellows I would make a written contract with the actual guy doing the farming.

I would be up front about how you feel, and get rid of him. You own it, not him.

If they are doing a visibly sloppy job, odds are they are cheating you where you can't see as well- like not keeping fertility up, etc. Rent to someone you trust and appeals to you.

Its your land.

If you are up front about it, and terminate before the crop is off, the fella knows what is what and doesn't waste fall fertilizer or other stuff on it, or marketing plans.

He probably won't be happy, but that is the lot of a renter. Its your land.

Now, of you do a switch a roo in April, or wait for him to fertilize and then say oh by the way... Thrn you should be the talk of the neighborhood.

Paul

I like your response goose.

My uncle owned a car dealership. He told the family- I would love to do business with you but you will get the same deal as any other customers. If you buy from another dealer no hard feelings on my part.

Gary

I agree with Buzzman. I know two landowners with small holdings who derive pleasue from harassing and shaming tenants. They can be found spouting off about their tenant's shortfalls most any day at the local geathering of loafers. If the rent is on shares or allotment that's totally different.

I'm going to answer this from the renters point of view, not as a landlord.
TALK TO THEM! Communicate! Tell them of your concerns. Tell them you want everything to be transparent.
Tell them what your expectations are. If it makes you feel better, tell them they will only rent one year at a time until your confident they are making the changes you want. But for Pete's sake, have a conversation.

If I was farming a piece of land and my landlord wasn't happy, I WOULD WANT TO KNOW and WOULD DO MOST ANYTHING TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT. Just getting the boot without a chance to make changes seems to be a chicken-siht thing to do to somebody. Thank God I've never had an unhappy landlord that I'm aware of but if I did I sure wouldn't want to be the last guy in the community to find out about it. Be a man and have a talk. If they don't make changes then you can terminate your arrangement with a clear conscious.

I'll also say that if the neighbor is sub-renting to his nephew, then that can be dealt with as per the paragraph above. That said, if its determined the nephew is farming, then maybe you can do the kid some good by helping him out. Instead of complaining about him to the world wide web, why not ASK HIM what he needs help with? Why not give him a chance to shoulder some responsibility and answer to you directly? Most young men starting out farming often start with nothing. No time, no money, no machinery, no experience, no patience, no common sense and sometimes no support from parents or a young wife who doesn't understand farming. These things have to grow along the way but he needs the freedom to make his mistakes. As long as your getting your rent check and he doesn't mine your fertilizer levels then what is the harm to you? His uncle deceiving you about who's really farming the land is your biggest issue and it would irritate me also because he's not being honest, but the nephew may not have any say about how this is handled in his situation. Might be best to get the uncle out of the way and give the kid a chance directly. Better the kid is farming with the Uncles' help vs. the Uncle pretending to farm with the nephews help.

I'll also say the phrase "its just business isn't it" really irritates me. Business's are all about people. Everyone deserves to have a chance to have a say and state their position or explain their actions. We all need the opportunity to be held accountable and make changes if need be. If you find your not going to be on common ground in the future, and you agree to disagree on things, THEN make business decisions accordingly, but again, please, HAVE THE CONVERSATION!

Strawboss: I will agree to a point. That point is that the Uncle rented the ground not the nephew. So the renter is kind of pulling one in this case. Around here if you have a bad looking crop your going to get DUMPED ASAP!!! As for it being a Chicken Crap thing to do. Well The landlord OWNS the ground, it is HIS to do with as he see fit. The renter is not OWED the right to farm it. So if he is already farming it and doing a POOR job then he should know he is on thin ice.

Mom had two brothers that were dealers in the same town. No special deals from those guys! We could get better deals from local dealers.

Yes, I agree. The Uncle has much to answer for and I said as much. All I'm talking about is the golden rule. Do unto others....
First, have a talk. Find out whats going on. Whats it going to hurt? Might be a positive outcome for all.
If they don't see your way of things, then terminate the lease. At least you tried and the outcome was their decision.

There are 2 sides to every story and I have been on both sides of this one. Many renters are bad communicators, don't tell you what they are doing or why. Many people are just sloppy and the land they rent looks like the house they live in. Conversely, Some landlords focus and fixate on weedwacking the fences and ignore soil tests, fertilizer and crop yields.

In the end any rental deal, on land, a house or a store must be a good deal for both. If one takes advantage of the other, accidentally or on purpose, it is time to have a heart to heart.....or quit the deal. Don't just fume and simmer...go talk to them.

To add just a little to JD's post, in Iowa the termination needs to be delivered by certified letter or it might not be valid. I didn't know about this certified letter clause till a week ago.

Yes, I was tired when I posted and left out the fact that it is on SHARES. And it is the farmers only job. He has rented and bought land all over the county recently.

So he busy being a big wheeler-dealer, doesn't put enough time into being a GOOD farmer and the lease is on shares besides. I have known a couple of those types and they end up with nothing in the end. I wouldn't hesitate to terminate the lease.

Straw Boss has it right. It can't be "Just Business" when it fits your agenda and "Morally Wrong" when it doesn't. Talk to the guy and get the details before you panic and start hacking some ones lively hood.

Do you in fact know the Uncle is subrenting to the Nephew? Maybe the Uncle is helping the Nephew get started in farming. That might need to be looked at as respectable instead of underhanded.

Way too many details unknown here to make much of a valid opinion. Granted, you are not obligated in any way, but I agree with Straw Boss, it's kind of chicken siht to just drop the guy without at least giving him a chance to improve.

Again, way to may details unknown. Good luck with what ever you do, however. Bob

We're the last ones for miles around still on shares. All others are cash rent. They only do/did that to please my dad to butter him up. They want to buy the land so bad they can taste it and my dad is 94 so they're just chompin. But with the embarrassing looking planting I'm not too eager to sell to them.

redtom, if i was in your situation, i'd give the guy his walking papers and let some one else farm it. his poor planting will hurt your yields and cost you money. from what you said, he is wreck-less and doesnt seem to care. its your farm, he needs to respect it or take a hike.

On a lighter note, The guy needs to hang up the dang phone and do his farming!

RedTom One thing I kind of missed in this was you taking care of your Father's affairs. You really have a responsibility to protect his "BEST" interests. By sharecropping to someone that is doing a poor job you not really doing that. I would put the farm up for rent and take applications for the next crop year. Then pick the best one in your opinion and go with them. I would DROP the sharecropping deal ASAP. Thee is just too many unknowns involved with that in the next few years plus you have LOST income the last few years as well. The current tenants can still be farming the farm next year if they step up to the plate.

As for selling the farm. That is what a good auction is for with today's prices. A good friend of mine just retired this passed winter/early spring. He was really thinking about taking a pretty good offer on his ground from the current tenant. I have/had nothing against the renter at all. I just told him that how does he KNOW what is a good offer on his farm these days???? His farm has two very moneyed fellows on each side. He was offered $10K per acre for the farm, 365 acres. That is nothing to be insulted by. At the auction the land brought $14000 an acre. So he made an additional $1.45 million on his farm. So private sales can leave a lot of money on the table these days.

But with the embarrassing looking planting I'm not too eager to sell to them.

Click to expand...

Who wants to look at a sloppy planting all year long??? Any farmer worth his salt should understand that.......