532 FARM MANAGEMENT 



crops belong to the buyer, unless otherwise arranged, but 

 in order to avoid misunderstandings, all such things 

 should be in the contract. Fence posts and fences that 

 have been used, go with the farm, but posts, lumber, wood, 

 and fence wire that have never been used, also all har- 

 vested crops, are personal property and do not go with 

 the farm. But it is much better to go over all possible 

 points of difference in advance, so as to avoid misunder- 

 standings. 



Frequently, the farm equipment and stock can be 

 bought with the farm at a price that will pay. 



It is often wise to see how much a bank will loan on the 

 place. If by borrowing at a bank, money enough is 

 available to make a cash offer, it is well to offer cash. In 

 many cases, an offer of all cash will bring a considerable 

 reduction in price. 



The deed should ordinarily be drawn by a lawyer, but 

 this does not mean that one should assume that it will be 

 correct. Very many persons sign papers drawn up by 

 lawyers without reading them carefully, assuming that 

 everything is all right. Nothing should be assumed. All 

 papers should be examined more carefully than if one had 

 drawn them h'imself. The writer has had a number of 

 contracts drawn for the purchase of farms, and in about 

 one-third of the cases, the lawyer has made a mistake. 

 Usually these have been found by careful reading; but in 

 one case the lawyer's error made the writer pay the taxes. 

 He was directed to draw a contract so that the seller paid 

 all taxes for the year 1906, but instead drew it with 

 some legal verbiage that called for payment of taxes 

 assessed before January 1, 1907. It happened that year 

 that the legal assessment was delayed a few days after 

 January 1. Lawyers are just about as accurate as other 



