Should you sell the timber on your land before selling it? Maybe. It depends on the location of the land, the market for land & timber at the time. If it’s a soft real estate market, you may want to keep the timber as an incentive for your buyer. There are more people looking for land with trees than without them. Timber men leave the parts of the trees on the ground after the cut. It helps control erosion, but it looks like a big bomb hit your land. Bomb hit land is sellable, but it’s not easy.

Can you cut the timber and have the stumps and timber scraps removed after the cutting? Of course you can, but it may cost you as much or more than you made selling the timber.

How much is my timber worth? A timber company will perform a “timber cruise” on your property. It’s usually free. My favorite timber guys are Bo Gambles, Gulf Coast Timber, at (228) 697-2626, and Wynn Alexander, Desoto Timber, (601) 928-4133. I make no money for these referrals. I’ve known and have done business with both of these guys for over ten years and have found them to be men of fair dealing and high integrity.

What if the market for property is hot? You may want to consider harvesting the pine trees, leaving the hard wood. Pine trees aren’t sub-division or house friendly. They tend to fall down or break off during hurricanes, so builders usually would rather not have them, unless he’s going to have a green or buffer area in his plans.

What’s the difference in the value of my land with and without timber? Your cutover land would be worth what a similar cut over tract in your area would be worth. With the timber, it would be the cutover value plus a percentage of the cruised value. What’s the percentage? Good question! That takes an experienced appraiser making a lot of phone calls to timber sellers in the area to determine. As a rule of thumb, use anywhere between 50% to 70% and you’ll be on the safe side.