Paying landowner

[epchief]

I have been cutting firewood and buying from landowners for awhile going rate in my area is 10-15 a cord off the stump. recently i have started getting more into saw log work and have been having a little bit of an issue finding how much to pay the landowner after the mill pays me I just want to be fair and not feel like I'm under paying or over paying. Some area loggers say to pay 100$ per 1000bf some say I should be paying 50% which does not seam right at all so I'm just looking for any thoughts

Thanks

 

[northmanlogging]

I personally prefer the percentage method 50% 60% 70% depending on how big of a pain the wood is to move/get to. Lots of guys around here and elsewhere pay CASH FOR STANDING TIMBER. Maybe you've seen the signs in peoples yards? Always seemed like that was a good way for one side or the other to lose money... Anyway if you do the percentage deal its easy enough to have the mill split the payments, homeowner gets x% logger gets x% truck gets x amount off the top etc. besides if you're giving the homeowner $100 per 1000 and the mill is paying say $600 per 1000, that's pretty shady. If'n ya wanted to just pay cash, first get good at cruisin timber then take into account current prices and how much you want paid for the job and do the math, either way its easier to just have the mills pay out a percentage (or for the real back yard gypo have the mill pay you and then do the math yourself, so the tax man doesn't know where to look, just remember to pay the landowner) keep receipts of everything in case Joe homeowner want to take you to court:msp_scared:

 

[madhatte]

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What he said, 100%. Joe Homeowner can't be expected to know anything, and won't, until after the job is over and he feels like he got screwed. Document, document, document! If you can't cruise yourself, hire somebody who can. A pre-sale volume estimate, compared to scale tickets, justifies a lot of expenses and other hassles up front. You have to be right from the beginning. Don't start a job under-educated.

 

[Gologit]

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What he said, 100%. Joe Homeowner can't be expected to know anything, and won't, until after the job is over and he feels like he got screwed. Document, document, document! If you can't cruise yourself, hire somebody who can. A pre-sale volume estimate, compared to scale tickets, justifies a lot of expenses and other hassles up front. You have to be right from the beginning. Don't start a job under-educated.

Well said.

 

[Oldtimer]

All depends on your ability to move wood, and your overhead.
What do you use for equipment, what is the wood, and how difficult is the whole process?

What can you do it for and still have an actual "profit" after expenses?

If it takes you a week to gather a load of logs- or two weeks- then you are in no position to pay what a reputable logging contractor can pay. Not many landowners will stand for losing money, and trust me, they will research it after the first few loads are paid for..

Time to go pro?

As a small self employed logger, as a general average, I have to shoot for around 40% of the total value on good ground to as much as 70% on bad ground. Wood quality also factors in heavily, as Veneer is worth far more then pallet. My costs are the same to move Veneer as they are to move Pallet. The better the wood, the more the landowner will make.