Larsen Poultry Ranch - homesteading journey

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

I'm up to 5 eggs from the leghorns, got two yesterday. I put out the ceramic decoy eggs and the stinkers pecked at them while I was still standing there. No wonder I barely get any eggs. I have most of the parts for the planned roll out nest boxes, just need to get started and get them built.

Lost a silkie hen yesterday, tummy was huge, looks like she was internally laying. She was at least 2, probably 3 years old.

 

[Baymule]

People use your driveway to go to a walking trail? Oh heck no! I know y’all are working on your place, doing all you can, but a front fence would top the list.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

People use your driveway to go to a walking trail? Oh heck no! I know y’all are working on your place, doing all you can, but a front fence would top the list.

Not to go to a trail, but as part of a loop, going from the one neighborhood area through our yard and along our easement road (easement is for utilities and accessing the properties on the road) out to the main road and then back to the neighborhood.

I really want to install cameras and get the front gate done. Need to talk to a real estate lawyer to see what we can do about the access from that neighborhood area and preventing a permanent easement from being established.

 

[Bruce]

Can you not post the property? Once legally posted you can call the cops on them

 

[Ridgetop]

When you bought your property you had to obtain a Title Search from a Title company. That search would have listed all the boundaries, and easements on your property. The easements would have included all utility easements, easements to other properties, etc., in fact any legal access to anything or for any purpose across your property. Then the Title company would have issued a Title Insurance Policy.

Pull the title search document from your purchase documents and read it for any easements that would cross any part of your property other than the utility easement road that accesses other properties. You know about that one, but if there is no public easement to that utility easement from the other neighborhood, then you can block access.

Remember that even though there is an easement across your property not everyone is entitled to use it. Utility easements are for that purpose only and are granted to utility companies to maintain the utilities. The utility easement does not allow any member of the public to use it, only the utility company named.

Easements along that road that are for access to other properties are only for access to those properties by the property owners, and their visitors (personal or business.) That does not mean that any member of the public can just walk along that road. You can also post that road as "No Trespassing - Private Property" and also put up a sign reading "Private Road - No Egress" or "Private Road - Dead End". We are on a dead end private road and any neighbor has the right to stop anyone we don't recognize and ask where they are going. Since we all know everyone on the road, we recognize the names. We all feel safer this way and over the years it has cut down on strangers driving through to sight see or case properties.

Definitely post "No Trespassing - Private Property" signs along the utility easement and along your property where people are crossing to that road across your property. Once you post the signs you have legally notified the entire world that they are crossing private property. This will prevent the establishment of an "Easement by Prescription" or "Easement by Adverse Possession". If there is no easement across your property to the private access road, then fence it off.

 

[Ridgetop]

Can you not post the property? Once legally posted you can call the cops on them

She is in California and the police or sheriff won't come out for simple trespass.

 

[Bruce]

Then what is the value of posting the property if the law won't enforce it?

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

New exciting development! I posted a while back on FB marketplace asking for fill dirt, and yesterday got contacted by someone needing to dump a lot of dirt. So far we are the closest so we might get it all. They are doing the groundwork for a new building. He said it's probably 170 yards.

They are paying for the trucks cause they are needing to get rid of the dirt. Bunny barn building pad might be done a lot sooner!! We will probably need to rent a backhoe or bigger tractor to move the dirt around. I hope this works out and we get the dirt.

 

[Baymule]

That’s wonderful! Yay for free dirt!!!

 

[Ridgetop]

Then what is the value of posting the property if the law won't enforce it?

Because the trespassers cannot later claim that they have set up a prescriptive easement and claim legal right to pass. That is why we tell people that drive over the road across our property behind the gully that they have permission to pass in order to do brush clearance on any vacant land they own behind us. Permission is revocable at any time - like when they start to grade and pour foundations. Then we go to Building and Safety and report that they do not have an easement. Building and Safety pulls any permit they have mistakenly issued to build and requires the person to stop grading and return the property back to the way it was. Then that person decides to talk to us nicely about purchasing an easement instead of just giving DH the bird when he tells them they can't build because they don't have an easement across our road.

Once someone said that the dirt road is a public road (not true) and another time that their easement was on the road when it was in another place. Since the permit people don't know the area, they issue a permit based on what is told to them. When they find out the truth they rescind the permit.