Let’s
talk wood, trees, firewood, lumber.
When you buy property here, you are instantly the owner
of your own timber, or trees. If you want to cut down
some trees, get a chain saw. That’s it, no permits,
just start cutting. If you want to have it timbered, as
in have a logging company come in & strip it bare,
you can, but the timber company will need to get a couple
of permits to do it. They WILL be given, as there’s
no woodlands here that are privately owned that the Owner
can’t cut trees on.
When
it comes to firewood, generally nobody cuts down any trees,
because there is always plenty of deadfall (trees that
have fallen on the ground already) to choose from &
use for firewood that are already semi dried for you.
Any tree that’s laying on the ground directly will
rot out quick, and be real wet. If the tree is suspended
at all off of the ground, it can lay there for years &
not rot at all. So; look for downed trees that are held
off the ground, even an inch is enough space between the
ground & the tree to keep it from getting wet.
Taxes & Trees:
When you buy any property here that is over 5 acres,
you can get a Timber Exemption from the County that will
lower your taxes drastically on the property. They can
typically cut property taxes in less than half or more.
The property essentially needs to be 6 acres if you plan
on living on it, because the Assessor will remove one
acre for your home site. The timber exemption was developed
for land owners to maintain and harvest timber depending
on the two available timber programs. The two programs
are: 1) Land Productivity which allows an owner to maintain
their forest per the forest plan developed for the property.
This often incorporates some planting, some harvesting
possibly, and maintaining a healthy timber stand and there
is no repayment of taxes if you resell the property. 2)
Bare Land and Yield, which was developed for commercial
logging companies, has a further reduced rate per acre
on taxes owed, but has compensating taxes to pay if you
harvest the timber or resell the property. Each County
Assessor has a list of approved foresters that typically
charge between $150-500 for a timber program. The cost
is usually recouped within the first year. Anyone who
buys land 5 acres or more should definitely look into
this. Land Productivity is simple, has no future tax repercussions,
typically requires low maintenance, and gives you a lot
of information regarding your forest health and maintenance.
Just contact the local County Assessor’s office and
they can get you started!
For any questions or for more information please email
info@revrealty.us
"We had a wonderful experience with Chris Walsh as
a realtor to find us a property well-suited for prepping.
His insight into knowing the needs of a prepper was excellent......"
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