Thread by @MoneyJrod, One year ago today, we decided to have some timber harvested on [...]

One year ago today, we decided to have some timber harvested on a 20 acre lot we own.

Here is our experience...

-Thread-

BTW, it wasn’t a good one

I’ve always seen timberland as an interesting investment and when I had the opportunity to buy some, my wife and I dove in.

> House on the property

> Stream for kayaking

Perfect setup

The timber that was on the property was mature enough to harvest, so I contacted a forester about starting the process to properly begin harvesting.

He referred me to a local logger that has been in the business for literally generations.

I met the gentlemen and he was very courteous and he impressed me with his knowledge of the business.

I was especially impressed when he said that his business runs on no debt and all his equipment is paid for and said he doesn’t borrow money for repairs.

Me being the “debt free” guy that I am I instantly took a liking and allowed him to make a quote.

I had people analyze the deal for me. All seemed fair and legit so we made an agreement and the project went forward.

Fast forward about 1 month and the job is getting done, but admittedly at a slow pace.

He kept having equipment breakdowns and being that it’s all used and he doesn’t borrow for repairs, I gave the guy a pass and figured he would make up for the lost time.

Another month later and the job is complete! They pack up and leave the site and he said I’ll start getting checks in the mail with my share of the money.

Finally! Time to start investing in real estate!

Well.....let’s just say that the checks never came.

The following weeks were spent sending texts and making phone calls and the story was always the same.

> I’m still gathering paperwork
> Still busy on other jobs
> I’ve not had time to work on it

Just general excuses but still, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Another month in and I’m starting to get nervous.

It’s to the point now where the guy doesn’t even answer my phone calls and texts are answered with vague responses.

Fearing the worst, I made the decision to call the police.

I’m not going to discuss much more of the details, but just know that arrests have been made and I’m currently going through the legal process.

Traction is being made and honestly if it were not for Covid delaying things, we would probably already be on the other side of this

Sometimes, your biggest and most impactful lessons are learned from negative experiences.

This is no exception.

I’m just glad that we were already in a well enough financial condition that this did not set us back much but it’s still frustrating nonetheless.

So many lessons learned but I’ll try to summarize:

Just because someone seems legit doesn’t mean they are

Double confirm your contractors

Always communicate via text (They are legal documents)

Get all quotes in writing or email

Check up regularly on progress

Have think skin

Don’t be afraid to ask questions during the job

Never give benefit of the doubt

If something doesn’t seem right, it’s probably not.

Sometimes we have to deal with contractors and unfortunately the bad apples make the great ones look terrible.

I just so happened to get caught up with a bad apple.

I’m hoping that someone can take away a few things from my experience and apply them.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for hearing my story.

I’ll be sure to post an update as the legal process unfolds.

I’m confident that justice will be served although I’m trying to temper my expectations.

In the meantime,

Cheers!

Jrod

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