Determination: A Satisfied Customer Story

I first met Joe at a hunting trade show in 2019. We hit it off immediately, two Midwestern guys, both transplanted to Montana, bonding over shared roots in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The conversation quickly turned to land.

Joe had recently moved west and was looking to sell his Minnesota whitetail hunting property in exchange for an elk hunting property in Montana. But this wasn’t just any whitetail farm, it was a gem, the kind of place you don’t come across twice. That meant the bar for a Montana replacement was high. He didn’t have a blockbuster budget, which made things tricky, prime elk properties aren’t known for being affordable.

Nothing suitable hit the market that first year. So, I shifted tactics. Instead of waiting for a listing, I started combing landowner maps and quietly targeting properties that fit Joe’s criteria, those with the right terrain, access, and elk presence, all within budget.

I reached out to a couple dozen landowners. Then came the call that changed everything.

The voice on the line was Dan, a landowner from Wisconsin, just like Joe. Dan’s father had bought the place years ago as a hunting camp, and though Dan wasn’t quite ready to sell, he was open to the idea. He said to stay in touch. I did.

Joe and I kept the conversation going. We’d grab beers, talk land, and swap hunting stories, and keep looking for his perfect place. Over time, a friendship formed. Every few months, I’d call Dan, and while he was always friendly, he wasn’t quite ready to let go of the place.

Then, after nearly three years and many subsequent conversations since Dan’s first call, He was ready.

Joe and I wasted no time. We headed up to see the property for the first time. It was everything we’d hoped for, dense elk sign everywhere, nestled in the heart of a large ranch known for its herd. We made an offer and went under contract. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Then the hurdles came.

First, the appraisal came in at half our offer. The appraiser had no clue how valuable the elk hunting was on that ground. But I knew. Our offer was spot on and the proof came fast: two all-cash, over-asking backup offers came in from other buyers chasing the same dream.

To fight the appraisal, I wrote a multi-page report detailing the added value elk hunting brought to the table. But before we got traction on that, another issue surfaced, one we hadn't seen coming.

A historic first right of refusal was uncovered. It had been granted years ago to a former owner of the surrounding ranch. We hoped it would quietly pass as the former clearly had no need for the property any longer, It didn’t. The current neighboring landowner caught wind of the pending sale, bought the right of refusal for a rumored large sum, and exercised it.

We didn’t go down without a fight. I dug through hours of case law, consulted multiple attorneys, and tried everything to poke holes in the validity of the first right. But the consensus was clear: the right was enforceable, and challenging it would be a costly uphill battle against a well-funded opponent.

Joe had no choice but to walk away.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. He had already sold his Minnesota property and now had a ticking clock to identify a replacement to satisfy his 1031 exchange. The focus shifted, find a solid placeholder property. Even if it wasn’t "the one," it needed to work for now.

Back to the maps. Back to the phones.

Eventually, we landed on a property with promise, stunning mountains, groves of aspens, dense pines, and lush open hillsides, only an hour and fifteen minutes from Joe’s house. Oh and a very slight chance for an elk sighting. We struck a direct deal with the owner and closed it quickly. Then, a few months later, a neighbor we’d previously contacted reached back out. Now that Joe was a neighbor, they were interested in selling too.

We closed that deal, and just like that, Joe had assembled something special. Still, it wasn’t quite the elk hunting paradise Joe had imagined… or so we thought.

Turns out, that “maybe some elk” property sits right in the middle of the only real elk pocket in the region. In his first year of ownership, Joe’s friend tagged a beautiful bull. They saw multiple others and have many trail camera photos to prove it.

Today, Joe has his elk property. Maybe not the one we originally fought for, but one that turned out to be just right.

We still grab beers now and then, sometimes on his porch, looking out over the land he now calls his own. It took over five years of persistence, patience, and determination, but we got there. And every fall, when the elk start bugling in the hills behind his cabin, the long road it took to get there feels more than worth it.