Contract length

[danl]

Going to have a local sawmill log 20 acres off. How long a contract should I ask for? He is a good guy, known him for a while.
I will never sell the ground but don't want it tied up forever and nagging at the back of my mind. Would like it to be over and done with. On the other hand the more it grows the more I will make...

He wants to pay me a guarantee up front and try to log off this fall.
I get 1/3, if it exceeds the guarantee, I still get 1/3 of total. sounds like a good deal to me.
I am not worried about cleanup bonds etc. He promised to minimize damage to standing timber and that is good enough for me. He has a good reputation.
I was thinking if he got hurt, mill blew up etc. then I think under those circumstances I wouldn't hold him to the contract anyway.
Maybe I shouldn't worry about a time limit and just pester the crap out of him until he gets it done....


A little advice please..

 

[northmanlogging]

2 years is pretty standard, Most can be done within a year tops, Really all depends on how busy yer logger is.

Some of the Big gubamint jobs have I think 3 year contracts and then x days until completion, don't quote me on that as I don't generally work gubamint jobs.

Pestering can work sorta... just keep in mind that logging is not something you can schedule like a root canal. Some days you get good production, some not so good, and you end up fighting weather, break downs, mill shutdowns, many variables involved, just keep in touch with the guy, and if he's a stand up dude he should keep you posted on a a semi regular basis, and let you know when abouts he plans on starting, usually within a week or a month.

 

[treeslayer2003]

yea, 2-3 years is standard here as well. weather is a big factor unless you want your ground rutted up.
1/3 off the top seems low to me but maybe normal in your area.

 

[danl]

Thanks . His mill is a mile from my place. I can hear it running. Neither one of us want to rut up my place. I see him drive by almost everyday. 1/3 seemed kind of low to me too, but asked around and seems to be the going rate. He is offering 1/3 if it is a tie. Or 1/2 for lumber quality. At least that what I understood him to say.
I don't really want anyone else around here on my place, so I didn't get bids. He offered a one year contract when I talked to him this afternoon. I told him to put in a clause that if something major happened I would extend it another year.
One more thing, can contracts be sold? I would not want him to sell contract to someone else.

 

[northmanlogging]

If your contracted to a mill, then the mill could possibly contract that out to another logger. But from the sounds of it, this guy cuts his own timber? So hard to say, probably a question better asked to your logger friend.

 

[danl]

He owns the mill and used to fell trees, but says he spends all his time keeping everything going.
His brother works in the woods and keeps an eye on what's going on he says. Said he wouldn't let them destroy more than they cut.

 

[cantoo]

Around here it happens quite abit, mill buys the trees and joe blow low bid per tree guy cuts them down and skids them out. Happened to a guy I know so he waited until all the logs were lined up in his corn stubble field and dumped a million gallons of liquid pig manure on them. Bet they wished they didn't pay him upfront and them didn't do what they said they would do.