Land and timber, independent of the other, have value. Sometimes when land with timber sells, not long after the sale, the new owner harvest some or all of the timber, and the timber pays the new landowner what he just paid for both the land and the standing timber. When this happens, everyone quickly realizes that the buyer had better or greater knowledge than the seller. The buyer knew what he was buying. The seller did not know what he had and what he was selling. If you are buying, selling, or if you are an agent or broker representing a buyer or seller with timber on the land, you need specialized knowledge. You need know know that timber has value. Timber can be a valuable asset. Land with scattered timber may not be worth much at all. But land with nice, thick timber, close to a mill, and land with a higher better use may be worth $10,000 an acre or more.
When buying or selling land with timber – the timber may be worth a lot of money. A buyer may be able to use the standing timber to help pay legal advice selling land some of his costs of the deal or as immediate profit. Forestry-land-consultants can provide a buyer or a seller with great advice with an interest or opportunity to be involved in the sale of the timber. Transactions happen where one side values the timber too high or too low than the actual timber value. For example, the landowner with the help of a qualified land consultant – determined the value of his timber was $400,000 with the timber and the land combined. A buyer decided on his own that the value of the land and timber was worth nearly $2,000,000 and paid $1,400,000. The opposite is also true. A buyer determines the value correctly is higher than what the land owner will sell for and the value of the trees helps pay for the transaction. Coincidently, this can be true of any natural resource a property may have. For example, gold, silver, fresh water that the buyer in turn bottles and sells, etc.
Buyers and sellers of land and timber need to be educated on the values of timber and the costs of harvesting. There is a procedure to be followed in determining the timber values. Buyers and sellers need to know the process. Agents and brokers working with buyers and sellers need to know the process. They need to know how to read and how to understand maps and photos, measure acreage, timber inventory procedures, products and utilization of the products, and they need to know market value. There are different types of timber and timber sales. Buyer, seller and brokers of this kind of real estate need to know the types of sales available, why they exist, and how they work. Computer growth and yield programs showing how timber stands grow is specialized information land agents and brokers who deal in land need to know and understand to best serve their clients. A correctly performed profitability analysis of various scenarios from the buyer or seller’s qualified agent or broker is highly valuable to the buyer or seller. Regardless if buying or selling, a forestry – land consultant is knowledgeable in the timber business can make you money.