Selling your forest: the right steps for an owner

Have you inherited or do you own a forest and want to sell it? The process is simpler than it looks, if you take it in the right order.

Step 1 — clarify ownership. You need the ownership documents (title deed, land registry extract) and the exact identification of the parcel. If the inheritance hasn't been settled, start with the succession — nobody can legally buy from an unclarified owner.

Step 2 — the valuation. A serious buyer comes on site and looks at: species (oak and beech are worth more than poplar), the age and diameter of the trees, the estimated volume, the slope and the access (a good forest road can raise the price significantly). Ask for the valuation in writing.

Step 3 — the APV. Legal harvesting is only done based on an APV (the official harvesting valuation document), drawn up through the forest district office: the trees are marked, measured and inventoried into a lot. The APV tells you in black and white what volume will be harvested — your main protection against undervaluation.

Step 4 — choose how to sell. Standing: you sell the unharvested trees and the buyer handles everything (harvesting, transport, paperwork) — you receive the money, and that's it. Processed: you harvest yourself (or pay a contractor) and sell the cut timber at the roadside — a better price per cubic meter, but more risk and more hassle. For most small owners, selling standing timber is the practical choice.

Step 5 — vet your buyer. Ask for: a valid harvesting licence, a written contract with a firm price and payment deadlines, and proof that they work with SUMAL (Romania's timber traceability system). Avoid verbal deals and "good faith" advances.

We buy timber standing or processed, with a free on-site valuation, a contract and payment by bank transfer — and the technical side is handled by our timber harvesting team.