View Full Version : Neighbor and my tree
We have a 60 ft cottonwood in our front yard next to the street. As it is still alive and would be very expensive, we have opted not consider removing it but have had any dead limbs removed. Recently, our neighbor offered to cut it down at his expense. He will get the city permit and hire an insured professional outfit and pay for it all - at least $800. I am not sure his motive other than he thinks it might be dangerous and is somewhat unsightly. I am racking my brain to think if there are any potential problems with allowing this. The only thing he asked is that we write a letter to the tree company granting our permission. Am I missing something here? The other weird thing is this same neighbor keeps offering to buy our house.
Contact your homeowners insurance folks to see what they think needs to be covered.
awakenedsoul
2-27-13, 8:32pm
I have a neighbor who was pressuring me to remove a very old pine tree in my backyard. The trunk is in my yard, but the tree also grows over into his yard. It's been there longer than either of us. I'd say it's 100 years old. Since it gets in the triple digits here in the summer, I really enjoy the shade and the oxygen it provides. There are also owls nesting in it. I've had problems with this neighbor, and he also wanted to buy my house. At one point he offered to split the cost with me for trimming the tree. I had read a book about neighbor law and knew better than to do that. If I did, it meant it was now "our" tree. I had an arborist look at it and he told me that it's a healthy tree. He also said that you only trim a pine tree once. My neighbor started trimming what was on his side all the way to the trunk. I had to tell him that if he killed the tree, I would sue him for three times the value of it in court. He finally stopped.
Do you want to sell your house? Is your neighbor controlling? I'd be cautious and follow your gut.
Eventually, we want to sell the house but not yet. I do feel bad about cutting down any tree but this is sort of a nuisance tree at this point - always dropping limbs, stressed in the drought etc. I will call our homeowner's insurance tomorrow to ask. I am guessing that unless I write the letter, that legally since I own the tree, I could come back and sue him for removing my tree.
We have a 60 ft cottonwood in our front yard next to the street. As it is still alive and would be very expensive, we have opted not consider removing it but have had any dead limbs removed. Recently, our neighbor offered to cut it down at his expense. He will get the city permit and hire an insured professional outfit and pay for it all - at least $800. I am not sure his motive other than he thinks it might be dangerous and is somewhat unsightly. I am racking my brain to think if there are any potential problems with allowing this. The only thing he asked is that we write a letter to the tree company granting our permission. Am I missing something here? The other weird thing is this same neighbor keeps offering to buy our house.
Cottonwoods are dirty and are near-junk trees (but the rustle of their leaves is nice, they are not entirely without charm.) Glad I don't live next door to it. Talk about moisture suck, ugh (oh my poor lilies!) They do best by a river 'cause they like water. In suburbia, at least here, they are out of place. $800 to take it down sounds like a good deal --I just checked with DH who used to bid these jobs and he thinks that $800 is rock bottom and assumes there are no wires or other interferences.
I think checking with your insurance company is a good idea, but having your neighbor take care of your responsibility--that is gold. Hard to find something to complain about there.
Get his commitment and acceptance of costs and risk in writing so that there is no liability to you. Your insurance broker might help you with advice on this.
thinkgreen
2-27-13, 10:06pm
I know someone who had a similar situation but not a tree, a hydro pole. The neighbor got a letter from my friend authorizing the hydro pole to be moved. Turned out it moved two feet closer to my friend which wasn't a big deal but that enabled the neighbor to enlarge their driveway and then park industrial equipment there. My friend considered this to be very noisy and an eyesore which he regretted allowing. Can you see any reason your neighbor wants that area to be cleared?
Get his commitment and acceptance of costs and risk in writing so that there is no liability to you. Your insurance broker might help you with advice on this.
No supposed liability... The courts ultimately decide that one.
Well, I can think of a lot of reasons your neighbor would want the tree removed. Like IL said, cottonwoods are trashy trees. The are constantly dropping stuff, fluff and all, which drives folks with allergies nuts! And yours is dropping limbs as well. Do the limbs drop on the neighbors yard? Are any limbs hanging over his house/driveway? Does it cast heavy shade on his yard? I'd check with the insurance, but count this as a gift. If it's a huge tree, they might just be afraid it will fall onto their house/property.
Also, why don't you simply ask them why they want it removed. I'd say thanks, that sounds wonderful, but I'm curious as to why this offer. I'm guessing it's one of the above reasons. Sure, they might want to expand their driveway, but to be truthful, if the tree is on your property, they aren't going to expand their driveway onto your property, are they.
I love trees.....but I hate cottonwood season when all that fluff flies thru the air. Some people are allergic to it. If he's tired of scraping stuff out of his gutters and off his siding and yard I guess I'd understand.
My neighbor once offered to pay for taking down a black walnut on my property. It was big enough to attract clumsy squirrels which dropped walnuts on his roof. I declined but had the tree trimmed back so that was not an issue for him (it's still an issue for us but we live with it as the price of the tree and the neighborhood ecosystem). It's a beautiful healthy tree, has been here for decades, and provides shade to half the front of the house. No way it's leaving without a fight. :confused:
iris lily
2-28-13, 10:28am
My neighbor once offered to pay for taking down a black walnut on my property. It was big enough to attract clumsy squirrels which dropped walnuts on his roof. I declined but had the tree trimmed back so that was not an issue for him (it's still an issue for us but we live with it as the price of the tree and the neighborhood ecosystem). It's a beautiful healthy tree, has been here for decades, and provides shade to half the front of the house. No way it's leaving without a fight. :confused:
Walnut trees are sturdy old beasts in the upper Midwest, I've known many.
Now squirrels, ugh. Nasty little tree rats. Our squirrel population was down last year, and this year already DH has asked: where are the squirrels? We think that the huge population surge of the last 7 years has dwindled, partly because birds of prey have come back in recovery from West Nile disease. Perhaps a squirrel disease ran through the population as well..
Our microecosystem of 23 fruit tress operates best with no trees rats stealing the produce. They are scrabbling, wasteful creatures because they always take one fruit before its ripe, take a tiny bite, and throw it on the ground. I don't mind sharing cherries with the birds because birds take the highest ones that we can't reach and we get the lower ones, win/win.
goldensmom
2-28-13, 10:36am
My neighbor once offered to pay for taking down a black walnut on my property. It was big enough to attract clumsy squirrels which dropped walnuts on his roof. I declined but had the tree trimmed back so that was not an issue for him (it's still an issue for us but we live with it as the price of the tree and the neighborhood ecosystem). It's a beautiful healthy tree, has been here for decades, and provides shade to half the front of the house. No way it's leaving without a fight. :confused:
What a deal for your neighbor if he took and sold the wood, black walnut wood is expensive. We have a black walnut grove and the walnuts are annoying especially because I don’t like black walnuts and I rake up tons of shells in the spring which were gathered by the squirrels in the fall and eventually landed on the ground. Our grove was thinned by harvest 45+ years ago and black walnut trees have grown back to a harvestable size. People stop by regularly asking to buy our trees and I always decline. In a few years I might have it thinned again but now I just like the looks of the grove. We also have huge oak trees that we’ve been offered thousands of dollars for but they are not for sale.
They are scrabbling, wasteful creatures
I have had to resort to putting bird netting over all my food garden areas as they maraud them constantly. Yesterday, I saw one "lift the curtain" and nibble the chard leaves. We just need more owls and hawks to keep them fearful. Back to the tree issue: I finished the permission letter and called our insurance agent but he is not in the office this week. Aaargh!
I think we will trust our neighbor with a Texas handshake and move on down the road with this. Now I can dream of what baby tree to take its place:)
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