GA TimberMart
How It Works
GROWING ASSETS, LLC represents landowners as their sole and exclusive agent in the sale of their timber being offered, and therefore represents the Seller’s interest. With that said, the owner of the company was in the logging business for over 25 years and understands having satisfied timber buyers is very much in the interest of the landowners. We work hard to make sure all timber sales are successful for all parties involved.
All tracts of timber that are available for purchase will be advertised on the Growing Assets, LLC website. Each tract will be listed in an overview section summarizing the information most pertinent to buyers, and a map showing each tract’s location. By clicking on a tract, you will find further details such as access, general type of timber, winter log-ability, our estimated volumes of timber (if a timber appraisal has been done), topographic maps, aerial images, and contract provisions.
If the timber is being sold by sealed bid, the information will include the time and date the bid opening will occur. If it is a negotiated sale (either lump sum or by the ton), buyers simply contact us to start the conversation.
All interested buyers are encouraged to visit the site and inspect the timber. We do ask that all buyers inspecting a timber sale contact us prior to going to the site. This allows us to give you gate/lock combinations that might be needed to enter, and/or lets us alert landowners or hunters when someone will be there.
Once there is an agreement on price and terms, GA generates the sale documents and obtains signatures from the parties. Most of our agreements will include a performance bond from the timber buyer that goes into our escrow account until the end of the harvest. As the harvest begins, GA will make periodic visits to the site to make sure contract provisions are being met, and when the harvest ends we will do a final inspection. If everything meets what was agreed to in the sales agreement, the performance bond will be returned to the buyer.
GROWING ASSETS, LLC does not buy timber. We represent landowners as their sole and exclusive agent in the sale of their timber; to this end we represent the Seller’s interest.
The first step in selling timber is to determine what is being sold, by mapping the property and assessing the timber. If a timber inventory is necessary, a cruise is planned and a qualified professional goes to the forest and takes sample plots to tally what is there by species, size, height, and product. With enough sample plots a cruise can accurately estimate volumes of each product, which are then appraised by applying current market values to the volumes. GA also assesses the property and the markets to help decide when to sell the timber so that the value to the landowner is maximized. This is extremely important since timber markets can and do vary significantly from month to month, season to season, and year to year.
When a timber appraisal is not necessary, the approach is to assess the market and craft a strategy that maximizes the value to the landowner. A good example is when a landowner needs to have their pine stands thinned. Since its not known which trees will be removed until the thinning occurs, these sales are typically done on a pay as cut basis. Other examples of pay-as-cut harvests are common but the goal is the same; negotiate favorable prices and ensure that the harvest is designed and timed to maximizes value for the landowner.
Prior to the sale being advertised, and based upon the timber appraisal or the market analysis performed by Growing Assets, we suggest to the Seller a minimum acceptable price that the sale should be expected to bring. This establishes the minimum below which the Seller is not obligated to sell, but obviously we will be working on behalf of the seller to get the market to pay more than the minimum. The Seller may either decide not to agree to the suggested minimum (in which case the Seller pays Growing Assets for the timber appraisal and/or the market analysis and the parties go their own ways) or agree to the suggested minimum in which case Growing Assets prepares and advertises the timber for sale.
Should the timber sale not bring the minimum acceptable price, GA will continue to act as Seller’s agent until the timber is sold at a price acceptable to Seller or until the termination of the listing period in agreement. If this listing agreement expires without the timber having been sold the Seller may renew the agreement or pay GA for the timber appraisal and/or market analysis and all obligations between the Seller and GA end.
The two most common ways to sell timber are:
Sealed bid sale – Bidders are given one chance to bid on the timber and do so by turning in a bid prior to a set deadline. The prices being offered are for the stumpage, which in simple terms is what the landowner grosses from the harvest. All bids received are sealed and kept confidential until they are all opened at the designated time. If the high bid meets or exceeds the minimum acceptable bid, the high bidder is typically awarded the sale. The result is a lump sum payment for the stumpage, paid up front. These kinds of sales are best for when the timber being sold is in high demand by markets.
Negotiated sale – In these types of sales, GA negotiates with potential buyers as the Seller’s agent. When a price is agreed upon by the Seller, GA has the timber sale documents executed by the parties. The buyer pays for the timber as it is harvested and delivered to the mills, resulting in periodic payment for the stumpage, paid as the timber is harvested. Negotiated sales are best when markets are flat or less motivated.
In short, here’s how the GA TimberMart works for landowners when we help them sell their timber:
1 – Prepare and Manage the Sale
- GA either will cruise and inventory the timber to be sold or prepare a market analysis to estimate the sale’s proceeds, and suggest to the Seller a minimum acceptable price
- Prepare a prospectus of the sale for possible buyers
- Advertise the timber being sold
- Show the timber to interested buyers upon request
- Receive bids and/or offers for the timber
- Upon Seller’s acceptance, award the contract to the successful buyer,
- Provide and have executed the necessary contracts,
- Close the transaction through GA’s escrow account and transmit to the Seller the money received from the sale of the timber
- Inspect the sale activities as necessary to assure contract compliance
2 – GA Compensation
For representing the Seller through all the stages of a timber sale and harvest, GA earns a commission that is a percentage of the Seller’s gross proceeds of the sale. This percentage is negotiated between GA and the Seller.
GROWING ASSETS, LLC represents landowners as their sole and exclusive agent in the sale of their timber being offered, and therefore represents the Seller’s interest. With that said, the owner of the company was in the logging business for over 25 years and understands having satisfied timber buyers is very much in the interest of the landowners. We work hard to make sure all timber sales are successful for all parties involved.
All tracts of timber that are available for purchase will be advertised on the Growing Assets, LLC website. Each tract will be listed in an overview section summarizing the information most pertinent to buyers, and a map showing each tract’s location. By clicking on a tract, you will find further details such as access, general type of timber, winter log-ability, our estimated volumes of timber (if a timber appraisal has been done), topographic maps, aerial images, and contract provisions.
If the timber is being sold by sealed bid, the information will include the time and date the bid opening will occur. If it is a negotiated sale (either lump sum or by the ton), buyers simply contact us to start the conversation.
All interested buyers are encouraged to visit the site and inspect the timber. We do ask that all buyers inspecting a timber sale contact us prior to going to the site. This allows us to give you gate/lock combinations that might be needed to enter, and/or lets us alert landowners or hunters when someone will be there.
Once there is an agreement on price and terms, GA generates the sale documents and obtains signatures from the parties. Most of our agreements will include a performance bond from the timber buyer that goes into our escrow account until the end of the harvest. As the harvest begins, GA will make periodic visits to the site to make sure contract provisions are being met, and when the harvest ends we will do a final inspection. If everything meets what was agreed to in the sales agreement, the performance bond will be returned to the buyer.
GROWING ASSETS, LLC does not buy timber. We represent landowners as their sole and exclusive agent in the sale of their timber; to this end we represent the Seller’s interest.
The first step in selling timber is to determine what is being sold, by mapping the property and assessing the timber. If a timber inventory is necessary, a cruise is planned and a qualified professional goes to the forest and takes sample plots to tally what is there by species, size, height, and product. With enough sample plots a cruise can accurately estimate volumes of each product, which are then appraised by applying current market values to the volumes. GA also assesses the property and the markets to help decide when to sell the timber so that the value to the landowner is maximized. This is extremely important since timber markets can and do vary significantly from month to month, season to season, and year to year.
When a timber appraisal is not necessary, the approach is to assess the market and craft a strategy that maximizes the value to the landowner. A good example is when a landowner needs to have their pine stands thinned. Since its not known which trees will be removed until the thinning occurs, these sales are typically done on a pay as cut basis. Other examples of pay-as-cut harvests are common but the goal is the same; negotiate favorable prices and ensure that the harvest is designed and timed to maximizes value for the landowner.
Prior to the sale being advertised, and based upon the timber appraisal or the market analysis performed by Growing Assets, we suggest to the Seller a minimum acceptable price that the sale should be expected to bring. This establishes the minimum below which the Seller is not obligated to sell, but obviously we will be working on behalf of the seller to get the market to pay more than the minimum. The Seller may either decide not to agree to the suggested minimum (in which case the Seller pays Growing Assets for the timber appraisal and/or the market analysis and the parties go their own ways) or agree to the suggested minimum in which case Growing Assets prepares and advertises the timber for sale.
Should the timber sale not bring the minimum acceptable price, GA will continue to act as Seller’s agent until the timber is sold at a price acceptable to Seller or until the termination of the listing period in agreement. If this listing agreement expires without the timber having been sold the Seller may renew the agreement or pay GA for the timber appraisal and/or market analysis and all obligations between the Seller and GA end.
The two most common ways to sell timber are:
Sealed bid sale – Bidders are given one chance to bid on the timber and do so by turning in a bid prior to a set deadline. The prices being offered are for the stumpage, which in simple terms is what the landowner grosses from the harvest. All bids received are sealed and kept confidential until they are all opened at the designated time. If the high bid meets or exceeds the minimum acceptable bid, the high bidder is typically awarded the sale. The result is a lump sum payment for the stumpage, paid up front. These kinds of sales are best for when the timber being sold is in high demand by markets.
Negotiated sale – In these types of sales, GA negotiates with potential buyers as the Seller’s agent. When a price is agreed upon by the Seller, GA has the timber sale documents executed by the parties. The buyer pays for the timber as it is harvested and delivered to the mills, resulting in periodic payment for the stumpage, paid as the timber is harvested. Negotiated sales are best when markets are flat or less motivated.
In short, here’s how the GA TimberMart works for landowners when we help them sell their timber:
1 – Prepare and Manage the Sale
- GA either will cruise and inventory the timber to be sold or prepare a market analysis to estimate the sale’s proceeds, and suggest to the Seller a minimum acceptable price
- Prepare a prospectus of the sale for possible buyers
- Advertise the timber being sold
- Show the timber to interested buyers upon request
- Receive bids and/or offers for the timber
- Upon Seller’s acceptance, award the contract to the successful buyer,
- Provide and have executed the necessary contracts,
- Close the transaction through GA’s escrow account and transmit to the Seller the money received from the sale of the timber
- Inspect the sale activities as necessary to assure contract compliance
2 – GA Compensation
For representing the Seller through all the stages of a timber sale and harvest, GA earns a commission that is a percentage of the Seller’s gross proceeds of the sale. This percentage is negotiated between GA and the Seller.