...and I end up with 4300 acres. :shock: At least that's what it's looking like.
I accompanied him for a meeting with his bank in Caracas last Wednesday. Interesting conversation to say the least.
The fellow owns two ranches, one which borders mine and is only slightly smaller at about 850 acres. This one is his main business as he's got his cattle and facilities for milk production, some meat production, and bermuda sales.
The other place, "Los Chivos", is located a few kilometers to the west of us and is basically undeveloped though many years ago it was productive land. Since he bought the two places a number of years back he's done virtually nothing with Los Chivos and the place is really overgrown.
In a nutshell, he used both places as a guarantee for an agricultural loan and has fallen behind on his payments. The shameful part is that he borrowed on a fraction of what the places are worth. He's a poor money manager and like most Venezuelans, loves to party.
Without going into a lot of detail, the bank is going to keep both places as collateral until the loan is paid off. If the details can be worked out, I'm going to pay off the loan via crop production on Los Chivos. After that, it's mine free and clear.
Lots of work indeed. And had the tract been just about anywhere else, I'd have not given it a second thought. But I've seen the land (located between two rivers) and it's good soil. And every local I've spoken to has said the same.
I'll keep you guys posted.
I accompanied him for a meeting with his bank in Caracas last Wednesday. Interesting conversation to say the least.
The fellow owns two ranches, one which borders mine and is only slightly smaller at about 850 acres. This one is his main business as he's got his cattle and facilities for milk production, some meat production, and bermuda sales.
The other place, "Los Chivos", is located a few kilometers to the west of us and is basically undeveloped though many years ago it was productive land. Since he bought the two places a number of years back he's done virtually nothing with Los Chivos and the place is really overgrown.
In a nutshell, he used both places as a guarantee for an agricultural loan and has fallen behind on his payments. The shameful part is that he borrowed on a fraction of what the places are worth. He's a poor money manager and like most Venezuelans, loves to party.
Without going into a lot of detail, the bank is going to keep both places as collateral until the loan is paid off. If the details can be worked out, I'm going to pay off the loan via crop production on Los Chivos. After that, it's mine free and clear.
Lots of work indeed. And had the tract been just about anywhere else, I'd have not given it a second thought. But I've seen the land (located between two rivers) and it's good soil. And every local I've spoken to has said the same.
I'll keep you guys posted.