Leasing Pros and Cons - Need Help

[djohn9713]

I am seriously considering trying to lease some property within an hour of the greater Akron area for next season, mostly so my son and I can hunt together. I have been asking everyone I know about property and have come up dry. I have come across two sites online. One site doesn't seem like it is current anymore (I have emailed and called and no answers) and the other has nothing reasonable currently available.

So, any tips when it comes to considering a lease? Pros and Cons? I have decided against buying anything, but I would like to get out more than a few days here and there.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[rooster85]

I've leased before, there's good and bad. It's not bad if you're close enough to manage it and keep folks off it.

 

[cspot]

If I was serious, I would look at doing 2 things. First I would drive around and knock on some doors trying to get permission to hunt and/or offer a lease. Secondly I would watch the local paper in that area and may even run an ad myself.

A couple things to watch out for. First you have to know exactly what you are getting in return for your lease. Some leases are just for gun season or just for archery. Are you allowed to put in food plots? Do you have exclusive hunting rights? The list could go on and on. Make sure you have everything in writing. I would look to go with a short-term lease until I got comfortable with the owner.

Also there are a ton of horror stories of scams out there. People leasing property that they don't even own or leasing it to multiple people.

Personally I started looking to lease and ended up buying a bit of land next to public land. Very happy I did, but owning isn't for everyone. Leasing has it's advantages as it is easier to switch properties.

 

[Jackalope]

I wouldn't go through a service but thats just me. Why pay the overhead. Do your scouting on maps and try to find different areas to check out. Go knock on the door and talk to them about hunting. Its people who don't allow hunting that you want to talk to. Once you think you've found a good spot and they're willing to lease then go talk to the neighbors about hunting. Try to find out if they allow hunting, if not does their family hunt etc. Don't tell them about your plans to lease the neighbors place, you're just trying to gauge surrounding pressure. Remember, you don't need to lease 200 acres, just the right 20. And lastly get everything in writing in a lease contract.

 

[Bigcountry40]

How long you lived in Akron area? You have any good friends or family that live in the rural suburbs?

 

[djohn9713]

Thanks everyone for the input. To date I have been trying a little bit of everything. I have asked pretty much everyone I know about property, have contacted the local farm bureau, run an ad, and even sent out some letters to properties I found online. The only thing I haven't tried is knocking on doors. A few people I know have put me in touch with property owners, but so far I have had no luck with getting a positive response. I will keep pushing on my end and figure the lease is a last option scenario, but wanted to know if it is a good or bad one.

 

[Bigslam51]

Gotta get out and knock on doors! I'd probably laugh if I got a letter in the mail asking for permission to hunt.

 

[Hortontoter]

In my mind, owning trumps leasing every time. Your land is a good investment and you answer to no one about what you wish to do with it. Only problem is that most land within an hour of Akron is not cheap. I drive an hour and 10 minutes from Akron to my property in Carroll county. A drive I find not bad at all to hunt. A smaller parcel in the right place can work pretty well. Figure $3,000-$4,000 an acre in Carroll County for vacant land. Stark is much higher and going north of Akron, you best have some deep pockets.

 

[Fletch]

Gotta get out and knock on doors! I'd probably laugh if I got a letter in the mail asking for permission to hunt.

As Chad said best way is to get out and knock on doors... A year or so ago I mailed out close to 100 letters with no response.. I even checked local newspapers for hay for sale ads figuring I'd call and see where that got me. This approach yielded one woman giving me an ear full... She said you sneaky SOB... This approach takes the cake and she hung up. Down right nasty. So get out and knock on doors sooner or later you'll knock on the right one.

 

[Big_Holla]

Check Craigslist often, up here in Michigan that is the way to find land for the most part. If you don't have anything secured by summer you should definitely go knocking on doors with your son in tow. You may run into a honey-hole that the farmer won't lease but with your circumstances might grant you guys permission. Just don't do it during planting or harvesting season.

 

[motorbreaker]

To me the biggest pro or con is the people you may have on the lease with you. The early years of our lease were all friends for years and everything was great. But after some of the guys moved on and we had to get new people things went down hill. Trying to find new people that would fit in proved tougher then you'd think. We have went through a few young guys the last few years who talked a big talk but never did the walk.
Money has been a big issue. Guys think once they pay for there part of the lease that there all covered. But as everyone knows there a lot more to it then that. Minerals, Cameras, Propane for the camper, Stands. Money has been a big problem for us. Another thing is when these new guys expect to bring there friends or family hunting during the best part of the rut. And then get pissed when you tell them no. When they do bring people they don't wanna pitch in for propane or anything. I've had enough with it. The neighbors have a lot of guys hunting so I offered our lease to them this year. They took the lease and offered me to hunt with them. While my hunting there may be more limited. I'm happy to be done dealing with all the bullshit. People and money will be your biggest issues.

 

[Milo]

People are creatures that craze personal attention. A letter is lifeless and uninviting. Clean yourself up, don’t look like a jack wagon and don’t drive your truck if you have it all hilljacked out. Id focus on properties that currently don’t have hunting on them and see if you can offer enough to help them with their property taxes.

 

[Murphy31]

We had a lease in Carroll county from 2013-2016. The land owner had zero care What he did on it. He never really even talked to us till the last year. Started talking about some the trail cams he could see that were on his cornfields. We showed him some pics we had, and Ill never do that again. The winter of 2017 he said he wasn't lease anymore. Him and his brother want to start hunting again. In 2015 we also had one in Ashtabula county. The landowner was super anal. No cutting shooting lanes, You can only walk in here, no partying (that one made me laugh, but he was dead serious). He was always watching what we were doing there. He was nice to us to though. This year, we found a new one in Muskingum county. The 2 bothers that own the farm are super nice guys. They only wanted us to have fun, and kill some deer. No rules were given to us about what we could, or couldn't do. I have never had any bad experiences. Nothing ever stolen. No guys on cams that shouldn't be there. Never any issues with bad neighbors. We even had a stand over the line on state land this year. Stand or cam never got touched. No one even walked past the cam which is good, but kinda weird seeing how no one seemed to be hunting it. We found 2 of them on craigslist, and got one from a leasing company.

 

[bowhunter1023]

People are creatures that craze personal attention. A letter is lifeless and uninviting. Clean yourself up, don’t look like a jack wagon and don’t drive your truck if you have it all hilljacked out. Id focus on properties that currently don’t have hunting on them and see if you can offer enough to help them with their property taxes.

Hey, my truck is nice. [emoji23]

 

[Jackalope]

We had a lease in Carroll county from 2013-2016. The land owner had zero care What he did on it. He never really even talked to us till the last year. Started talking about some the trail cams he could see that were on his cornfields. We showed him some pics we had, and Ill never do that again. The winter of 2017 he said he wasn't lease anymore. Him and his brother want to start hunting again. In 2015 we also had one in Ashtabula county. The landowner was super anal. No cutting shooting lanes, You can only walk in here, no partying (that one made me laugh, but he was dead serious). He was always watching what we were doing there. He was nice to us to though. This year, we found a new one in Muskingum county. The 2 bothers that own the farm are super nice guys. They only wanted us to have fun, and kill some deer. No rules were given to us about what we could, or couldn't do. I have never had any bad experiences. Nothing ever stolen. No guys on cams that shouldn't be there. Never any issues with bad neighbors. We even had a stand over the line on state land this year. Stand or cam never got touched. No one even walked past the cam which is good, but kinda weird seeing how no one seemed to be hunting it. We found 2 of them on craigslist, and got one from a leasing company.

Sadly that happens more then you think. Show the landowner a picture, tell them something, just trying to be friendly and the next thing you know his grandson gets a walmart crossbow for christmas and you get the boot. Had it happen to me, seen it happen to others. Hunted one property for three years without seeing a soul. My wife calls me one day while I'm in the stand because there was a sherif deputy at my house asking for me. She asked why my truck was found abandon on property I shouldn't be on. I told her I had permission from the landowner and was actually hunting. She told me that the landowner and a sheriff were at my truck and I should walk out and meet them. I get out to my truck and its not the landowner it is worthless ass son who dug out his old 12 gauge and decided he wanted to go hunting. Never seen the guy out there in 3 years. Permission slip cleared it up and I was on my way. The following year I spoke to the landowner about permission and he said that I couldn't hunt because his son wanted to. Drove by that property many times on my way to hunt a different property and never saw that shit bag again.

 

[OhioHunter88]

Anyone have any idea on a typical going rate for leasing? $ per acre?

 

[Just 1 More]

I've leased hunting tracts for the past 20+ years. IMO, it's cheaper to lease than it is to own if the only thing you're using the land for is hunting. Over the past 20+ years i've spent less on leasing big tracts as opposed to paying for one little tract that may or may not work out to hold big bucks. Leasing let's you move around if one tract doesn't work out for you then you lease something different. I still hold a lease in SW Georgia that I refuse to give up. I have a great group of guys that hunt it and cover the lease yet I keep it in my name for future use if I choose. A couple of us have 2000 acres leased in Kansas. No way could we ever afford to buy that much land in yours or my life time.

 

[Murphy31]

Sadly that happens more then you think. Show the landowner a picture, tell them something, just trying to be friendly and the next thing you know his grandson gets a walmart crossbow for christmas and you get the boot. Had it happen to me, seen it happen to others. Hunted one property for three years without seeing a soul. My wife calls me one day while I'm in the stand because there was a sherif deputy at my house asking for me. She asked why my truck was found abandon on property I shouldn't be on. I told her I had permission from the landowner and was actually hunting. She told me that the landowner and a sheriff were at my truck and I should walk out and meet them. I get out to my truck and its not the landowner it is worthless ass son who dug out his old 12 gauge and decided he wanted to go hunting. Never seen the guy out there in 3 years. Permission slip cleared it up and I was on my way. The following year I spoke to the landowner about permission and he said that I couldn't hunt because his son wanted to. Drove by that property many times on my way to hunt a different property and never saw that shit bag again.

It sucked for sure, but it was his land so I had to move on. I'm still a touch salty about it though.

 

[Murphy31]

Anyone have any idea on a typical going rate for leasing? $ per acre?

We have paid 15, 22, and 25 dollars an acre

 

[Jackalope]

Sadly that happens more then you think. Show the landowner a picture, tell them something, just trying to be friendly and the next thing you know his grandson gets a walmart crossbow for christmas and you get the boot. Had it happen to me, seen it happen to others. Hunted one property for three years without seeing a soul. My wife calls me one day while I'm in the stand because there was a sherif deputy at my house asking for me. She asked why my truck was found abandon on property I shouldn't be on. I told her I had permission from the landowner and was actually hunting. She told me that the landowner and a sheriff were at my truck and I should walk out and meet them. I get out to my truck and its not the landowner it is worthless ass son who dug out his old 12 gauge and decided he wanted to go hunting. Never seen the guy out there in 3 years. Permission slip cleared it up and I was on my way. The following year I spoke to the landowner about permission and he said that I couldn't hunt because his son wanted to. Drove by that property many times on my way to hunt a different property and never saw that shit bag again.

The "she" in the story being a sheriff deputy not my wife. Lol. Thought i should clarify after rereading.