Buying Forestry

dto001

Hi,
Hopefully this is the right forum. But I need some advice on a possible invetsment. I was thinking of investing is some land (I'm not a farmer or developer) as its usually a good investment I found online some land that is planted with forestry This is the ad

Introducing 42 Acres (17 ha) of Land Plantation, This land is well established & is planted in Forestry and has 14 - 16 year of growth.

How does this work do you own the timber or get a grant? and would it be worth buying something like this as I have seen quite a bit of forestry coming up for sale around the country.
Thanks in advance.

iverjohnston

Afraid I dont know what price timber is making at the moment. Various things to remember. Premiums paid for 20 years, so only 3 years remaining on this plot. Has it been well minded? thinning etc
Is there good access to the land?
You are not a farmer so the remaining premium paid to you would be much lower than to a full time farmer. Land for planting would make between 3 and 4 thousand an acre. Talk to a forestry adviser on this one. Iver

Rovi

[MOD]
Moved to Forestry forum.
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Oldtree

You wouldnt buy a house without getting a professional to give it the once over, so my advice to you is to get a professional forester to give this plantation the once over for you, it may cost a few bob but on the other hand you could lose a lot if you buy dross without knowing the facts.

dto001

Cheers for the advice. Periodictable Thanks for the PM. I will take it all on board.
One more question How much approx. does a professional forseter charge? I don't want to spend a fortune on something that may not even pan out!

iverjohnston

Hello again, had a look at the ad for this plot (google) and it does seem tempting. A professional should not charge too much ,100 to 150 I would expect. It just seems cheap for land with 14 to 16 years growth! Best of luck, Iver.

Oldtree

If it seems too cheap then there is a very good reason. Be very careful.

periodictable

No idea what they charge for by the hour, but if he is close by, and spends 1/2 a day and gives you a report, €150 is fair payment. Call one of the big companies for a quote-won't have to go with them.

locky76

periodictable wrote: »

No idea what they charge for by the hour, but if he is close by, and spends 1/2 a day and gives you a report, €150 is fair payment. Call one of the big companies for a quote-won't have to go with them.

why not get Teagasc to do an inspection, they do it for free and have access to last year's aerial photos which tell 90% of the story with a forest...

ford2600

Find my forester excellent and honest. He's based near Clonmel, if your anywhere near let me know and I'll pm you his details.

I'm guessing you know as much about trees as tobacco or any other crop, so get an expert before you even consider buying. If you want send link to add and I'll pm you what I think.

Be warned I'm not an expert, just have my own wood, and have learned a lot over the last 15 years to know I need to learn a lot more...:)

Building house soon, so don't worry I won't buy it on you either;)

dto001 wrote: »

Hi,
Hopefully this is the right forum. But I need some advice on a possible invetsment. I was thinking of investing is some land (I'm not a farmer or developer) as its usually a good investment I found online some land that is planted with forestry This is the ad

Introducing 42 Acres (17 ha) of Land Plantation, This land is well established & is planted in Forestry and has 14 - 16 year of growth.

How does this work do you own the timber or get a grant? and would it be worth buying something like this as I have seen quite a bit of forestry coming up for sale around the country.
Thanks in advance.

Spock3163

I think the fee mentioned earlier will get you a guy who will do a very basic service. Pay peanuts and you'll get monkies. Remember this is a big investment for you and you need to be sure what you're getting into. Here's what I would do.

Look for a company that specialises in forestry investment. All the big companies except Coillte do this. Make sure they have Profesional Indemnity insurance.

They'll go through with you what you are looking for and match your requirements to forestry plantations available. Say you want to be out in 10 years then you should be looking for a 20 year plus plantation or if you want for your pension in 25 years then a younger plantation would do.

A professional forester will then find the plantation you want for a fee, but you are much more likely to get what you want then, so it is worth it.

periodictable

Spock3163 wrote: »

I think the fee mentioned earlier will get you a guy who will do a very basic service. Pay peanuts and you'll get monkies.

Fair enough.
However I would like to see what the breakdown is on the work done. Having a few letters after one's name does not entitle one to charge heaven and earth. That is one of the big problems in our little state-we want to get paid what we believe we are worth, not what we actually are worth.

Oldtree

then get a couple of quotes, plenty of competition out there now...