Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have about 3 acres of land. Do lumber companies mess with small lots like this?
I am assuming that you are not looking for tree removal, but rather asking if it is worth it to sell to someone for the lumber. It really is not worth it, because the pay is not as good as one would think, and when they cut the trees and trim the branches off, they leave all the branches behind. Also, they leave the base of the trees in the ground so that you have the stumps to deal with.
Hurricane Irma left me with a large red cedar down and a second one damaged and needing removal too. I know there is value in red cedar and would be willing to sell the lumber in exchange for removing them.
Sorry you dealt with Irma. I'd take photos of the trees and post them on Craigslist, Nextdoor and publicly on Facebook so people can make offers.
Currently, a company is harvesting lumber from 150 acres that abuts our property. We have 7 large pines and 2 cedars all with bases that measure more than 70 inches and are 3 to 4 stories high.
We would like to sell to the lumber company since they already have all their equipment and trucks here. How do I determine a fair price and get to the right person?I have 2 acres of pine trees that I need to clear off my land to move a house on. Is there a logging company that could help?
By Jennifer H.
Many people want to have trees removed from their property. Often someone tells them that tree removal services will pay them to remove trees from their property. Unfortunately, they face many problems:
*Tree removal companies are not interested in paying the owner in small jobs, such as a few acres of trees, as their costs in insurance, machinery and workers are very high.
*Some companies may be interested in a larger project if the property owner pays the company, however, the land owner might then find that the company sells the trees to lumber companies. The tree company then has the tree removal payment and the lumber sale payment, as well.
*Insurance liabilities on both sides can be very high as tree removal is a dangerous job and companies must carry high insurance costs for injury to workers and property. The property owner may face injury and damage costs, and legal problems, as well. Tree removal companies are required to carry insurance and bond for their company and workers but this does not mean the property owner does not need coverage for the property and possible injuries etc.
So, an answer to your question is not simple. You may find a tree removal service by putting an ad on Craigslist, etc., but you still face all the issues above with no guarantees.
You should discuss your plans with an attorney familiar with land use and then make an informed decision.
A caveat here-be careful not to provide the property address or even the general location of the trees to any company or person you might find from Craigslist, etc., before signing a contract. You may find that someone has removed the trees from your property without your knowledge.
I have a very large cedar tree that I do not want in my backyard. I was hoping to find a company that will cut this tree down and possibly pay me for the wood?
By Bob D from Maple Valley, WA
Many people want to have trees removed from their property. Often someone tells them that tree removal services will pay them to remove trees from their property. Unfortunately, they face many problems:
*Tree removal companies are not interested paying the owner in small jobs, such as a few acres of trees, as their costs in insurance, machinery and workers are very high.
*Some companies may be interested in a larger project if the property owner pays, however, the owner might find that the company then sells the trees to lumber companies. The service then has the tree removal payment and the lumber sale payment, as well.
*Insurance liabilities on both sides can be very high as tree removal is a dangerous job and companies must carry high insurance costs for injury to workers and property. The property owner may face injury and damage costs and legal problems, as well. Tree removal companies are required to carry insurance and bond for their company and workers but this does not mean the owner does not need coverage for the property and possible injuries etc.
*Depending on the area or state of the property, the owner may face permit requirements, historic, cultural and other limitations in removing trees from a property.
*Frequently property owners may find they need an attorney to address the issues and prepare a contract.
So, an answer to your question is not simple. You may find a tree removal service by putting an ad on Craigslist but you still face all the issues above with no guarantees.
A caveat here-be careful not to provide the property address or even the general location of the trees to any company or person you might find from Craigslist, etc., before signing a contract. You may find that someone has removed the trees from your property without your knowledge
My mother died and left to my brother and I 86 acres of land near Albany, New York. We have put the sale of the acreage in the hands of a realtor. A man called my brother last week and wanted to know if he could cut down the ash trees on the property. My brother said yes and I am worried that this man is not reputable and will not pay my brother for the cutting down of the trees as he promised.
How do we handle this issue so we are assured we are not being swindled? My brother lives in New Jersey and I live in Maryland, we have no way of keeping tabs on the process of the cutting of the trees, we need some guidance on this. Thanks.
By ClaireD
I am interested in finding a company to timber trees off my property and we can receive payment for the trees.
There are so many things to consider when you are trying to cut down and sell trees.
First, the rules in your area for cutting down and selling trees. You need to check with the state or your city to see what the rules are first. Where are the trees locaked? Are they in your yard and if cut down will they be dangerous to another house in your area? Do you need a permit to cut them down? All these things need to be checked out and approved before you can even start to find a person to do this for you.
Second, many companies will not do this for free and then pay you for the wood they have cut down and hauled away.
Third, you may need to pay a company to come out and cut down the trees first. Then find another company to come and buy them from you.
Forth, the type of trees you are cutting down will determine if a company is interested in buying them for you to make lumber out of. This also includes how many trees need to be cut down and how much wood you have.
I have cedar trees on my property in Tennessee. Who would I contact about selling them for timber?
You can contact companies that use cedar trees and see if they would like to negotiate anything with you. You also have to factor in the labor for them to cut down the trees and haul. Do you have any neighbors or family/friends whom sold trees like yours also? Ask discussion on Facebook and see if you have any feedback in your local area.
I live in Bethesda, Maryland and have a large fat tree in my yard that needs to go. Who can I sell the timber to and how?
By Christine N.
I don't know about your area, but in my area, if you want a tree removed from your yard, you have to pay for the removal. Nobody who buys firewood or timber is going to pay you for that tree. They deal in large amounts of timber, not single trees. It is a bother to remove a single tree.
I don't know for sure about your area, but I am pretty sure you will have to pay for someone to come and remove a single tree. You would have to do so where I come from.
I'd love to know where people get the idea that people will pay YOU to remove your trees? I have never heard of this before some recent posts on Thrifty Fun. You will have to pay a tree removal service to cut your tree down and haul it away. You could also save it for firewood if it's the right kind of tree but you'll have to split the logs yourself or again, pay someone to do it.
Christine N.,
As many people have stated already you may need to Pay someone else to cut down your trees. This is not always the case however. Call up the lumber mills and logging companies in your area. They may be able to tell you whether they will do this or not.
In most cases they will not if you are a residential property; especially in a densely populated area. The reasons are that most contractors that would sell the lumber to a mill would have to pay too much to get their equipment to your site. If there are a large number of trees (100's) then it might be worth it, but only if they have a very good liability insurance company. The insurance requirements are completely different if they are harvesting from residential areas and are usually too expense to hold that kind of policy since it is very rare and not much, if any, profit in it.
But do not get discouraged as you can only know if you call. Also don't just call one lumber mill or logging company. If you are willing to take the risk, then there are less reputable companies that need any amount of money from a job. The risk is that something goes wrong and the company didn't have any insurance for the job. I don't recommend this though. The best you may be able to hope for is that they do it for free. Otherwise you have to pay someone else.
A couple of final thoughts: Just because a lumber mill says that they don't do that doesn't mean that they might not do it in a few months. The lumber industry is very volatile and sometimes they are desperate for wood and others not so much.
Also a lumber mill or logging company might not be the best choice if you have a highly valued hard wood tree. Contact some local furniture companies that make specialized wood creations. They may arrange to have the wood removed for you and even pay you.
Good luck!
I live in Pulaski county Kentucky, close to Somerset. I have several big oak trees and some pine as well. It might be tricky cutting them down, but I've seen some done before. They are free for the safe cut and haul, with no clean up. I can cut the limbs or burn them. I'm a retired Army veteran. How do I find someone to cut them?
I have several pecan trees on my land. Two are very mature and not in a perfect location. I would like to know what they are worth, since pecan wood is a favorite fort barbecue smokers.
Several pecan trees will not interest a tree company, restaurant, etc., as the cost to cut and process is so high. The info below can help explain further:
Many people want to have trees removed from their property. Often someone tells them that tree removal services will pay them to remove trees from their property. Unfortunately, they face many problems:
*Tree removal companies are not interested in paying the owner in small jobs, such as a few acres of trees, as their costs in insurance, machinery and workers are very high.
*Some companies may be interested in a larger project if the land owner pays the company, however, the land owner might then find that the company sells the trees to lumber companies. The tree company then has the tree removal payment and the lumber sale payment, as well.
*Insurance liabilities on both sides can be very high as tree removal is a dangerous job and companies must carry high insurance costs for injury to workers and property. The property owner may face injury and damage costs, and legal problems, as well. Tree removal companies are required to carry insurance and bond for their company and workers but this does not mean the property owner does not need coverage for the property and possible injuries etc.
*Depending on the area or state of the property, the owner may face permit requirements, historic, cultural and other limitations in removing trees from a property.
*So, an answer to your question is not simple. You may find a tree removal service by putting an ad on Craigslist, etc., but you still face all the issues above with no guarantees.
*Frequently property owners may find they need an attorney to address the issues and prepare a contract. You should discuss your plans with an attorney familiar with land use and then make an informed decision.
A caveat here-be careful not to provide the property address or even the general location of the trees to any company or person you might find from Craigslist, etc., before signing a contract. You may find that someone has removed the trees from your property without your knowledge.
I have a big lot that has almost 40 big trees and I need to remove them and get paid. It's in Jacksonville Florida. I need your help with the name of a company or someone who can do that.
What is the going price for a grown sycamore tree that's about 30 ft. tall?
I have roughly 50 pine trees I want taken down, mainly for safety at my house, in Stokes Valley Wellington, as I'm worried they will damage my house. Some are on my neighbor's land, but I'm sure they will be more than happy for me to get them taken away, I'd of course ask first.
Would I get paid for the trees? Plus I've heard you can get native seedlings to replace the pines. Would you know what firm does this?Recently, my mother hired a tree company to take down 7 pine trees in her yard. The company has cut the trees down, but the logs are sitting on her property. She lives in an urban area. The deal was for the company to haul them away, but now they are ignoring her phone calls as she has already paid them.
The logs look great and I feel like she can sell them. I m not sure how to find somebody to give an estimate or if I should keep fighting with the tree company and just have them removed as was part of the deal.My family has 25 acres and they would like to sell the trees. What do we do?
By Regina
You can find answers on Google. Just be sure to put you location - city, county, state if you want more accurate information.
Here is also a site that may help you:
mylandplan.org/
I would also suggest you try and find someone who knows something about lumber, timber, etc. in your area. 25 acres sounds like a lot, but it is nothing to a big lumber company. You have to find some small business that does this sort of thing. In our area, it used to be possible to have someone come in and selectively log off trees and then cut them into lumber. In one case we sold the trees; in another we had this done, and kept the lumber for future housebuilding. You might even start your search in the phone book yellow pages.
Be very sure you are dealing with a reputable person. My cousin had a man come give her an estimate on trees in the Houston area. The price wasn't what she wanted so she turned him down. Several days later when she went out to the property, the trees had been cleared! They will even cut the locks on gates... be very careful!
I have 4 very large pine trees in my yard and would like them removed before they do damage to our house. One has already split in half and almost hit our house. My question is who do I hire to do this and how do I sell the lumber? I would like to make some money off the lumber. Will tree removal services make a deal with me or do I have to hire them to cut it down and then sell to someone else.
By jaynab
Get your phone book and call around to the various tree businesses. Someone might lead you to the information you want.
Call the various tree trimmers and experts in your area and some of them might have the answer you are looking for. Logging companies usually do this type of thing. Hope this helps.
I don't have any advice for you, but I do think you shouldn't get your hopes up about making any money from those trees. I think you will have to pay to have them taken down and have the wood hauled away, if you can't use it yourself for firewood. Please let us know if you do find some way of making money.
My husband lost his job a few months back and had the idea to have our pine trees cut down in exchange for money. He met a gentleman cutting down trees in passing and had a verbal agreement that he would stop by and give us an estimate.
After the consolation, my husband agreed to use his business. After the job was completed, the gentleman told my husband that after selling the trees and charging for the service, he would give my husband $300 and would be back to clear some of the mess. Well, weeks went by and we never heard from the man. When we finally reached the business man, he said he was tied up and couldn't make it out, and wouldn't even return our calls prior to that. Now he says that work has slowed down for him and he is waiting until his land sells so that he can pay us the money.
There was no written contract and we can empathize with the man since my husband had loss his job too, but what can we do? I don't understand why he didn't pay us the money as soon as the lumber company had paid him.
I have 2.6 acres in Warrenton, North Carolina. They are covered in trees, mostly pine. I want to know if I can sell it as stumpage for a lump sum.
I want to construct a house and need space. What is your advise?
I have 4-5 acres of oak and gum trees that I wood like to have cleared and in South Carolina. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Please.
By Lashawn
We have 5 acres in Mechanicsville, Virginia and would like to get about 2 to 3 acres cleared. It is probably about 70% pine. We are interested in having someone pay to come clear them, grind the stumps and take the lumber away. Thank you for any help!
By Autumn M.
What is the average price paid for standing red oak and black walnut trees?
By Dixie
Check this non-profit online site to start as there are many important factors you have not provided in your question:
mylandplan.org/
There is no average price for trees because they can be sold in several different ways and there is no "average" tree.
There are a lot of sites on the Internet to help someone wishing to sell trees. You can try your question on Google - just be sure to put more information in the question than given here - especially your city/state.
If you are talking about just a few yard trees - be ready to pay to have them removed.
