Selling 30 acres of timber in Woodsfield, Ohio
This is another case of a landowner enjoying good fortune because she chose not to just call her local sawmill to come out and bid on her timber.
She wisely chose to get in touch with us instead.
We were able to help her out of a short-term financial bind, with a quick and lucrative sale, while also improving the wildlife habitat on her property.
All the details in this case are accurate. We’ve simply omitted names and addresses to protect our client’s privacy.
Step 1. Reaching out to a forester to help with a timber sale
On September 18, 2024 a woman from Woodsfield, Ohio in Monroe County reached out to us for help with a problem.
She explained that she and her husband (through no fault of their own) suddenly found themselves facing a significant, unforeseen expense that they needed to pay off quickly. Having no option to delay payment, and not wishing to borrow money to pay it, they began to look at under-utilized assets that they could consider selling.
It was extremely fortunate for her that she did not call a sawmill or logger with this explanation, as you cannot negotiate with them from a position of weakness.
She asked us to take a look at a 30-acre timber stand they own and then advise them on the feasibility of selling some rather quickly to meet this obligation.
We agreed, and we offered assurances that we would evaluate it and find a way to help — no matter what the stand held.
This is what we found when we viewed a satellite image of their land.
Our client owns more than 70 acres in this parcel. Part of it was cleared years ago to make way for a drilling platform on the property. No one lives there, but the client’s family hunt deer there every every year. They did not want to sell the property, nor did they want to do a heavy timber harvest that would harm the wildlife habitat.
Uncovering options for their timber
We offered her two options based on the timber value that we could see their land held:
Option 1 – We could mark enough timber for them to sell and cover their upcoming expense, and any income taxes due from the sale;
Option 2 – We could evaluate the stand to find its accurate timber value, identify all the mature trees, create a selective timber harvest plan that would protect their wildlife habitat, and even improve it.
We saw that the property adjoins the Wayne National Forest, and we explained that we could create food plots and bedding areas there to draw deer from the park onto their land, and we could also create natural screens to improve their opportunities to hunt them.
The family conferred and the next day she asked us to send our forester out to walk the property and evaluate their situation thoroughly.
Step 2: Consulting with the family on their timber sale objectives
We cruised the timber the next day, and met with the family to get a complete understanding of their needs and priorities, as well as any additional facts.
After thorough discussion the client retained us to create a harvest plan and market the timber to the highest bidder.
The plan we created maximized their timber harvest yield, while also improving the wildlife habitat as we indicated we could.
And, importantly, we did not harvest all the timber on the property. Plenty of hardwood trees near maturity were left behind so that, after opening the canopy above them, they can grow more quickly and mature in several more years for another timber harvest if the family desires.
The map below shows the bidders the topography of the parcel, the timber harvest zones (in yellow,) two potential landing areas for cut logs (the red map pins labeled “A”,) and the red marker labeled “X” designates the drilling pad on the property.
We deliberately excluded the loggers from the southeast quadrant of the property so that the area can be managed for wildlife habitat. That’s the area adjoining the Wayne National Forest.
Step 3: Selling the timber to honest loggers
Once our forester made an accurate timber inventory, we prepared our Notice of Standing Timber Sale and sent it out to qualified, honest loggers who are known for doing good work.
As with every sale we manage, our Notice contained:
• The accurate timber inventory;
• Authorization and time to visit the timber stand to inspect it;
• Clear instructions for bidding on it;
• A date certain for submitting bids.
Please notice that we invited multiple loggers to bid. We didn’t just tell the local sawmill to come out, take a look, and give us his best offer.
Here’s why we did that:
The client was financially stressed, if only temporarily, and we needed to maximize the revenue she’d get from the sale. Inviting multiple buyers, created a competitive bidding environment for the client’s timber. This ensured that she’d receive more offers at likely much higher prices than they would have if they’d just sold it to the local sawmill.
This table shows all the timber we selected to be harvested. All volumes are calculated using the Doyle Rule.
| Timber Species | Number of Trees | Volume in board feet | Average volume per tree | Percent of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aspen |
11 |
3,466 |
315 |
2.7% |
|
Beech |
8 |
2,998 |
374 |
2.4% |
|
Black Oak |
36 |
17,439 |
484 |
13.8% |
|
Cherry |
3 |
1,011 |
337 |
0.11% |
|
Chestnut Oak |
7 |
3,569 |
367 |
2.8% |
|
Gum |
3 |
1,133 |
337 |
0.9% |
|
Hard Maple |
8 |
2,981 |
372 |
2.4% |
|
Hickory |
28 |
10,238 |
365 |
8.1% |
|
Poplar |
118 |
41,390 |
350 |
32.8% |
|
Red Oak |
17 |
6,277 |
369 |
5% |
|
Scarlet Oak |
7 |
4,084 |
583 |
3.2% |
|
Soft Maple |
32 |
8,738 |
273 |
6.9% |
|
Walnut |
2 |
399 |
199 |
0.3% |
|
White Oak |
60 |
22,504 |
375 |
0.3% |
|
|
340 |
120,227 |
371 |
100% |
Step 4: Evaluating the bids from the loggers
Notice of sale went out on October 4, 2024 and all bids were due on October 18, 2024.
Loggers submitted four sealed bids with these offers and dates:
| Bids | Amount of bid | Time to start |
|---|---|---|
|
Top Bid |
$62,875 |
2 months |
|
Next Bid |
$61,400 |
2 weeks |
|
Next Bid |
$59,015 |
4 months |
|
Next Bid |
$55,999 |
1 week |
Getting paid quickly and in full for selling timber
Along with their bids, the loggers had been instructed to declare how soon they could pay in full — in advance — and begin the harvest if awarded the contract. All their promised start dates are shown in the table above.
This is also a rare case in that the client did not award the job to the highest bidder. The reason she didn’t was because the next highest bid provided the landowner with the opportunity to get paid $61,400 for her timber in advance, and it was only $1500 lower than the high bid.
She accepted that bid and received full payment on October 31, 2024 and was able to use it to pay the expense from the proceeds. She was also able to invest some of it into improving the wildlife habitat for her family’s enjoyment for years to come.
Additionally, because we planned a careful select harvest to leave enough maturing trees growing in the stand, she can expect to have another profitable harvest within the next 10=12 yers.
Though the situation was initially challenging, this was a very positive outcome for our client and we are pleased to have helped her achieve it.