Replies to post #2267 on Investing in Timber

[MarcFromPittsburgh]

I have some additional information to post for everyone regarding the 'opportunity' to send additional money to have your trees thinned voluntarily:

I have recently had some contact with an additional investor that I found on the internet. He was aware of these boards and had read them some, but is not an active participant. He is on the optimistic side of the fence. After a couple of emails between us, he took it upon himself to call TATF. TATF sent an email reply that I might call somewhat boilerplate, but with some specifics about his tree purchases. It had the usual explanations ('summers too wet to do thinings', etc.). My main reason for posting this, though, is to mention that his email response contained this:

"For those wishing to proceed to thin their trees and mill and store their lumber, rather than wait for the market or value adding, we would love to advance the thinning, milling and storing costs, but having already advanced more than $1 million on tree owner’s behalf to thin their trees and mill and store their not yet sold lumber, we cannot support additional advances on tree owners behalf until either the volume value-adding production and marketing are up and fully running, or until the thinned lumber market improves.

"For each tree owner who elects to proceed and sends their estimated costs, we will be very happy to thin their trees, mill and store their wood as instructed."

I'm going to try to contact them soon and see if I get a similar offer. If so, I'm going to see how I take them up on it, because I feel that it's best to have the trees thinned rather than growing unchecked.

The TATF letter also said:
"As we reported previously, the first thinning of your 1996 teak trees has been completed, the logs sawn into lumber, and the lumber has been dried. Your lumber from this thinning is being stored until it can be marketed."

I told this other investor that if I were in his shoes and had been told that I had some stored wood down there, that I would ask TATF how I could go about getting that wood sent to me for my own use and see what they said. I'll let you know if he asks and gets any response....

Marc