Performing These Two Forestry Services Will Save You Time, Money and Potential Problems
So you just purchased your first parcel of land. Owning acreage large enough to recreate, hunt and relax, all in a private environment, is a wonderful position to be in. In the excitement of it all, its important to remember a few proactive steps that can be taken to insure that forestland ownership remains a fun filled, enjoyable experience for your entire time of ownership. Although, having these services performed will cost a few thousand dollars, up front, it will be more than offset by the savings incurred and potential problems avoided. You can look at them as modest form of insurance.
Timber Inventory/Appraisal
Hiring a reputable forestry company to perform this service, right after acquisition, is vitally important. With a timber inventory/appraisal you will have a very accurate understanding of the type of timber present on your property along with quantity and volume. Having these numbers will enable your accountant to perform a basis allotment which will reduce your taxes on timber income – ultimately saving you thousands of dollars
over the lifetime of your ownership.
Other added benefits of having a
timber inventory/appraisal done is
the accurate knowledge it gives you
as to what exactly you have on your property for timber value. You will have a distinct advantage over most landowners in that regard. Knowledge is power and this service will certainly give you plenty of knowledge.
Boundary Lines Marked
Knowing where your boundary lines are and then having them clearly marked is a great service to invest in early on in your ownership. Not only will it give you the ability to know clearly and precisely where your boundaries are but it also will clearly delineate to anyone bordering you that these lines are identified and where the border lies between their property and yours. The majority of the time when a timber trespass occurs, the excuse used by the trespasser is “ I got confused and wasn’t sure where the line was” If your boundaries have not been clearly marked then a “legitimate” excuse exists. If on the other hand your lines have been identified and marked properly then the offending party doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Recently I was on a property that was recently purchased. The previous owner had never spent the money to have his boundary lines marked and painted.
Based upon the survey, I was able to precisely find and flag out the line. At the back of the line there was this one section where no evidence of the boundary line was present. Based upon the survey, I knew the line was where I was flagging. As I’m going along you could see where the neighboring landowner had some timber cut within the past few years. Whoever they had hired for the cutting had clearly gone over the boundary line onto my clients land and helped themselves to roughly an acre of mature Oak saw timber. Total loss to the previous owner = approx.. $ 1250.00. If the previous owner had spent the money upfront to have his lines marked and regularly refurbished - this theft would never have occurred.
Closing
Now that you are the proud new owner of forest land - hopefully you can now see the importance of taking these couple of extra money saving and hassle reducing steps. Here at Stillwater Forestry LLC we want to see our clients enjoy the ownership of the property. We have found the best way for this to be done is to take the proactive steps to insure you make wise decisions that save you problems down the road. We are here to provide you the knowledge and assistance to make this happen.
