How would you evaluate....?

[Britesea]

I think you should proceed very slowly with this. Definitely get a business contract etc- maybe even get a lawyer in on it (if this ends up working long term, you also need to discuss things like what happens if you die before them?- are they suddenly kicked out of their home, or do they inherit all or part of it?). 150 acres sounds big enough to give each of you some space of your own, which would be paramount. If you are not a good judge of character, you could end up in a very nasty situation.

On the other hand, if you are lucky, this could be an ideal setup.

 

[Wifezilla]

The problem is the people with the right attitude and mind set to do the hard work often don't have that youthful body needed to carry out the physical labor! LOL

No, not all youngsters are lazy no-goodnicks... but these days there does seem to be something missing in a lot of the youthful crowd. Boy am I sounding old all of a sudden

 

[Beekissed]

I've known many people who have contracted with young couples to work their farm and stay on for the long term. These people didn't have any children or had children not interested in farming or caring for their parents when they become elderly. The most successful of these contracts are made to where the contracted couple get all or part of the property and the results of their labor(houses, barns, livestock) when the original owners can no longer do the work, grow infirm, or must go into long term care. They are generally "hired" in this way to caretake the farm, most of the hard work, and general help for the owners.

A lot of people will work hard if they think that their labor will result in something tactile. It's a little uncertain to just offer them a place to plonk down a double wide or trailer, a place to grow food and work the land, without something long term and concrete as a reward. Those contracts are iffy on both sides, I imagine. What if a couple's prodigal children suddenly realize that dad's land is worth something after all and want them to get rid of their contracted help? What if the owners, having taken advantage of free labor and development of their lands suddenly decide to end the contract once buildings, fencing, ponds, greenhouses, etc. are built?

The best of these relationships I've seen are the ones found through friendships, good recommendations in the community, relatives, etc.

 

[animalfarm]

Try em out first. Make a short-term contract first and if things go well, try them for a longer term. But before you do the short term contract, try them out for a week, or even a day. You know a lot more about someone after you have worked with them for a day.

We would do an short term employment contract first so that they didn't have any tenancy claims ect.. If things were good after a decently long interval, a proposal would then be presented to them to continue under the new terms. These people would also need to know if they could tolerate us as well since we would always have the final say in changes to the property. We do not want be miserable and we don't expect the others to be either.

 

[animalfarm]

I think you should proceed very slowly with this. Definitely get a business contract etc- maybe even get a lawyer in on it (if this ends up working long term, you also need to discuss things like what happens if you die before them?- are they suddenly kicked out of their home, or do they inherit all or part of it?). 150 acres sounds big enough to give each of you some space of your own, which would be paramount. If you are not a good judge of character, you could end up in a very nasty situation.

On the other hand, if you are lucky, this could be an ideal setup.

If things worked out over a very long term, we would subdivide a parcel out from the farm that they would 'buy over time' with their contributions being the method of payment. As to dying before them, that is what insurance policies are for and terms can be clearly stated for pay out. Please let me know any errors in my thinking.

 

[animalfarm]

The problem is the people with the right attitude and mind set to do the hard work often don't have that youthful body needed to carry out the physical labor! LOL

No, not all youngsters are lazy no-goodnicks... but these days there does seem to be something missing in a lot of the youthful crowd. Boy am I sounding old all of a sudden

This is what we are worried about. We are already having to do most things for ourselves as no one seems have a work or moral ethic to do a job fairly and well. We are hoping to find someone who would honestly do their part according to our standards in return for home and food security. We have lots of 30 somethings who come out for the week ends to help out, but they have the attention span of a gnat and no one can turn in a physical 1/2 days work without melting. It wouldn't be a problem if we thought they would stick with it and get conditioned, but they can't put the phone down long enough to hammer a nail, shovel poop, or plant a potato. God for bid if they get a bug bite. I find it a bit disgusting that I even said such a thing. With unemployment as bad as it is, we think it is just a matter of time before we run into someone willing to turn over a new leaf.

 

[animalfarm]

I've known many people who have contracted with young couples to work their farm and stay on for the long term. These people didn't have any children or had children not interested in farming or caring for their parents when they become elderly. The most successful of these contracts are made to where the contracted couple get all or part of the property and the results of their labor(houses, barns, livestock) when the original owners can no longer do the work, grow infirm, or must go into long term care. They are generally "hired" in this way to caretake the farm, most of the hard work, and general help for the owners.

A lot of people will work hard if they think that their labor will result in something tactile. It's a little uncertain to just offer them a place to plonk down a double wide or trailer, a place to grow food and work the land, without something long term and concrete as a reward. Those contracts are iffy on both sides, I imagine. What if a couple's prodigal children suddenly realize that dad's land is worth something after all and want them to get rid of their contracted help? What if the owners, having taken advantage of free labor and development of their lands suddenly decide to end the contract once buildings, fencing, ponds, greenhouses, etc. are built?

We are not asking for anyone to invest money into our property; we don't want that. We just want to give someone who finds this way of life enjoyable and is willing to work for it a bit, a place to live and food to eat that will cost them nothing but a good attitude, and some sweat equity towards a self sufficient life style. That and about $2000.00 a year is just about all that is required.

The best of these relationships I've seen are the ones found through friendships, good recommendations in the community, relatives, etc.

We are new to the area, and don't really have any friends as we have been expating for the past 16 years. Our relatives don't qualify and our kids are still exploring their own opportunities but we have boat load of food and a roof over our heads and don't mind sharing with someone having a hard time through no fault of their own and maybe helping someone get a new start.

I agree with you as well. I am of the opinion that children do not have a right to an inheritance. My children have been raised to know this. If I leave something behind for them, lucky them. If not; tough doodoo. We are not rich but we own our farm outright. My children are welcome to live with us and help out. If they choose not too, then they have no say if someone else takes the opportunity that they refused. We are on good terms with our kids but they are not farm kids. They know what they will have to do if they want to come home for more then a visit.

This farm is me going back to my roots before I die. If someone were to move in with us and share all the trials and tribulations, then they could expect a piece of the pie for their own and I would feel good about it and so would my kids. If they are greedy, they sure have been smart enough not to let us know about it.

 

[lorihadams]

Could you put in a trailer or something on one piece and rent it out with the understanding that they are hired hands? Maybe write it into the rent contract that a certain amount of hours of work per week/month is required to keep the home. I would imagine that you could find someone that is looking to do an internship kind of thing somewhere...I would agree that you just need to invest in a good lawyer that will help draw up agreements that will protect you in case TSHTF.

 

[Icu4dzs]

This is one of the most difficult of all the questions I have asked myself for the past 5 years. After reading all the posts, I see a common thread. First, most recommend a good contract in writing. We all know that there is no such thing as a perfect contract. Otherwise there would only be one or two lawyers in the world and even they would disagree in some way.

That ability to find that "perfect match" is just as difficult for you as it is for anyone seeking that perfect partner with whom to share one's life. We all know that the most sacred of contracts made between people often ends in disastrous results. The only contract that appears to some extent "indissoluble" is the result of the "exchange of genetic material" and sometimes even that can fail. You can divorce your wife, but you just can't divorce your family or children.

What I hear you saying is that you want help in return for which you are willing to offer some form of security. In this situation, a contract is the optimal way to establish the parameters of what you offer for what you require. It should be in writing and should clearly include termination of the contract parameters which you, the "employer" need to establish. In essence what you are searching for is that proverbial "soul mate" that is so often quite impossible to discover. Regardless of how hard you try, the human condition has many weaknesses and among them are greed, cunning, and treachery. While i am not suggesting that these are the overarching characteristics of all humans, they are unfortunately present in all of us to one degree or another.

To that end, I would agree that a short, employment contract, detailing the rights and benefits of the contract be carefully and clearly spelled out. Once you establish the desirability of the prospective "employee" then it would be wise to consider offering the contract to them ensuring that they understand what your limits are and how you intend to establish them.

I had a similar situation and despite my best efforts to help a person adapt to life on a farm, they rapidly became more of a "sea-lawyer" than "a member of the family"(despite the fact that I live alone) and quickly began to attempt to negotiate issues that were outside the terms of the situation.

The contract therefore, must contain the ability for rapid and summary severance of the contract by the employer (that's you) in the event of some egregious or unacceptable action on the part of the employee. Our laws in this country are so convoluted and complex that no potential employer or other person who wishes to write a contract will ever find one that approaches perfection. Most of us realize that even the most sacred of human contracts is dissolved over 51% of the time in this country regardless of what the consequences become. The problem occurs when the "law" and civil authority conflict with the will and authority of G*d.

My question is "have you explored such a situation with members of your family?" such as siblings, close cousins, etc. I understand your children currently have no interest in the situation but that can RAPIDLY change in the event that their "big city careers" go down the sewer with the economy as it currently appears might happen. Your children are still your best investment and have the most to gain and the best interest of any one individual. Taking in other non-related "family" can as mentioned above result in some very hard feelings between parents and children once the reality sets in that the children are essentially "out of the picture" for all intents and purposes. If you don't have a legal Last Will and TEstament carefully detailing their role and rights as you see them, the folks with whom you establish the new "family-style" relationship stand to lose everything in a court case against your children. Check into this carefully.

We are rapidly approaching a time when we are going to see changes in how we interact with other human beings, both financially and emotionally. Family members will show their "true colors" and some will return to the fold and others will only "stake a claim" in something they have done nothing to help. That is unfortunately, the truth of human nature.

I wish you the best and as many here have said, short trials and careful contracts will give you the best option to determine if what you are looking for actually exists.

Of significance is what I call my "Prime Observation" and that is "EVERYONE NEEDS KIDS THEIR OWN AGE TO PLAY WITH". I find this to be the best of the processes to select partners of this kind. Regardless of your age, people your own age are more likely to be enough like you that they become easier to evaluate. Additionally, it is important to realize that anyone who is willing and available to do what you want will often have failed at their own attempts to do what you are doing and that is an important issue. What are the causes for their failure? What are their health issues? How will they be able to do what is needed? A lot to consider but certainly as some have said and so have you, there are those who think living on the farm is a "cool idea" but the reality of the novelty rapidly wears off and they seek other things. As they said in the Navy, "widows are the best risk for a second marriage" and that is so true.

Unfortunately, it is OUR fault that they are like that. We allowed them to do what they wanted as children and now we are paying the price; and a heavy one it is.

I hope that each of us who responded to your request for advice has been to some extent successful in giving you some insight as to how to go about it. I am very interested in knowing about your results.

Trim sends
//BT//

 

[Avalon1984]

The 20 brain cells is the hard part. We were looking for farm hands for our horse farm and blew through 4 in 1 year. All we asked was that they show up on time, do the job well, call in if needed and let me know if they didnt get something done. We even bought them small Christmas gifts and paid them well. We finally gave up since we didnt need the aggravation. People just dont want to work hard anymore. Oh, and God knows, if the weather is bad they REALLY dont want to work.

Sounds like you needed Denim Deb for the horse farm.

I only have 2 more weeks left, and don't want to work on another one! But, yeah, you needed someone like me. I show up on time, do the job well, call if needed, let you know if something doesn't get done and work hard-no matter what the weather. In the 2.5 years that I've worked there, I only missed one day, and that was for my SIL's funeral. I'd also do things w/out being told if I saw that it had to be done, even if I wasn't told to, but I would let you know it was done.

Your hired. When can you start?