Posted

Raw land that has been abandoned for sometime comes with the challenges of trying to “control” access to a vacant property; and until we begin living at TenirBon more permanently, we actually have little control and recourse for such a large and remote parcel. However, there are a few significant steps that we made to possibly help lessen the worry of being absent landlords.

Know your neighbors: We are fortunate that our neighbors, while they may be a few acres away, are permanent residents and also have a vested interest in protecting and caring for their property and the adjoining ones. Since the beginning of this journey, we were able to introduce ourselves to several of them, share our contact information,  future intent and update them on current and future activity on our land.

Posted: Posting property boundary lines are another aspect of protecting your land and expressing your wishes, even if you’re not there to enforce. New York State has specific guidelines for posting your land to ensure proper enforcement if necessary. This by no means is full proof but can make a difference if you have a consistent issue that needs to be addressed and can protect you against personal liabilities. 

Permission: In rural communities many families have hunted and used the surrounding land for generations, and at times this familiarity turns into permission (whether directly given or not and no matter how long ago) and even a sort of ownership and entitlement. It’s important to reset boundaries and permissions, when possible, so that your intentions are clear and firm. In our case we found 4 tree stands for hunting, 2 were being used by our neighbors. We did not have an issue with our neighbors’ stands, but we were clear with our intent and use of the land, and that hunting should not interfere with our time visiting or developing the property, and, permission would change once we were there as residents.  

We ordered our signs from a Veteran owned custom sign company that preprinted our name and address on metal; this will last much longer than typical signs you may find at your local hardware store. And with metal signs in one hand and a hammer in the other – we POSTED the road frontage boundary lines of TenirBon.