Free pond - see any problem?

[Industrial Toys]

Kind of like asking for pre-nup. Gind of spoils the warm fuzzy feelings that she had for ya.

 

[airbiscuit]

Kind of like asking for pre-nup. Gind of spoils the warm fuzzy feelings that she had for ya.

Funny but true. I knew a guy that had a marina, and used his crane to pull out sailboats from a friend's marina just to help him out - didn't charge all that much - handshake agreement. His friend sold it and it became a condo. Those out of town "experts", asked him for a bid the next year. He didn't give them a bid, but asked them for a bottle of brandy. They asked him why he wanted a bottle of brandy. He said it would take that much alcohol for him to figure out why they were questioning the best deal they ever had. The next year it cost members more than twice as much for someone else to pull their boats.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I built mine years ago and left a island in the middle of it has a huge oak on it, and has so much wildlife on it . . . they love it (ducks etc.).

Smart man! Do you have a pic?

The previous owner dug my pond 50-60 years ago. The island would have been easy to do then.

 

[Gem99ultra]

My last "Good as Gold" handshake deal didn't turn out that well for me.

I would want a contract stipulating IN WRITING what to expect the final product to be.

I absolutely agree with you on "Good as Gold". That translates to me as "Fools Gold". The last contractor that I used threw out that "My word is my bond" around frequently, even with a handshake. All of that guff turned out to mean exactly nothing at all. A detailed written contract, witnessed, is now my minimum.

Another point is "There no free lunch." Careful with agreeing to a free pond. In case things don't go well, they're harder to fill back up than they are to dig out.

 

[TomIre]

In case things don't go well, they're harder to fill back up than they are to dig out.

Yes, but . . .

What I want is a pond. If he even gets one scoop of dirt out, I'm ahead of the game. Not sure why I'd fill it back in, in other words.

 

[kc5dlo]

I think I would invite him over and have a walk around and let each other discuss what they are expecting. Location, shape, size, depth, time to do the job, etc. As long as there is no deal changing disagreements I say go for it. Asking for a deposit or payment for the dirt starts to make you sound like the guy on Craigslist offering free firewood, you just have to have insurance, and the dead tree is leaning over his house.

 

[TomIre]

Thanks, we've done that walk around already. In fact, he didn't really want to discuss it much on the phone before we met. I think he was sizing me up as much as anything!

 

[Industrial Toys]

The contract our one farmer brought around didn't even have a due date for rental payment or what the ramnifications would be for late or no payment. That was supposed to be a "standard" contract. What good is that? It's probably worth about as much as a handshake.

You would have to include "unearthing an Indian Burial Ground" clause too!

 

[BHD]

In our state it is my understanding to remove the soil in that manner would require a mining permit,

another question, do you own the mineral rights to the land? (that could come into play).

at the least I would consult with some one in the know, since if some one in the governments that could have a say, EPA, army core of engineers, agriculture department, state, regulators, declare you have done some thing illegal, it could cost you thousands a day in fines,

 

[TomIre]

Under an acre = no regulations.