By Jim Griffith
Registered Forester #1616
Are you a gambler? Some of my church friends used to consider it a dire sin to gamble or even approve of those who did. But, the Merriam-Webster Online definition of gamble includes “betting on an uncertain outcome” or “to stake something on a contingency, take a chance.” With this definition of gambling, most all of us gamble in some form or fashion at one time or another. Every businessperson I know stakes his or her investment on a contingency, takes a chance or bets on an uncertain outcome.
We gamble when we buy a house assuming we will maintain sufficient income to make the monthly payment until the house is paid off. Otherwise, we loose our investment. We invest in that house with the chance it will be worth more when we sell it than what we paid for it. It is a gamble regardless of even recent real estate performance.
I won’t even talk about the gamble one takes investing in the stock market or more volatile investments. For the untrained individual these more volatile or unfamiliar areas of investment become less of a risk with education or with the assistance of a professional who is knowledgeable about the area of investment in which you are placing your hard earned assets and trust.
Timber is an’unfamiliar’ investment or asset of which many individuals are untrained. Just as you would seek the help of a broker to assist in locating more secure and safe stock investments, you would be just as wise to seek the services of an independent forester to assist in the management and sale of your timber assets. To venture into the unknown, or little known area of timber sales can be risky. When it comes to getting top dollar for your timber, taking the advice of an aunt who happens to know a logger in the next town over might be like rolling the dice or playing blackjack at the casino.
Jim Griffith is the General Manager of the Georgia Farm Bureau Timber and Real Estate Companies.
Georgia Farm Bureau News – August 2006
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