LAST UPDATED MAY 13, 2008
Q: Exactly how much land comes with this property? How much of the open fields seen in the pictures are part of the property or is it just the immediate area around the house?
A: Let's start with the legal description:
A tract of real estate situate in the Northwest Quarter (NW/4) of Section Sixteen (16), Township Twenty-two (22) South, Range Twenty (20) West, Pawnee County, Kansas, described as follows: Commencing at the Northwest corner of said Section 16, thence East along the North line of said Section a distance of 350 feet for a place of beginning; thence continuing east along the North line of said Section, a distance of 370 feet; thence South a distance of 300 feet; thence West a distance of 370 feet; thence North a distance of 300 feet to the place of beginning.
This property is almost an exact square. Two sides are 370 feet long and the other two sides are 300 feet long. This means the land is 111,000 square feet, which is equivalent to 2.55 acres. The property is almost exactly square in relation to the four directions, north, south, east and west. In other words, the northern boundary runs almost exactly east and west, the eastern boundary runs almost exactly north and south, and so forth.
As you can see from the legal description, the northern boundary and the southern boundaries are 370 feet long, while the eastern boundaries and the western boundaries are 300 feet long.
The house is situated close to the western edge of the property, half way between north and south edges of the property. The Quonset building is in the north central area of the property, about half way between east and west. The barn is almost exactly in the middle of the property. The eastern 1/2 or so of the property is open field with a few trees and some fence posting.
Q: I wanted to know about the 2 1/2 acres. Is the house sitting on it or are they separate?
A: The house is sitting on the 2 1/2 acres.
Q: What are the actual dimensions of the 2.5 acres: how is the land laid out length and width?
A: The legal description says that this property is 370 feet by 300 feet by 370 feet by 370 feet by 300 feet. It is a perfect square. See the first question and answer for more details.
Q: Can you describe all of the fences?
A: The property is fenced in on 3 sides. The fencing is the typical western post and barbed wire type. The fourth side of the property, the north side, is open.
There is a small corral, about 1,000 square feet in size, off the east side of the barn, whose enclosure is wire fencing that is about 3 feet tall. This fence is completely intact and undamaged.
There is a larger corral, square in shape, and about 2,500 square feet in size, off the south side of the barn, whose enclosure is fencing made out of horizontal and vertical wood posts. One side of this corral is, of course, the south wall of the barn. The 50 foot wood post fences on the east side and on the west side need only minor repairs. The south side wood post fence is damaged in some spots and missing in other spots. It needs to be repaired or replaced with a new fence on that side. Once this approximately 50 feet of fence is repaired, the corral and barn combination would be sufficient to keep a horse.
Q: Are there good places to keep pets on this property?
A: Out here in the country, pet dogs who the owner knows will not run away or get lost are frequently NOT confined to collars and chains. At night, pets that the owner did not want to have in the house could be bedded down in the barn, in the quonset building, or in the basement of the house.
Q: What is happening around the property in the adjoining fields?
A: Some of it is cropland and some of it is used for warm weather cattle grazing.
New Questions and Answers as of April 30:
Q: Regarding that man hole surrounded by the cement in the photo: is that the cover of the well, or is it to a storm cellar?
A: That is the cover to where the the pressure tank for the well/plumbing system is. Along with the pressure tank, there are of course the outgoing pipes and the incoming pipe coming up from the well below. The pump that projects the water up is actually down in the water. In other words, it is a submersible pump. The whole system continues to work perfectly well.
Q: How deep is your well?
A: Someone told me how deep most of the wells are around here but I forgot what they said. If I had to guess, I think it is about 100 feet down below the surface.
Q: Who owns the land surrounding the property?
A: A farmer who lives 1/3 mile away owns the land to the north. He has a mixed crop and cattle operation. The land on the other three sides is owned by someone who does not live in the immediate area. He uses his land for cattle grazing in the warm months of the year.
