Brad Neihouser | Commercial Broker

If you are thinking about selling your farm or making a change in tenants, early fall is a really good time to give your tenant notice. This is especially true when you have a handshake lease or verbal lease—and there are plenty of those in farm country. That kind of relationship is a wonderful thing, but you might be surprised how quickly things can turn ugly when a tenant is not properly notified that they will not be farming the property the following year. If proper notice is not given by December 1, the tenant may be able to come back and say, “We are farming that farm next year for the same rate we farmed it this year.” Believe me, the law is on their side.   No one likes sending a registered letter, but it is good business and easy enough to do. It does not mean you have to replace your tenant. It simply keeps your options open.   If you decide to sell the farm, you do not have a tenant hanging around. If you want to explore the rental market, you are free...

When Co-Owners (Siblings) Cannot Decide on Inherited Farmland   You would think this situation never happens, but it happens all the time.   Mom and Dad pass away and leave a really nice 240-acre farm to five siblings. They leave it undivided, which basically means they are telling the next generation, “You kids figure it out.”   In many cases, Mom and Dad did not have the courage, or maybe the heart, to make those decisions while they were still alive. So now the kids are left to work through it.   And I can tell you, these situations can get extremely tense.   Many times, it pits one sibling against another. One wants to keep the farm. One wants to sell. One may want to farm it. Another may live out of state and just wants their share. Everybody has a different goal, and everybody has an emotional attachment of some kind. So that brings us to the question: What Do You Do?   The first thing you have to do is get an accurate appraisal of the property. You n...

When the Auctioneer Says “Sold,” the Job Is Only Half Done You own a beautiful 160-acre farm. You hire an auction firm to sell it. The advertising runs for six weeks. The signs are up. The promotion is done. The crowd shows up. The bidding happens. Then the auctioneer says, “Sold.” You had a good sale. So now what? My philosophy has always been, when we say “sold” at an auction, we are only half done. There are still several things that can go wrong, or at the very least, make the process harder. Can the buyer get their money together in time to close? Are there title issues that unexpectedly show up? Are there survey issues that jump up and bite us when we were not expecting them? All of these things, and more, can usually be handled carefully and gracefully by an experienced real estate broker and auctioneer. But if the broker does not have the experience, the process can start to flounder. Then you have a real mess on your hands, especially if the buyer says, “I’m not closing until...

Cash Rent: The Third Rail of Farming If there was ever a third rail in the farming business, it would be this: the amount of cash rent someone is getting for their farm. Cash rent is an incredibly hot topic, and it is usually kept very quiet. There is no public database where you can look up exactly what every farm is renting for. Most tenants do not want to disclose what they are paying a landlord because they are afraid their other landlords will find out and raise their rent accordingly. And understandably, most landlords do not want to disclose that information either. They may be afraid their rent is too low, and they do not want to find out that a landlord down the road is getting $50 more per acre. So what is one to do in this situation? I specialize in helping landlords determine the right amount of rent for their farm. You might ask, “What is the right amount of rent?” The answer is not always simple. Land value is driven by soil quality. Rental value works much the same way. ...

What Makes a Good Farm Sale? Many farms sell across the United States every year, but what makes a good farm sale? Not every farm sale is a successful one. There are times when a sale is handled poorly. The seller may not be satisfied with the price received, but by that point, may feel as though he or she has no other choice. Below are four important factors that make for a truly successful farm sale. 1. Does the Auction Firm or Selling Firm Truly Know the Seller? Does the firm understand the seller’s goals and aspirations for the farm sale? Or are they simply going through the motions, trying to get the farm sold as quickly as possible? A good farm sale begins with understanding the seller and what he or she hopes to accomplish. 2. Does the Firm Truly Understand the Property? Does the auction firm or real estate firm understand the property they are selling? Do they know the farm well enough to properly represent it in the marketplace? A firm should take the time to understand...

You might be thinking about all the blessings in your life—your spouse, your kids, your grandkids, your business, or even your investments.   Guess again, buttercup— not even close .   Your number one wealth, hands down, is your health .   Because when your health craters, everything else falls apart . It doesn’t matter how much money you have, how successful you are, or how many people love you—if your health is failing, it consumes your thoughts, drains your energy, and steals your focus. It becomes the only thing you can think about. It overwhelms every other part of your life.   Health is the foundation that everything else is built upon.   And if you’d like to know how I know this firsthand , I’d be more than happy to share my story with you. Shoot me an email or give me a call—both of my contact details are below. I'd love to connect.