When we look at a tract of land the timber is one of the first things we look at. Access, soil, internal roads, location, contiguous owners and everything else is considered. I have seen unscrupulous people contract/buy a tract of land with good timber with little or no down payment, then sell the timber and let the land go back to the whoever financed the land.
I agree that the timber is certainly a variable in determining the value of a piece of property. But to actually have it mortgaged as part of the purchase is a totally different matter. The lender's job is to underwrite the risk appropriately and avoid making loans to people who will hang them out to dry. If they are forcing timber continences on people who are actually quality risks, those people should be looking for another lender.
