TIMBER SALE: JAN 7, 2025

Selling 11 acres of timber in Blue Rock, Ohio

Learn how we helped a couple get $33,650 for their timber in Muskingum County

Seeking professional help to sell timber

An elderly couple who own timbered land in Muskingum County needed to raise money to help cover the cost of moving into an assisted living facility.

Their daughter, who lives in a neighboring state, found our website and contacted us. She wanted to understand the value of their timber and learn whether selling some of it could realistically help fund their upcoming expenses.

We were glad to step in and help this family evaluate their options, and the outcome exceeded their expectations.

Visiting the property to evaluate a potential timber sale

On December 10, 2024, their daughter, who lives in Indiana, contacted us to ask if we could provide an accurate evaluation of the timber on her parents’ land in Blue Rock, Ohio.

She explained that their health had declined to the point that they needed to move into an assisted living facility, and that doing so would involve significant expenses. They were not interested in selling their home or the farm it sits on, but they did need to find a way to generate income from the property. Selling a portion of their timber appeared to be the most practical option.

Her parents were fortunate she reached out to us first instead of contacting local sawmills in that situation. When landowners approach a mill directly while under financial pressure, they are negotiating from a weak position and are unlikely to receive full market value.

Our certified foresters have many years of experience marketing timber to loggers and sawmills. Our role is to represent landowners, create real competition, and secure full market value for their timber.

We agreed to complete a full evaluation and assured her that we would find a way to help, regardless of what the timber stand ultimately proved to be worth.

This is what we observed when we reviewed satellite imagery and later visited the property in person

We completed a full timber cruise and found a strong volume of marketable timber, more than enough to cover the amount they needed to raise. We called the family that same afternoon with the news.

They asked us to design a harvest plan that would generate the required income while leaving a healthy number of quality trees to continue growing for future harvests if additional income is ever needed.

Selecting and tallying the timber to sell

Species	Trees	Total BFV	% of BFV	Avg. DBH
Black cherry	10	2,316	4.9	21
Black oak	10	3,129	6.6	23.4
Black walnut	2	520	1.1	20.5
Chestnut oak	28	9,899	21.1	24.5
Hard maple	26	4,802	10.2	20.1
Red oak	51	17,862	38.1	23.4
Soft maple	1	180	< 1	20
Scarlet oak	4	944	2	22.8
Sycamore	2	866	1.8	24
White oak	7	1,900	4	21.3
Yellow poplar	10	4,445	9.4	23.4
TOTAL	151	46,863	100	22.7

BFV = Board Feet Volume, which calculates the amount of lumber potential in a stand
DBH = Diameter at Breast Height, which is the standard way to take this measurement

This is a light selective harvest and, as you can see from the aerial photo of the property above, it leaves thousands of other healthy trees to continue to grow to maturity.

Soliciting competitive bids from multiple timber buyers

Once our forester completed an accurate timber inventory, we prepared a formal Notice of Standing Timber Sale and distributed it to qualified, reputable loggers with a record of doing good work.

As with every sale we manage, the notice included the key information bidders need to properly evaluate the timber, including:

• the detailed timber inventory
• authorization and scheduled access to inspect the stand
• clear bidding instructions
• a firm deadline for bid submission

We invited 20 sawmills and logging companies to participate. We did not simply call a local sawmill and ask for a single offer.

Here’s why.

This family needed to receive full market value from the harvest. To make that possible, we cast a wide net and created real competition by soliciting bids from multiple honest, qualified loggers who could both pay fairly and be trusted to carry out the work properly.

Because of competitive bidding this timber sold for $33,650

Because the timber stand was relatively small, and the terrain it stood on was challenging, we expected to receive bids not much higher than about $25,000. When all was said and done, however, we received 6 bids in the following amounts:

Bid amount	$ per board-foot
$33,650	.718
$30,112	.642
$29,100	.620
$21,500	.458
$16,400	.349
$14,500	.309

The spread between the bids in this sale was substantial. The three lowest offers were severe underbids for this timber. Those numbers closely reflect what many landowners are offered when they simply call a local sawmill and ask for a “best price.” In those situations, there is no competition, no professional representation, and no protection against low offers.

By marketing this timber properly, our client received more than double what the two lowest bidders offered, and 56% more than the next highest bid. That difference is not luck. It is the direct result of having an experienced forester create competition and manage the sale. When timber is sold this way, it becomes very difficult for anyone to take advantage of a landowner with a lowball offer.

On January 7, our client accepted the highest bid and immediately received a deposit of $8,424.50, which represented 25% of the total sale price. A formal harvest contract has been prepared and will be signed by January 17. The logger will then have to pay the remaining $25,273.50, which is the final 75% of the sale price, before any equipment enters the property.

Key takeaways from this timber sale

MORE: Read about a larger timber sale we managed in Monroe County

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