Selling Trees for Lumber?

Judy
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts

March 15, 20180 found this helpful

Most people have to pay to take trees down, as it is very labor-intensive. You might get lucky and get someone to remove the trees and keep them as an even exchange. Put an ad in Freecycle or Craigslist.

poehere
Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 105 Posts

March 15, 20180 found this helpful

This actually depends on the area and how many tress there is. You might be able to find a company who would harvest them for wood. But to be honest, this is a rather expensive job and unless you have a lot of trees most people don't want to deal with this.

DCA
Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers

March 15, 20180 found this helpful

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.

Hello
Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 107 Posts

March 18, 20180 found this helpful

this is a complicated large=scale economics question which requires more than a pithy opinion on the perceived value of suburban back yard trees, and has additional complexities go into it than whatever actual value timber gets in the market today.

An important consideration is, where in the country are you? Inevitably pine trees are worth more in a place like Texas than the Pacific Northwest (where they are plagued with trees, to put it that way)

Here is a great primer on the economics of lumber selling, but relevant mainly to North Carolina (another timber-heavy locale, especially in the Western region content.ces.ncsu.edu/timber-sales-a-planning-guide-for...). They explain timber buying process, timber selling methods, and how to measure. As well issues of how much boards you can get per tree. Even something as simple as how far your property is from a road affects the price.

For the sake of having a real figure, "the average acre of timber contains roughly 3,000 bd ft, and has a stumpage value (landowners share) of approximately $600.00" www.arnzenforestryservices.com/januaryarticle.html He goes on to explain his rationale.

If he is correct, then your acreage would get you $3,600.

if you're really interested in the economics of timber, here is a site blog.forest2market.com/