In each case we have used a value per acre 

 that is within the range suggested for each 

 classification under consideration. The total 

 "estimated fair market value" of the tract and 

 the "listed value," the value that will show in 

 the grand list book, follows : 



50 acres @ $ 8.00 

 25 acres @ $10.00 

 25 acres @ $15.00 



$ 400.00 

 250.00 

 375.00 



Total "appraised value" 

 "Agreed Ratio" 

 Total "listed" value 



$1,025.00 



25% 



$ 256.00 



At this point a word of caution is necessary. 

 We have suggested values for you to use. Each 

 classification has a low and a high dollar value 

 per acre. DO NOT figure every acre of land in 

 each classification in your town at the highest 

 value per acre. In actual practice, and to be 

 absolutely fair with the taxpayer, probably 

 there will be only a small portion of the timber- 

 land in any town that will be worth the maxi- 

 mum amount for any given classification. Be 

 sure you take into consideration location, ac- 

 cessibility and quality of the trees. Further- 

 more, compare one property with another to be 

 sure you are appraising all timberland on an 

 absolutely EQUITABLE BASIS. 



APPRAISING PROCESS 



Appraising timberland, the same as apprais- 

 ing buildings, is a matter of ascertaining known 

 facts and using that information together with 

 good old fashioned common sense, to arrive at 

 an equitable valuation. There is the matter of 

 accessibility to be considered, the quantity and 

 quality of timber available, the prevailing mar- 

 ket price as established by known sales between 

 a willing, well informed buyer and a willing 

 and well informed seller, neither being under 

 any compulsion to act. 



In order to establish the value of timberland 

 you MUST go over it, or there must be aerial 

 photographs of fairly recent date available for 

 examination and evaluation by individuals 

 trained in that work. 



If you are going to "cruise," or go over, the 

 timberland of a taxpayer, we believe it would 

 be good judgment to do so with the owner or his 

 representative. It should not be necessary for 

 the entire board of listers to cruise each tract. 

 Rather, the work should be divided so each 

 lister who is physically able to do so, would 

 have his portion of the town to examine. Trying 

 to go over each tract annually is not necessary 

 and should not even be attempted. That is alto- 

 gether too much work and uncalled for. You 



may be able to ascertain the predominant fea- 

 tures of some tracts of timberland without go- 

 ing over every foot of them. However, most lots 

 will need to be gone over carefully in order to 

 equitably establish their proper classifications. 



When you go into the woods to look it over, 

 you are quite apt to find more than one classifi- 

 cation of timberland. This will be especially true 

 where the tract covers hundreds of acres. As 

 an illustration only, on a timberland tract of 

 200 acres, you might have 50 acres of "pole size 

 timber," 100 acres of "young saw timber," and 

 50 acres of "merchantable saw timber." In each 

 separate classification in this example, and it 

 will hold true in actual practice, there will be 

 some trees that would ordinarily come under a 

 different classification. For instance, in the 

 "pole size timber," you may find trees that will 

 measure more than nine inches in diameter at 

 breast height and it is possible a few would be 

 more than twelve inches in diameter. The dif- 

 ferent classifications will therefore depend on 

 the size of the majority of trees in the area. 



Most land owners will have a fairly accurate 

 estimate of the number of acres of timberland 

 they own and can break it down into the cate- 

 gories previously described. Even with this in- 

 formation, you should look over the timberland, 

 because you cannot tell what value to set per 

 acre equitably, and be able to substantiate your 

 appraisal, unless you do. As you have noticed, 

 each category has a fairly good spread between 

 the low valuation per acre and the high valua- 

 tion. You must exercise your good judgment to 

 decide the exact valuation 'per acre to use, and 

 the highest dollar value per acre should only be 

 used for the best possible timberland that will 

 be found in a particular category. 



Furthermore, the timber must be in an area 

 that is readily accessible. There are numerous 

 locations in the state where there are good 

 stands of merchantable timber, but the areas 

 are so inaccessible the market value will be 

 fairly low. The cost to get out the timber, in 

 some cases, will be so high the lumbermen will 

 have to purchase the standing timber at a very 

 low figure in order to make it a paying proposi- 

 tion. Therefore, be sure you always take into 

 consideration accessibility, quality and quan- 

 tity of the trees when appraising timberland. 

 This was very forcibly brought to our attention 

 by a lister who owns a good size farm and has 

 on it a small stand of merchantable softwood. 

 The area is so inaccessible, the quantity so small, 

 no timber operator will buy the standing timber, 

 even though it is good merchantable timber. 



If, as has been suggested previously, you go 



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