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It definitely works for me but then I am lucky to be retired where I can finally select where I want to live rather than have a job decide for me.
A former Secretary of the Interior once said something to the effect that biologists prefer animals over people. Being a wildlifer by former trade myself, I certainly agree in that I have had better success loving animals than loving my neighbors.
My neighbors trees are hanging over onto our property in excess of 20 feet. We are allowed to trim them but there are a lot of trees to be trimmed. The bill to hall it away could (and most likely will) cost around $400. Can I bill my neighbor for this? I don't mind paying to have someone trim it, but to have her tree branches halled away could be pretty costly.
I had the reverse problem. Our neighbors have beautiful huge lilac bushes that line the property line and fall over the fence on our side. They are absolutely stunning. I love them. One day I came home and discovered her on my property, on my side of the fence, pruning back the lilac bushes so they wouldn't fall over my side of the fence. In all fairness, she's super sweet and truly thought she was doing us a favor. But the end result was our view was of hacked up bushes, just bark trunks and stems without any foilage. It was ugly. Add to it that the additional sunlight encouraged weeds to grow that they couldn't see on their side but were clearly visible from our side. I made it clear that I liked them the way they were. A few years later, they hired a professional who came in an hacked them up on both sides. Half of them died leaving "holes" all along the property line. Even though that was ugly, it was their right to hack up their trees. What wasn't their right was coming onto our property to do it. Thankfully the new owners fully embrace letting these lilacs be as big and full as possible.
I had to laugh at the OP for wanting sunlight. I offered to pay for our neighbors to put in trees so that our house could get shade from the West. I have other neighbors who cut down pine trees in their front yard for more sunshine, only to regret it because it makes the house too hot in the summer. It's true what they say about being careful what you wish for.
With the number of "lol"s and the content of your post it seems like you are TOO nice of a person. It sounds like you prioritize their needs over yours. The fact of the matter is that it is falling into YOUR property, & it is affecting YOUR ability to do things (like gardening) in YOUR property. Being TOO nice and understanding didn't help you with the bully neighbor and it certainly won't help you with the new nice neighbors. I'm not telling you to not be nice to your neighbors, it is good to be nice, but it is important to be fair with yourself.
Like aplcr0331 said on his/her post, make sure you are firm by saying that you ARE going to do it, & don't make it seem like you are asking for their permission. Don't do anything without telling them, because ultimately it is their trees, but have them understand that it is affecting YOU and YOUR property & do not let them finish the conversation without making sure they understand what is going on and what is going to happen. Like you mentioned, you have spoken a few times but you don't socialize, so don't worry, worst that can happen is that they talk less or stop talking to you completely, big deal! And if they stop talking to you because of this, then they weren't that great of neighbors to begin with.
Also, I recommend you assume the costs since it is something that needs to be done for the improvement of YOUR property and since you want to keep things as cordial as possible with your neighbors. The added cost because of how big the trees are now is YOUR responsibility since you didn't speak up and resolve the issue earlier with the bully neighbor. It is not their fault you didn't do so.
I wish you good luck in the outcome of this issue.
I have some tree questions. I'm in Oregon. We bought our house from the bank and aren't quite sure whether a tree that is pulling up our driveway is ours or belongs to our neighbor, and the neighbor says he isn't sure either. The city property line map indicates that the property line is somewhere under the giant hedge that the tree grows in. I haven't been able to find any markers or measurements from the structure to determine exactly where the property line is. How can I find out if the tree is ours or theirs? Another issue: The house on the opposite side is vacant. The owners don't seem to care about it. Other neighbors say that squatters have lived there for years (I've never seen anyone there). In fact, the police boarded it up and put "unsafe to occupy" signs on it. What can I do about their diseased trees that hang over the fence, including some large broken branches that hang in my yard? The trees are very old and brittle. I'm afraid we might kill them if we trim all that is hanging on our side, but I don't want to be liable for the cost of heritage trees. And how about the 8' tall wild invasive berry bushes that are in their yard that keep sending "volunteers" to my side? Anything I can do? I don't know how to contact the owners.
If an arborist can type up a letter showing that the trees are diseased and a danger to your property, that can be used as leverage. Otherwise you have had some good advice. Primarily, you have to live with it.
You CAN trim the overhang onto your property - at YOUR expense.
If you kill their tree, you will have to reimburse them.
This, generally speaking (check with the city code before proceeding though).
I don't think it's a good idea to ask them to share the expense of trimming the limbs that hang over your property line.
Also, just to be nice, since they are nice neighbors and you don't want trouble, I'd take extra precautions to avoid having the trees look like they've been sheared off awkwardly. TRIM, don't amputate, in other words. Most gardens and grass can do very nicely in filtered light.
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