SrChf
ArboristSite Lurker
Hi all. First post here. Nice forum you all have here. Thanks for having me.
I bought just shy of 5 acres of wooded land in Edgewater MD. The front center of the lot is cleared and a 1977 era house is on it. I have been mulling the idea of having the back lot of woods thinned out some. It is pretty dense and the trees, mostly very tall, very straight tulip poplar, with some tall oak, beech, gum and even some walnut (I think) mixed in. Most of the trees are at least 80' high. Avg circumference at the bases are between 4 and 7 feet around.
I found an appraiser off the Maryland DNR website, and he came out to look at my property. After we walked the property lines he estimated he could take about 60 trees and pay me between $7000 and $8000 for them all, taking 10% off the top for marking and cataloging the trees (by species and size) arranging the deal, running a silent auction, running the permits w/ the county etc. This estimate was based on 20 cents per board foot of lumber he thought could be extracted from the trees which he admitted is rather low but said that the market was low right now.
He also said there would be a limited liability contract that would cover basic accident/injury/property damage, but said specifically it would NOT cover any damage the 80,000 lb rig that would drive down my asphalt drive may do to it and any damage the tree skidders may do to the edges of my asphalt drive.
Question is twofold. Does this sound like a fair deal? Most of the other foresters I talked to were not even interested in coming out since I had such a small amount of land, so I am kind of at this guys mercy if I go through with it.
And do these log haulers generally mess up private asphalt drives. I can say, I didn't hire the best company to do this drive, so I am a little leary of its ability to hold up. Is it worth the risk you think? I paid about 7000 for the drive.
Thanks y'all for any advice you can give and I look forward to hearing from you.
Jb
I bought just shy of 5 acres of wooded land in Edgewater MD. The front center of the lot is cleared and a 1977 era house is on it. I have been mulling the idea of having the back lot of woods thinned out some. It is pretty dense and the trees, mostly very tall, very straight tulip poplar, with some tall oak, beech, gum and even some walnut (I think) mixed in. Most of the trees are at least 80' high. Avg circumference at the bases are between 4 and 7 feet around.
I found an appraiser off the Maryland DNR website, and he came out to look at my property. After we walked the property lines he estimated he could take about 60 trees and pay me between $7000 and $8000 for them all, taking 10% off the top for marking and cataloging the trees (by species and size) arranging the deal, running a silent auction, running the permits w/ the county etc. This estimate was based on 20 cents per board foot of lumber he thought could be extracted from the trees which he admitted is rather low but said that the market was low right now.
He also said there would be a limited liability contract that would cover basic accident/injury/property damage, but said specifically it would NOT cover any damage the 80,000 lb rig that would drive down my asphalt drive may do to it and any damage the tree skidders may do to the edges of my asphalt drive.
Question is twofold. Does this sound like a fair deal? Most of the other foresters I talked to were not even interested in coming out since I had such a small amount of land, so I am kind of at this guys mercy if I go through with it.
And do these log haulers generally mess up private asphalt drives. I can say, I didn't hire the best company to do this drive, so I am a little leary of its ability to hold up. Is it worth the risk you think? I paid about 7000 for the drive.
Thanks y'all for any advice you can give and I look forward to hearing from you.
Jb