Should I leave or remove this section of fence?

[bdog]

I live on 22 acres and just bought 5 more that adjoins me. On the picture my place is the house shown and I have nice pipe fence where the blue lines are. I plan to build an identical pipe fence around the perimeter of the newly purchased 5 acres shown in red.

My dilemma is should I remove the fence where the red & blue meet or just leave it and put a gate? The 5 acres has no water and no easy way to get it there so I can't envision keeping any animals over there and not allowing them to freely come back to the main place. I can't think of any reason I would want to keep this 5 acres fenced off separately from the remainder of my acreage.

On one hand it seems foolish to rip out ~ 350' of perfectly good pipe fence but the wife thinks it will look much better without the fence and I somewhat agree.

 

[Diggin It]

What is your plan for the property?

 

[Scrambler82]

Just an opinion... how are the plots addressed... separately or are they together... on the tax bill.

Reason for asking is IF they are separated and you choose to sell one, I would think it would be easier to sell it without a lot of extra paperwork.

Next thought... how will you be using it ?

Reason for asking, if the fence interferes with your use, then it needs to come down !

Any further plans to separate these lots for children or family gifts, I would think would be easier if they are separated too !

Nice sized area that can also be kept separated on the County Lot Plans but can be used as a joined lot, just things to thing on.

Blowing Smoke AGAIN, and smiling.

 

[bdog]

I have no real intended use for the property. They are building houses around us like crazy. I found out this was going to go up for sale from the previous owner before he even put it on the market and bought it because if someone else did they would surely build a house there and become the closest house to mine. Mainly bought it for the keep the distance factor. My immediate area is hot right now for some unknown reason. I bought a lot of my current acreage at $4,500 an acre and had to pay 20k per acre for this. Granted it is a corner lot with paved roads on two sides.

They are listed separately on the tax bill and that isn't too much of a concern. When we originally bought our house it came with 7 acres and we later bought the 15 acres behind it. They are separate on the tax bill but have no fence between them.

As far as splitting up the property I have no plans to do that. We plan on being here until we die and if we ever did sell I think we would sell it all at once. We do have two kids, 8 & 15 and a very slight possibility would be if one of them wanted to stay in this area let them live in our current house and build us a new one on this 5 acres but if even if we did that there would be no real reason to fence between them.

 

[Diggin It]

You paid $100,000.00 for a piece of land you have no use for just so somebody doesn't build a house there?

 

[Jchonline]

You paid $100,000.00 for a piece of land you have no use for just so somebody doesn't build a house there?

Its done so lets stay focused on the question at hand.

OP do you own the property immediately to the North of the Red box (ie new purchase 5 acres)?

 

[ultrarunner]

A good fence is generally an asset unless it prevents intended use.

Buying to avoid a future problem is a proven strategy...

How many times do problems arise when property changes hands... my farmer cousins faced this and looking back said they should not have passed on the opportunity when a small plot next to theirs was being sold to settle an estate... now they have the weekend neighbors that cause nothing but problems...

 

[Vaquero]

I'd leave the fence. If you have livestock, you can grow hay on the 5 acres and keep the cattle off of it.

PS. I don't blame you for buying it.

 

[bdog]

You paid $100,000.00 for a piece of land you have no use for just so somebody doesn't build a house there?

Sure did. I too thought it was somewhat crazy at first but I really don't want a house there. Where I live is all farmland, no trees. Nothing to block the view of whatever they decided to put there.

In my area real estate values are not too crazy. 200k will buy you a pretty decent place. Nothing like the very high prices in other parts of the world. That being said right where I am the values have gone crazy. I bought my house ten years ago for 275k. Right now the neighbor across the street has his house and 20 acres for sale for 1.7 million. A guy who adjoins my back acreage is currently building what I figure to be a 3 million dollar house. I think I got a heck of a deal on this land and could sell it for a profit in short order if I wanted to.

 

[bdog]

Its done so lets stay focused on the question at hand.

OP do you own the property immediately to the North of the Red box (ie new purchase 5 acres)?

No I don't. It isn't shown on the picture but there is a house on that 5 acres but it is all the way up against the NS road on the east side in the northeast corner of the 5 acres. They just have the land around their house unused and unfenced.

If that place ever comes up for sale I plan to buy it, strip off the land and sell the house.

 

[Citydude]

I did the same thing. We wanted 5 acres and bought 15 additional acres around our 5 for privacy and something for the kids to fight over when I kick the bucket...

You paid $100,000.00 for a piece of land you have no use for just so somebody doesn't build a house there?

 

[Alien]

We have no real close neighbours either and one of them bought the 40 acre block next to them (opposite ours across the road) just so nobody else could build there. All blocks here are around 40 acres.
Good move if you have the moolah to do it.
Keeps people away from our place too.

 

[zzvyb6]

That's worth it even in my neck of the woods. The stopped making land a long time ago. All you need is 1 bad neighbor and you are screwed.

 

[dougtrr2]

I would be in the "leave the fence and put in a gate" camp. But if you take it out could it be used to build the new fence? Shame to waste all the good steel.

Doug in SW IA

 

[lilranch2001]

I think unless you have a specific reason to delete the fence, I would leave it.

 

[bdog]

Form a practical standpoint the fence could probably be removed and the material reused but it truthfully it is more for looks than function. If it were pieced backed together it likely wouldn't look all that great and it would be a lot more labor involved. Right now work is crazy and my time is worth more than my money.

The primary reason to remove it would be for looks. The wife thinks, and I somewhat agree, that if we remove the fence our place looks like one large continuous place from the road. If we leave the fence it looks like the 5 acres is something separate. Kind of a dumb reason I guess but then again as previously mentioned I can't think of any functional purpose the fence would serve leaving it there so if it looks better without it why leave it? Then I go back and think of the 4 long days it took me to build it and hate to tear it down.

 

[ovrszd]

Sure did. I too thought it was somewhat crazy at first but I really don't want a house there. Where I live is all farmland, no trees. Nothing to block the view of whatever they decided to put there.

In my area real estate values are not too crazy. 200k will buy you a pretty decent place. Nothing like the very high prices in other parts of the world. That being said right where I am the values have gone crazy. I bought my house ten years ago for 275k. Right now the neighbor across the street has his house and 20 acres for sale for 1.7 million. A guy who adjoins my back acreage is currently building what I figure to be a 3 million dollar house. I think I got a heck of a deal on this land and could sell it for a profit in short order if I wanted to.

Very wise purchase. And at a good price.

I don't run stock. So I have no cross fences on my 150 acres. I've removed a LOT of fence over the past ten years.

For me, it would improve the open look of your property to remove the fence. Good purchase.

 

[WranglerX]

Keep the fence and add gate, you have already invested in fence, to remove it would be to throw money away unless you can use it to fence new property... And if next year you decide to sell it, you don't have to rebuild fence....

I have 5 acres landlocked behind me and am always in contact with owner in case she wants to sell, But It will stay under a separate parcel from my 5 acres for tax purposes and if down the road whoever inherits my estate wishes to sell it, it is a clear parcel... The real rub is there is a deeded right away across my property to get to the rear parcel...

Dale

 

[fishheadbob]

You paid $100,000.00 for a piece of land you have no use for just so somebody doesn't build a house there?

"Buy land. They stopped making it"
I would not be in a hurry to remove the fence, but would put that in the "someday" category. See what the future brings.

 

[bigtiller]

Keep the Mrs. happy, take it out. Then let a nearby farmer plant a cash crop and share the earnings.