multiple owner/operators for TLB around homestead....Good Bad or Ugly?

[Jstpssng]

This sounds like a good way to turn "great folks" into "rotten neighbors." And remember, they are wealthy now because they were smart with their money years ago.

 

[ericm979]

Or they were lucky.

 

[tradosaurus]

If they have immediate projects that need done figure out a way to buy it yourself, then hire out to your neighbors. The money they'll pay you will get your money restored. Then you can decide whether to hire out for their future projects or simply donate your time/machine.

Or have them pay your fuel costs. I borrowed a friends cheap riding lawnmower. One of the back tires went flat on me because of tire rot. Even though my friend said don't worry about it I bought a tire for it anyway.

 

[Omega Woods]

I am going to agree with the consensus. If you're a few thousand short, borrow the money. Maybe even borrow it from them so long as you sign a promissory note at a fair rate and make your payments religiously. I wouldn't recommend either course of action but I recognize that every situation is different.

IF you ignore everyone's good advice, at least hire an attorney to draw up an agreement that everyone is happy with that lays out in detail maintenance costs, buy out procedure, who pays for what when, etc.

 

[tradosaurus]

Or they were lucky.

Or were royalty or the last name of Kennedy, Bush, Clinton, etc.

 

[texasranger556]

I agree with the others, find a way to buy it yourself.

If you do follow through with joint ownership, a friend of the family joint owned an old backhoe with a neighbor. They agreed to put some dollar amount into a joint checking account for every hour they used it. Then when something broke there was money to buy the parts (they were both able to turn wrenches). Even that has issues because an hour digging rocks or stumps is more likely to break something than 8 hours of grading top soil or trenching in soft ground with a good operator.

Is $2000 worth straining/losing a relationship with a friend/neighbor?

Good luck!

 

[Jstpssng]

Or they were lucky.

Very rarely does that happen. Getting a fortune by luck is a lot easier than keeping it.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

hey folks, just a quick question regarding the purchase of an older case 580k for our 30 acre hillside homestead.

I'm considering going in on this machine with my 2 neighbors. I know every situation is different and it all depends on specifics of chemistry and friendship etc but here's the basic scoop.

I've only got about 80% of the $$ needed for this purchase and I pitched it to my two neighbors and they're interested in kicking in a few thousand to be part owners. they've got some earthmoving projects around their properties but it will be used at my place for the lion's share of her duties, and I'm spending the lion share of the $$.
there's even a high probability that when they need something done, it will be me behind the wheel, but not 100%

they're both great folks, and incidentally they'r very wealthy. they're not going to miss the $2k or so they'l spend on this.

our plan is to use this bigger rig to get all the big projects out of the way and then sell/trade to get a smaller tlb (Kubota-ish) for upkeep and general maintenance around our properties. at that point we would share the profit or loss on the resale of the 580 and possibly kick in some extra $ for a newer smaller machine. and obviously I could buy them out at any point along the way if either of them want out, just hopefully not both at the same time....

does anyone have experience doing something like this?

horror stories? dumb idea?
**** show? or great way to build up the community, get some projects done and pool our resources to get the most value?

thanks!

Friends are friends, neighbors are neighbors, and banks loan money... I wouldn't do it...

 

[EddieWalker]

Another thought. Lets say you all buy it together. That means you all have to agree to sell it, and for what amount? Does the guy who broke it and had to put the most money into it get the most out of it? Does everyone realize that it will sell for less then you paid for it? Sometimes a lot less? What if the other two team up against you and say that you are the problem, not them, and that you need to pay more money?

 

[Ortimber]

I'm with the others, don't get into a partnership. If the motor grenades when neighbor A is using it, do you pay the lions share to get it fixed?

My dad and I co own a big excavator for our ranches. We split the payments 50/50. I would feel bad having him pay for 50% of the repairs if it broke when I'm using it, and he probably feels the same way if it broke when he's using it. We never really talked about how to deal with repair costs.