Tree care (Atlanta: house, purchasing, home inspector)

[NYCtotheATL]

My wife and I are purchasing a home and the home inspector had some concerned about a large tree that is possibly diseased. I'd like to save the tree if possible because it's probably 150 years old and huge. However, I don't want to put my home, neighbor's home, cars, or ourselves at risk of falling branches.

My realtor sent a tree care company out to see it and they said it was dying and needed to come down and all it would cost me was $8500!!! I realized later that were not arborists and they make money by removing trees.

If it needs to come down, I know I'll need to get permission from the city of Atlanta. I'm wondering if anybody on this forum has experience with something like this. I've heard sometimes Georgia Power or even the city itself will prune or remove trees if they pose a danger. Anybody here of that?

We're asking the seller to remove the dead branches before we move in, then our next step would be to contact Atlanta or Georgia Power about it. That's where your advice comes in! After that, we'll hire an arborist to inspect and hopefully save the tree.

Any help would be appreciated!

[Mattie]

We spent a lot of money last year trying to save a 120+ year old hickory in our yard, using an arborist. He was honest that it may not work, because the tree was stressed by the drought. When it didn't leaf at all this spring we knew it had to come down, and sooner rather than later. It cost us about $1100. We didn't pay for disposal, since we had neighbors lines up to take truckloads of the wood.

If the inspector mentioned the tree in the report, why wouldn't you have the seller take care of it?

[NYCtotheATL]

Originally Posted by Mattie

If the inspector mentioned the tree in the report, why wouldn't you have the seller take care of it?

Other than some branches the tree looks okay but I'm not an arborist. We are asking her to cut down the dead branches for safety reasons then we'll try to save it. We're getting a really great deal on the house... the seller underpriced it by at least $30k and we don't want to lose it by asking too much.

[Shagbark Hickory]

To find a certified arborist in your area go to Trees Are Good

You might try Downy Tree. I don't have their number or know if they service your area but can attest to their honesty and they will come 0out and take a look at no charge.

[NYCtotheATL]

This is good info everyone. Thank you.

Drove past the house this afternoon and to my surprise there was a crew cutting down the bad branches!!! She agreed to cut them down along with the branches overhanging the house. They're also going to treat the tree for ants and other parasites... bonus!!!