Trees too close to house? (landscape, ficus, grass, squirrel)

[keysdax]

We have an offer on a house, just had the inspection and I'm wondering if we should be concerned about the proximity of the trees to the house. I would guess they are about 10 feet away. We have been told they are oak trees. There is also a tree in the backyard in between the pool and the septic system. Listing agent said a crack in the pool has been repaired. Will all the trees need to be removed? Is this just too risky of a property with the potential root damage? Inspector didn't say anything except they are beautiful trees.

[Threerun]

Wow that is close. Last house I had with septic the trees were faaaar away for good reason.

Our current house had a 30ft. pine tree 4 feet from the side of our sunroom, and the previous seller had provided evidence that the addition had a foundation repair job years earlier. They had to lift the brick structure with hydraulic jacks and pump many, many yards of concrete to support the structure. Back then it cost $12,000 for fixing a 12x12 sunroom.

Damned right I cut that pine tree down this year, lol.

Did they say what caused the crack in the pool?

[keysdax]

Wow - $12,0000 for the repair!

No mention of the reason for the crack, unfortunately the owner has passed away and the listing agent is the one "cleaning" up the property. He fixed the crack but did say we would probably want to have the tree removed from the backyard - to get more light. My guess is that's probably the culprit.

[Threerun]

Yup- that's how much they got charged. Personally I think it was really high, but from what my neighbor says (who's 82 and been there 42 years) it was quite an operation to level the addition back to the house. It's a solid brick sunroom/addition.

He said "many, many yards of concrete were pumped".

You could more than likely have a tree expert come out and try to assess the situtation. If the house / structure hasn't been impacted yet, and the trees roots are fully developed, it may not be an issue at all.

[azoria]

Beautiful trees. It would be a tragedy to cut them down.

[harry chickpea]

There is no way I would buy that house. None. If I had an offer on it, I would withdraw it.

Those trees are past mature. I have some oaks and hickory that are of that size around an old house on our land. When we first moved up, we parked a travel trailer under them to keep it out of the sun. In the past couple of years, two huge limbs - each at least a foot in diameter - fell and just missed that trailer. Conservatively, the weight of each one was about 1000 pounds. Both dug holes six inches into the solid ground when they fell. I have since moved the trailer to a safer spot away from the trees.

In the case of the house, you can't move the house, and cutting the trees around it will likely be $15,000 or more and require a lot of equipment. If you don't, you will be in a house that has the sword of Damocles over your head, and will be at risk in every strong storm, and almost certain peril if the area was hit by a hurricane, tornado, straight line wind, or ice storm.

We cut all the tall trees that were within falling distance of our house in Florida. When Hurricane Wilma came through, the huge ficus trees by the street were all down, many neighbors had severe damage from trees and limbs, yet we were safe. Like I said, aside from the mold problems, leaves stopping up gutters and creating trashy slippery walkways, falling acorns pounding the house day and night, squirrel problems, dark interior, poor grass growth, I would no more buy that house than buy a houseboat with rotting balsawood as the hull.

My advice is to pull the offer, or make it contingent on the trees being cut at seller expense.

[3-Oaks]

We have an oak and an elm the size those in the photo that are about the same distances from the building, as well as spruce. The house is 100 years old, the oak about 200 yrs, the elm about the same age as the house and the spruce about 50 years. So far no problems. There was an 3' diameter elm 2' from the house that was cut down a couple years before we bought it, but it had died so that wass why it was removed.

[RUBIES77]

Do not cut the trees unless all or some of them are jeopardizing the structure of the house or the septic tank!!!!!!! I have trees all around my house. Before I had a septic tank, and never had any problems. Now I have sewers.

Trees hold of pollution, invite birds to your property, keep your house cool in the summer, and safeguard your property against wind zones. My neighboors love the fact that my property is full of greenery and trees.

I will never, never, never, buy a house that has no trees or is fully landscaped. Greenery adds beauty to your home!

[tamcim72]

consult with an arborist!

[AnotherBravesFan]

The trees are ginormous and look way too close for comfort... My sister just bought a house with a BIG old oak tree in the yard that has already dropped 2 big limbs without any help from a storm or winds. Luckily, they didn't do any significant damage, but the writing is on the wall... While I like trees, if they are misplaced, they should come out, especially if they are near septic or sewer lines. Ditto the advice to have an arborist look and advise you before you commit. Removal and/or damage repair can be very costly.