So I've been on this hunting lease for about 12-years. Each year I get an envelope from the agent with the new lease agreement and a return envelope to sign and return with the check. He sends the check and (presumably) the lease agreement to the owner. But only the first year have I ever gotten a signed, fully executed copy of the lease paperwork back. Of course they always cash the check. Except last year, the check had not cleared after 9 months and I had to call and ask them to deposit it.

The land owner is 85 year old lady fighting cancer. Tough situation and she tries to manage everything herself. Which explains not depositing checks.

Well tonight the land owners whack job daughter calls and starts in about how I don't have a lease becuase they have not signed it (which they never do), said I never signed it (which I always do), and that the old lady owner mistook my check for something else and not the lease fee, even though in the note line I wrote "Deer Lease Fee 2020". All this just 2 weeks before bow seaon opens and while I have already cleared brush, mowed roads, been feeding corn, put out my ground blind, etc.

They are all kinds of screwed up.

I guess I chalk it up to not "forcing" the old lady to send me a signed copy. But how do you that with a 85-year cancer patient that lives 400 miles from here who I've never even met in person?

That sucks.
But an 85 yr old lady w cancer has bigger worries.
Taking the high road might be the end of hunting there.

I had my good spot of 19yrs sold without warning....was friends w the landowner ( guess a divorce was looming )

Had to hunt state ground and other for a couple yrs before getting a smaller place to hunt. Not as good either.

Turkey hunting has been a challenge but after a few yrs i think i can score on public close to home.
Again, not good like my old spot, but doable.

Pain in the ass.....but i kinda see it as a challenge. Just accept it and move on, it works out eventually.

Condolences.

For a long time I benefitted from the generousity of a good friend who gave my family free, unfettered access to the property he owned. All things come to an end, however, and that sort of arrangement is largely a thing of the past. Even paid access to private land is tough to find here, but fortunately we are blessed with many large and small public tracts, one only about 15 minutes away. Not likely I'll kill any Booners there, but the woods are very nice, and I can make meat. I have some stands tucked into good spots, which so far haven't been futzed with, probably because they're a mile from the parking lots, and also because they're secured.

This year, I'm somewhat concerened about the possibility that pressure will be a lot higher with so many people off work because of the Plague, but we shall see. I'm also considering hunting at a preserve or lodge, if I can find one, in hopes of getting a big one.

Good luck finding a new place. I've heard public access in TX is limited, but it can't hurt to check into that.

If they cashed your check, marked for 2020 lease, it would seem you do have an agreement. ????

I hunt public land a lot and am thinking the same about increased pressure this year due to so many people out of work. I have a 5 thousand acre state forest 2 miles up the road I normally hunt quite a bit. After the first week, there's usually not many other hunters in a normal season.

Bad luck man.

Even worse timing.

Like said above, lady has worse things to deal with now. I’d chock it up as a loss and move on.

Lost lease I’ve hunted on over 10 years last season. Landowner decided to sell.

A co-worker had a deal similar to yours. He had a handshake lease with an elderly woman to hunt land she owned for a fair price.
Then her kids found out they could get even more from out of state hunters.

No way I’d say let it go. They are just trying to fugg you( Family it seems). If they cashed your check then you have a agreement. Why sit back and let someone walk all over you like that. They are hoping you will do nothing. That’s why they are acting this way
I’d give them 3 choices

Refund my money
Continue the lease this year since you have already paid
Go to court to settle it

I’m guessing one of the first two seeing as if their mother signed a check and cashed it from you for a lease your gonna win

This.

DF

That’s the route I would take. Sympathy’s for the old woman but the daughter is just being a biatch about it....

Exactly. The old woman it seems would have never done you like that. Her family is using this opportunity for their own financial gain. If they do you like this who else are they cheating or screwing over

Guess I’m confused about paying last year for this years hunting.

I lease a small place with my dad.

2020-2021 deer lease is due June 2020.

If you paid last year for 2019-2020, you got your monies worth.

If you paid last year for the 2020-2021 season, then it with the others. Pursue it or at least get your money back.

The offered to refund the money, but I don't want that I want the lease. A little too late to find another place for opening day in 2-weeks. I will take it to small claims court and let the Justice of the Peace, Rusk County Texas, Precint 3 decide. At least the "lady" will have to drive here from Houston to be in court. I'll get some satisfaction from that.

I've paid annually for 10+ years. I just paid her on 7/6/20 to hunt for 2020-2021. She cashed the check.

I just hate this kind of thing. Truth is, I am blessed to have the money to buy my own 100 acre place, but I don't ranch and would use the place 3 months a year, so it'd be an expensive hunting place.

Talk about jerking the rug out from under a fellow. Pretty low of the daughter to pull that, especially this late in the year. Wish you luck with it.

I understand now. Mistook you original post as last year was the last you paid. ( as last time the took your money )

My mistake and sorry for your troubles i this.

The sane thing worries me about the spot my dad and i lease.

Older folks. Out of town. One day someone will offer them more than we will pay or their kids will end up with it.

Lost s lease I hunted in Coleman county for 25 years. It sucked.

Lost one in Polk county I’d been on for 15. Timber cutter wanted it, so than ran us off. Some guys had been on it 40 years.


Sorry you lost it!

It's really sad to me to hear of all that because
I'm seeing more and more of it in this part of
the world. I see more and more old farms and
ranches cut up and turned to mini ranches or
subdivisions, or the larger ones into hf hunting
resorts. If I live long enough, I can foresee a
time when there won't be any affordable lease
land, only hf preserves like you see online with
premium lodging and gourmet meals and a
" menu" and price list of different antler sizes.

I lost my lease two years ago because I wasn't really a regular leasee. I was a fill in. One of two brothers who had been on it for 40+ years and knew the landowners personally decided he wanted to put his son in law on it. I being the lesser leasee was kicked off. I had hunted it for 7 years. Anyway, I'm still looking for another one.

Lumber on private land is a farm crop. All crops need to be harvested sooner or later and your's came up this year. The only difference between this and leasing a stand over a corn field is that timber is a long term crop while corn is an annual. That's how farming works.

You'd think theyd want someone on the property and maintaining roads, keeping an eye on things, especially if they are 400 miles away

That sucks though....especially right before the season.

this

this

I would be planning an exit strategy on getting your stuff off the property and your money back in case things don't go your way. Unfortunately I've been through a similar situation and in my case I found that landowners rights in Texas most often overrule any type of lease agreement even with a contract. Im wishing you the best and hope this works out to your best interest. It seems that just about anytime the offspring of the landowner you have been dealing with get involved problems start. At least that is my experience.

I was invited to a lease for free a couple of months ago, but I turned it down. Im sure the guys that are paying on the lease would find out sooner or later that I wasnt paying anything and I dont care for drama and never have. I did thank the guy who offered it to me though.

Update on this mess:

So Drama Daughter texted me after the phone calls inquiring how much I had "invested in the property". I presume she thought to add that amount to the lease fee and pay me that total back since she is so fair and honest. I never responded and have not heard another word since then. That's like 10-days ago. She never said she was going to refund and send a check, she only offered to which I refused. No one (Owner, agent, etc.) has ever said verbally or in writing "you're off the lease, get your stuff off, a refund is on its way to you now".

Facts are: I paid the owner just like I always have. The Owner deposited my check. I've never heard one word from the Owner, just some cranky woman I've never heard of or met that claims to be the Owners daughter. The Owner still has my money.

Archery deer season opens tomorrow and I'm going hunting. I can't hunt from 10/15 thru Thanksgiving becuase of work. So I'm going to do my darndest to take a couple deer with the bow before then just in case and before the Owner actually does something.

I'll take most of my gear out on the afternoon of 10/14, leaving just the feeder. I'll just use a climbing stand anytime I get out after that. If I loose anything it'll be a 15-year old rusted up feeder.

Crazy woman's name is Deborah Gilcrhist. Soon there will be notes in every truckstop and restroom with "For a good time call Deborah xxx-xxx-xxxx".

I was in a similar situation. I had no real legal grounds in my case to fight it. In my case there was a lot of family bs going on. Seems like the temperature of that was dictating how I was dealt with. Might be something similar going on in your case. I was not officially booted until all that boiled over. In your case unless you are officially notified that the contract is null and void I would just continue with business as usual.Prepare for a quick exit if need be.

As for revenge your call on what you think is right. But in my case it was real odd that after I was off the property the game warden had all kinds of anonymous tips to investigate. Building inspector was out there a lot too.

If it were Me I'd try to get My money back and spare Myself all the drama. As for revenge, I could care less about getting any revenge on the crazy daughter of an 85 year old lady that has cancer.....Good luck....Hb

It has certainly ruined by season. The joy has just been sucked right out of it.

If it was just me, I'd probablly agree. Get the money and be on my way. The drama sucks. But there are two other gents on this lease with 2 boys. They would all loose their hunting seasons.I especially want the lads to get in a few archery hunts on the weekends before 11/1. One weekend dow and 2 to go! Then I'm really not sure I'd care either way.

This mess has about convinced me to drop $200k and buy my own place. 75 acres can be had for that, and that'd be plenty. I retire in a few years and I must just go into hermit mode.

$200K for 75 acres? Wow! 200K would buy at least twice that much hunting land in My neck of the woods and 75 acres will be mighty crowded with 5 hunters....Good luck with your situation and good hunting....Hb

East Texas is $2500/acre, depending on lots of things. Crazy here and getting higher by the year.

75 acres would have to be just me and one or two others, max.

Places I used to cull hunt for free in west and central
Texas now charge $1500-1700.00 for a "meat " deer
2 day hunt.
"A" deer as in one (1)

Wow! That is some crazy high prices to meat hunt..I guess I am truely blessed with 10's of 1000's of acres of some of the best public hunting any hunter could ask for that has very good deer/turkey populations where a meat deer is easy and if you do your homework (like I do) a 150"+ buck is not out of the question....Good luck and good hunting in East Texas 👍......Hb

Too many people, not enough land. Prices bound to rize as Texas gets overpopulated. Dove hunting has become a "corporate" thing where all the field are bought up and $150/day/gun is the norm. A working man can't afford to hunt and it will eventually kill the hunting sports. I don't ever see teenagers dove hunting anymore.

Yeah it sounds like the working man hunter is being squeezed out in Texas and as for no youth hunting? I think that is everywhere. I only know of a few young hunters in My area and I seldom see anyone hunting thats less than 40 years old...young people today have little interest in hunting/fishing...The Outdoor Sportsman is a dying breed.....Hb

My nephews are 14 and 16 and can't get enough hunting. Thank god we live in a state with millions of acres of public land and permission to hunt private can still be had for the asking.

Does the daughter have a vested interest in the land or her mother's power of attorney? If not, tell her to pound sand.

I was also invited to a free cull hunt about 10 years ago and didnt go. Told a coworker about it and he would have went in a heart beat. I had no idea they were that expensive.