Accurately establishing the market value of timberland, farms, and recreational properties is essential to making informed investment or ownership related decisions. There are many times during the holding period for a real estate asset when an appraisal should be completed.

 
You should get an appraisal:

• When making decisions to buy, sell, or hold a tract.
• When trying to ascertain how much rent to charge for hunting or agricultural leases.
• During negotiations with a county tax assessor in order to lower a property owner’s ad valorem tax liability if the assessment is overstated.
• To establish a cost basis if a property is inherited or to assist in accurately valuing the assets of a taxable estate if inheritance taxes are owed.
• To accurately allocate the contributory value of land, timber, and buildings and to properly set up financial records for timber depletion purposes.
• When insuring building structures and other land improvements.
• For condemnation purposes.

 
Southern Forestry Consultants, Inc., is staffed and able to professionally complete any type of rural land appraisal assignment. Over the years, SFCI has appraised large and small timberland tracts, farms, hunting plantations, and tracts that are transitioning from rural uses to higher, more intensive uses.

All appraisal assignments are completed in full accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and our determination of market value is never influenced by outside interests.

Cruising timber is when a forester takes measurements in the woods to ascertain how much volume of a given forest product exists. Because it takes a landowner decades to produce crops of pulpwood, chip-n-saw, sawtimber, and poles, SFCI makes every effort to accurately estimate the volumes and value of a given tract.

There are many times a timber cruise is needed and information that can be obtained from this specialized service include:

• The volumes of all pine and hardwood forest products as well as a separate value for each species or respective product.
• Data from a timber cruise can be utilized to make informed timber management decisions about when to harvest timber and whether or not to selectively thin or clearcut.
• Acreage determinations and the framework for a tract or timber stand map.
• The contributory timber value of pre-merchantable stands.
• Measurements taken in order to complete a cruise can be used to make future growth projections, cash flow projections, and investment analysis decisions.

 
The timber market is a very volatile market. Being able to pinpoint where stumpage prices are at any given time increases the value of having SFCI appraise your standing timber. We sell timber throughout a three-state region and our firsthand exposure to the market provides us a large database of timber sales information. SFCI has appraised timber for large institutional and industrial clients, private non-industrial landowners, conservation groups, government agencies, and lending institutions.