Property sales

Selling of your property is a big decision.

At Eesti Metsameister, we believe in sustainable forest management – we are the only company in Estonia that has adopted the standard of planting ten new seedlings in place of every cut tree. We buy forest properties in all Estonian counties to implement our vision of a new generation of Forestry.

How to decide whether to sell the forest with land or sell the timber? Generally, it depends on the profile of the landowner.

The owner’s future plans play a major role in making the decisions. There is a common misconception that the work with end with the initial cutting – not at all! Forest management requires different additional investments at various stages.

According to the law, the forest must be renewed after felling, either by leaving seed trees or by systematic planting. However, natural renewal does not allow tree growth to be controlled – so instead of the precious pine forest with fertile soil, alder bushes may grow back and result in lost property value. Seedlings with planting service start from 1300 €/ha, depending on the assortment.

All this is both cost, and time-consuming. After reforestation, species still need a lot of care: some properties require game control or the construction of a fence, some require trimming or trampling of other vegetation between seedlings. At various stages of Forest Development, maintenance work is also required, such as clearing or thinning. If you do not see yourself or loved ones managing your forest in the future and do not want to reinvest part of the proceeds to increase the value of the property, you may want to consider selling the forest along with the land.

Other landowners may decide on sales to optimize taxes. The first transfer transaction of returned land (incl. the first sale transaction by the heirs) is exempt from income tax, but when transferring the right to cut, 20% must be ceded to the state. The declaration period is 2 years, during which the costs of reforestation are deductible from income.

We also have customers who know that they cannot invest time or money in the forest but are initially afraid of selling for sentimental reasons. Everyone’s right applies in Estonian forests, which means that you can prudently go pick berries and mushrooms even after the sale of the property.