[Ridge Runner]

This was totally unexpected.........

I have visited the property several times. It was a 100 acre homestead with a dead end road bisecting it.

It appears that the undeveloped land on the other side of the road has been left to me from my wife's deceased grandfather! I just got the will and it should be probated in 3 months.

The property is 4 hours north of my home. It is well wooded, fairly flat (as I remember), and has several skidder/tractor trails cutting through it. There is one large open field of about 5 acres.

He left 5 of the acres next to my plot to a local game warden for deer hunting. I just took up deer hunting last year at 34 years old.

Apparently, the grandfather left it to me because I shared most of his preparedness mentality and would "know what to do with the land when the time came."

I really am shocked, I plan on walking the property line with a family friend this summer to get a feel for what I have exactly. The taxes should be minimal and not a burden to my family.

I would like to hear any suggestions about what to do with the property to incorporate it into a long term survival plan. Any and all suggestions & considerations would be appreciated.

 

[CavalryTroop]

You should really just let me have half of it, because i'm a really nice guy.....

lucky dog :thumbsup:

 

[NYprolitariat]

If you're smart you'll have all the valuable timber cut and sold so your smaller trees can grow and produce even more money for you later on.It will help pay the taxes and maybe even help pay for your home or cabin too! Hard maple,Red oak,and Black cherry(min 12-14 inches at the base) are bringing big bucks right now. Even if you only have good,straight pine trees,you'll still make something out of the deal. This may seem l extreme ,but you'll keep your woodlot in good shape for years instead of these big trees rotting and falling over and harming the others.

Look at it as a cash crop like a farmer does. You might have many thousands of dollars if you have any of the trees I stated.They're bringing $500-600/1000 board feet which means each tree may bring you $300-500!!

 

[HuntingWolf]

Find all the water sources on the property. Springs, ponds, and swamps.

How hard will it be to drive a point in for a hand pump? Is the ground rock?

Get soil test.

Find a hill to build on. You want to look down on your land. Build a cabin and root cellar.

I also agree with NYprolitariat, sell the mature trees. You may be surprised at the money. After they come in and cut the trees, gather all wood that is suitable for fire wood.

Just some general ideas.

 

[gojoe]

What do you call Northern Maine? I don't want to Know directly where just a general location.

NyPatriot there are none of those types of trees in Northern Maine, white cedar, white and black spruce, some beach, maple,and lots of poplar, Those who think of Maine as some type of wilderness will be disappointed, The lumber day are long gone. If I were to spend money to go on a wilderness vacation I would not come here.

 

[NYprolitariat]

Gojoe: the trees in Maine aren't too different from those here in northern NY. You did mention Maples and Hard maples are bringing the highest price right now. The fir trees are saleble too,but just not as much. I wasn't talking about millions of trees either. A 40 acre plot should yield some good trees for sale. I'd have someone who knows trees come and do a survey and mark all the saleble trees for future reference just to be sure. It wouldn't take long on 40 acre lot to do this either.

If there are good trees,you could pay someone to cut and skid them out for you and use the tops for fire wood to boot!

Ridge: By cutting down your big trees,this will allow the underbrush to grow back which is what the deer love to eat.So doing this will definitely bring deer into your area if deer hunting is what you like to do!(I know I do!)

 

[Guest]

Ridge: By cutting down your big trees,this will allow the underbrush to grow back which is what the deer love to eat.So doing this will definitely bring deer into your area if deer hunting is what you like to do!(I know I do!)

Absolutely Correct!

The Idea of cutting down the hard woods is a great idea.. my grandfather, uncle and I have been slowly cutting down out big hard woods for the past 10 years. (this is in western maryland)

and the tops of the hard woods, you can make some interesting furniture and/or carvings I wouldnt burn it. Sell it to a craft store at the least...

 

[CJM]

you will need a decent sized house/cabin of some sort, about 1000sq should do ya, then you need a barn and some equipment to plant if your gonna grow your stuff on that field. And a well, a gravity fed one wouldbe optimal but if you must use electric then get a generator and a hand pump on top of the well...

there is much more than that if your into being self sufficent and survivalism but thats the fisrt steps.

 

[mikegunner]

I am not sure about Maine and if there is much of a timber industry there, but check and see if there are any lumber/timber companies nearby. I know quite a few people around my area that have sold the mature trees off their land and the lumber/timber company comes in and harvests them and pays the landholder for what is harvested. Timber has become one of the larger industries in WV and since it is renewable that is a positive. In fact, that was one of the reasons that Whore/Loserman lost to Bush43 in 2000. The Demorats were against the Timber industry and against COAL (Which are the two biggest industries here) and then when they were anti-gun that was the third strike. Bush43 was the first Republican Presidential candidate to win WV since Richard Milhouse Nixon in 1972!

 

[JSS]

Great Windfall Congrats. I timbered out my property in the Catskills. I made a few grand but I got a couple of great fields and some atv trails with a mimimum of labor. I rented a bulldozer and those fields became plantable.
Whatever it is its a nice feeling to have a little piece of nature to call your own.

 

[SniperBait]

Four hours north of you. That sounds like your in my neck of the woods. Congrats.

Once it is yours. Check to see who owns what. I went in on a camp up there many years ago. One fall day I went up to get the place ready for deer season. Had to be 30 people lounging around.

You hear about logging rights, mineral rights...These people had "Tipping" rights. Every year they move from county to county and cut off the fresh limbs of Christmas trees to make wreaths. :roll:

If you want to build a retreat. I would consider buying a prefab concrete junction box. 12x10x8 Bury it and use it as your foundation . They come with man holes. Make a 4" thick 4'x4' slab and set it on the manhole. Hide all your supplies in the junction box. Mount your wood stove on top of the slab as cammo. Hopefully, your bunker will still be there when you visit the place. Everything else will be stolen!!!

If you have any mason skills. I would also build the walls out of cement block. Not for bullet resistance....So that when some tresspasser gets drunk and wants a bon-fire. You only have to put on a new roof. :evil:

 

[Travismaine]

each tree may bring you $300-500!!

As a Mainer I would LOVE to know who is paying this kind of money for trees ! I got 300 acers they can have at for that kind of money !

If your using it as a retreat or as we Mainers call it a CAMP . Leaving the trees may do you better as wooded undeveloped lad has a much lower tax rate .

Travis

 

[NYprolitariat]

Sniperbait is right about rights on your property. These maybe something your relatives never told you about but are included in your deed. Right-of-ways,easements,water rights, and building restrictions in areas that surround national/state forests are very common. But the most important thing to look for on your property is "wetlands"!!!!! The gov't will give you a real hard time if you have any of these on your property and will give you fits over building on or near them.(Imagine them telling you what to do with your own land and then having the balls to tax you for it too? The scumbags!!) The Bunnyhuggers too,will go nuts over you wanting to develop their beloved wetlands and will be at your planning/zoning board meetings enmass protesting any proposals you're thinking about doing on your own property.(just like Nazi Germany or communist Russia isn't it?)

So be procede with caution or you might regret ever having that land willed to you. When people see who the real gov't is when they own property and then even the most liberal person sees how much of a dictatorship we really live in!

Good luck..whatever you decide to do with it!

 

[NYprolitariat]

Travis: Go to a local lumbermill and see what the hard woods are bringing and you'll see!(Hard maples,Red Oak,Black Cherry,Walnuts,etc) If you have any of these on your property,you might have a cash crop waiting to be harvested! After you sell the saw logs,you can either sell the tops for firewood or use them yourself like I do. You make out all the way around as well as having your mature trees cut allowing your younger ones to grow into new sawlog trees! You're not clear cutting so you won't lose your tax reduction(unless you have an entire 300 acre lot full of these hardwoods,then I'd say cut everyone of them to make your fortune now and let someone else worry about developing the land while you go buy a new piece and do it again!! This would sure piss off the tree huggers and fill your pockets with money so you go buy all those toys that cause GLOBAL WARMING!!!)

 

[Travismaine]

Hardwood ? Maybe 10 percent hardwood the rest is pine .

Travis

Ps I have had several people look at it but there just aint money in pine as compared tp the tax break .

 

[Montania]

Why not cut some of the tree's and have a portable saw mill come in and cut it into lumber and build yourself a nice retreat. then decide what you want to do with the rest. just a thought.

 

[NYprolitariat]

:bigidea: :bigidea: :bigidea: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Wild Trapper]

Ridge Runner,
Just got back from a visit to the in-laws and kin folks in southern NY and north-east PA, kind of windy scene :roll: I inherited an old draw knife, missing one handle, from my wife's grandmother when she died. I think she left everything else to some of the more favored family members. Anyway, good luck with the land. Hope you don't have any problems with the other in-laws over it.

Once you take posession I would suggest getting a reliable surveyer to mark out the borders for you unless it is already well marked and get a legal deed search done so you know if anyone has any of those surprise "rights" talked about.

From what you said, there has already been some timber cut off the land, but you should be able to look it over and get an idea if there is much hardwood to be sold. Large trees should be sold off regardless of what they are as that will give new trees space.

You might be best not to build anything of value on the land unless you plan to relocate there, as sometimes people don't respect landowners rights like they should. Check into zoning for water sources and septic systems. Even if you only intend to camp in an RV on it you'll need those two things for comfort. If there is no zoning laws you might be able to dig out a spring for water and build a sort of outhouse for the septic thing.

One thing to be warned about, beware of those people who cut timber. Everyone I've ever known would cheat on the landowner, not paying for all of what they cut. Maybe you know an honest one but I have never known any that were. Anyway, good luck!