What would you do? Not BP related.

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MrTom

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Ma has a 1/4 interest in some acreage and a cabin in northern Minnesota. The cabin is not modern but is electrified. The well pas a pump. The property has a garage, lawn tractor and a couple decent chain saws. For the most part, the only ones that see the property during the summer months is Ma and I. I love doing the lawn mowing up there as well as what we call the main trail which is twenty feet wide and about 3/8 mile in length. There are several small trails that branch off this main trail and they total about 2 miles.

The rule on mowing there is that hand mowers are to be used on the smaller trails and that the tractor/mower is NOT to leave the main trail as the terrain is simply too rough and beats the deck to pieces if its used to mow. On four occasions in the last three years Ma and I have driven to the cabin to mow only to find that someone has been there ahead of us and that the tractor needs repair before it can be used. Of course nobody will fess up to having been there and its obvious that the tractor was taken on the trails. This last episode has come to be the last straw. I've never seen the tractor in such bad shape and then we find that the service center in town will no long provide a short term loan of a trailer. This meant driving back home 255 miles, getting a trailer, driving back up and delivering the tractor then coming back home. Now we'll have to go back when the tractor is fixed. This will equate to about $210.00 in gas alone, plus we'll have to pay for the repair work, just like we always have to do. Needless to say I have finally reached an end to my patience for this, so......

Yesterday went out and bought an 8' X 5', drop-gate utility trailer. Then I bought a 20 hp John Deere tractor. The 42" cutting deck will allow me to get in the tighter areas fine. The extra hp will give some added umph if the grass gets too long too fast between mowing. The tractor is hydrostatic drive and has manual blade engagement. It also is adaptable to a front mounted snow blower or blade or a rear mounted tiller. I have no intention on messing with those add-ons, only a decent well-powered mower.

Ma and I have had a good chit chat on this cabin mess and we've decided that this new tractor is the way to go for us by taking it back and forth with us. It will not be at the cabin if we are not. Since I own it and have no voice in the cabin this is what I will do. She is writing a note to everyone with a voice in the property to let them know that we will be responsible for the mowing, but at our convenience. I'll mow the lawn except for rough areas and I'll mow the main trail as long as its not puddling water. The repair bill for the other tractor will be paid for by the other three co-owner this time payable in 1/4's of the bill's total.....they'll all be getting copies of the bill we covered. The letter will also include a statement indicating that we will no longer be using the cabin tractor so whoever is using it and breaks it will have to repair from here on out. They'll also be informed that this new tractor is not under joint ownership by the cabin crew as its owned by me, not Ma. Its never getting loaned out nor will the trailer. The ones that use the cabin the most other than Ma and I are very well to do and can afford to buy their own trailers and tractors but honestly their too friggin cheap and as long as Ma is will to pay for everything why should they.

Ma thinks this will create a rift but that's fine with me. One other owning parties is behind in tax payments and owes 1/4 for that last well pump pull which as 4 thousand bucks. Another will not agree to spending any money on regular upkeep but her husband is quick to claim the cabin for two weeks during the deer season and burns 90% of the cut wood that I and a couple others split. These two elements also have a area in the yard where they've hauled in gravel and put in "their" own electric service so they can park trailers there for a couple weeks at a time, never mowing and always using the cabin's electric to run the well pump. I don't feel sorry for these dead beats and as for mowing around their little piece of heaven, I plan to leave the grass grow there. The last 1/4 of the ownership will pay when asked but insists that her kids be allowed to use the cabin at will. We've found the whole cabin and garage left completely un-locked and the window covers just stacked against the outside walls after they've left with the power still on and the lp and pilot lights in the stove on. All told, Ma has been informed that I'm not happy with how that place is managed so if there's a problem with my new mowing program, she can refer them to me.

I told Ma that she seriously need to call in her sisters and have a round table telling them that things are going to change. If any of them owe her for taxes or well repairs, she wants to collect now or she will have to sign her 1/4 over to Ma. The others need to be told that they have an obligation to cover their 1/4 interest's worth of maintenance costs at the end of each season for the buildings and the machinery and a portion of the cabin's electric bill for pump use. No pay, no use, including hunting and camping. They need also be told that if they burn the cabin's firewood for the hunting season they need to replace it the next summer season. No wood replaced, no hunting. Then rules for trail upkeep have to be laid out, meaning if people insist on have the trails mowed, they'll have to use the hand mowers, not the tractor. Ma will inform all of the other ownership components that since we will no longer be using the cabin tractor, the costs for repair or replacement will fall entirely on those three.

I love it up there and mowing is absolute mind medicine for me. If Ma didn't stop me to take a break or come in and eat I could mow all day, but the stress of finding things all beat to heck and not working after driving all morning is taking its toll on my attitude toward that place. Ma absolutely loves it there but she's really starting to tire of the expense being laid out on her and finally I think she's convinced that the way to get some relief is to just step up and stick it to the others. I told her to tell them if they don't like following some simple rules for the place to get out, that she'll buy them out at the taxable value of their 1/4/. I'm tired of the two of us being put upon, what would you all do in this situation. And for the record, Ma is the oldest of the four owning entities, all women.
 
Man it is a shame to here how some family members can do others like this. Some think a place just don't need to have any upkeep and would let a place just fall apart and then wonder why it did. I agree with your plan. Hope they come around and start contributing like they should. Best of luck to you.
 
Mt T it's terrible familys have to be like that but seems the way it goes nowdays. I think your on the right track of thinking. I'd reply more but it would probably get deleted.:mad:
 
Take a deep breath. See if you cant get them together in some way (meeting, Phone Conference call, someway). Have an agenda and send it to all involved. Give them time to think of your position and theirs. Some members of the family may be happy with minimum maintenance while others want a spit and polish approach. Some of the kids may have been there and as kids are not as responsible ( thus being called kids) for turning off utilities before they leave. Make a list of things to do before leaving and ask all to abide by it. Go through the issues 1 by 1 and have all agree on the solutions. Maybe write up a code of conduct. If people know whats expected of them they are more likely to do it.

All this will be a challenge and Ill bet very difficult in the end. Take a deeper breath, be patient, be fare.
 
I know it's family, but these kinds of things can turn ugly and result in families not talking till the day they pass on in some cases. I also think that if there are certain family members taking this kind of advantage of the place with zero thought of their toll on the place or the others that use it, then no amount of rules will change them. They'll just resent you for trying and then do worse things just for spite.
Perhaps, if you could tolerate doing so, you should step away from the whole thing for a year (other than your share of taxes of course). No mowing, no wood cutting, or anything you normally contribute. I'm betting that would be a pretty big eye opener for some of them. Now that I'm thinking about it though, the lazy ones probably still wouldn't care. In my experience lazy people can tolerate a lot to preserve their being lazy.
I personally would rather buy everyone else out as a 1st option, and would sell out as a 2nd option. I would do so at a fair market rate and hope to preserve the family relationship by doing so. Either way no one can say you weren't fair about it. If your wife just can't let go of the place and the others aren't willing to sell, then you're just going to be stuck with having to deal with the other's shortcomings. Bringing your own equipment is a good idea so that the equipment costs of others being stupid and lazy won't be a drain on you anymore. You'll just have to go up there will lower expectations if you want any chance of enjoying your time there.
 
Here's my take on this at least as far as the tax thing goes. Whoever owes their share of the taxes and well pump repair should be notified that they have 30 days to come up with the money or lose their part of the ownership. If they don't pay or set up a payment plan then you change all the locks and give the new keys to the remaining owners.
 
Nothing has changed. We just returned from there Friday. Mowed again, third time this season. We've been to a lawyer and the way the property was willed we are stuck unless all four sisters agree to sell and do a 4-way split of the proceeds or if the other three agree to sell to the wife, and that has been offered and nixed. The property itself has a taxed value. The buildings are in need of repair/replacement so no value. The well has basically a replacement value, meaning its worth what it would cost to replace it. The three sisters that won't budge think that the property is worth maybe six or 8 times what it is actually valued at because of today's ridiculous real estate market and all of them have eyeballs that look like a slot machine with dollar signs.

I just drafted a letter, by the lawyer's advice, to each of the other sisters indicating that even though they do not use the property, ever, they still have a responsibility to maintain it. That includes the mowing. The mowing in total involves about 2 1/2 acres. I have a record of each mowing since the opening thread was posted and feel that $280.00 per mowing trip is a fair price for my time and fuel expenses plus the usual amount of wear and tear on tractor and trailer and van and that the total to date is to be split three ways between them and payable to ME, since I am an outside entity with no claim to the property except that this accumulated mowing bill to which I can use to apply a lien on the property. That's $70 per sister per mowing. Basically, since the wife, Carole, asked to hire me to mow, all four sisters are stuck with the mowing bill. Fortunately, the wording in the will was specific to maintaining the property including the mowing, so now the other three sisters have a bill that is legit and one that I can use not only to get paid by the cabin's sale, if and when it happens, but also a bill that I can attach to each sister personally to attempt to collect. By the end of this mowing season, when the letter will go out, the total per sister will be in excess $1400.00 dollars and will be a legal bill that I can force payment of, and non-payment can result in a smear on each of their credit scores. SO, there is a way to make them sit up and consider selling as opposed to the property costing them more than just taxes each year. I'll be mailing the bills to each party by registered mail. Then we'll see how the Christmas family gathering goes. lol
 
I presume that if one sister can hire you, even with a conflict of interest, the other sisters can fire you.

I can imagine the sisters arguing in court that the mowing agreement between your wife and yourself is an attempt to defraud. Good luck, nothing is worse than dealing with family, too many members feel they are entitled, or are angry because they think another family member got one more Tootsie Roll than they did 50 years ago.
 

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