Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The original owners of my house planted white pine seedlings all along the property line. There is one section where our property line is very close to a neighbor's house (10, maybe 15 feet). Over the years, these trees got very tall. VERY tall. The tree closest to their house looks magnificent from our neighbor's living room window and does a nice job of keeping him from seeing the other nearby houses. However they've always made me a little nervous. They're too big to be so close to a house, and white pines are weak trees with a tendency to break.
This year we had a blizzard. All but two of the trees, having been poorly planted, snapped from the weight of the snow or leaned over to the point of becoming partially uprooted. However, the "magnificent" tree did not break.
We're definitely removing the broken trees, and we'd like to take out all the trees, since such a high percentage broke in that storm. We feel it means the trees are inferior and the "magnificent" tree could break in the next storm and possibly damage the neighbor's house or even crash through his window.
However, when we told our neighbor he asked us to take down all the other trees but to wait until the summer to take down the "magnificent" tree. His reason is that he is about to put the house on the market. He feels the tree will help entice buyers. He says he intends to tell any serious buyer about the situation and warn him that the tree will come down this year. But he figures by then the buyer will be hooked by the house's other amenities and will be willing to go along with it.
What do you think? Is this ethical? Is this a big deal? Am I being a good neighbor to help him out or being a rotten neighbor who is potentially misleading a future homeowner?
One other thing to consider is it will likely be less expensive to have the tree taken down when the company is already out there removing the other trees compared to making a special, second, trip to take down the nicer tree.
If I were looking to buy a house and found out the tree might fall, I would consider it a good thing that you are removing the tree. It would save the potential buyer from having to either a) pay for it themselves to have it removed or b) pay / file insurance after it's fallen and damaged property.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,938,904 times
Reputation: 9885
It's your property and your tree. Your neighbor's thoughts are a moot point. I would remove the tree and not give it a second thought. As long as I'm doing things within my rights as a property owner, it wouldn't even occur to me to involve my neighbor in the decision process at all. I wouldn't explain my actions or anything else. If asked, I'd simply say that I'd decided that the best thing to do was to remove the tree. Case closed.
The other issue is what if the neighbor doesn't disclose that the tree is going to come down? Or, worse, what if the tree falls on the your new neighbor's house and they get wind of this whole story....you were afraid the tree would fall, wanted to remove, but left it up to entice buyers, etc.
It's your property and your tree. Your neighbor's thoughts are a moot point. I would remove the tree and not give it a second thought. As long as I'm doing things within my rights as a property owner, it wouldn't even occur to me to involve my neighbor in the decision process at all. I wouldn't explain my actions or anything else. If asked, I'd simply say that I'd decided that the best thing to do was to remove the tree. Case closed.
The other issue is what if the neighbor doesn't disclose that the tree is going to come down? Or, worse, what if the tree falls on the your new neighbor's house and they get wind of this whole story....you were afraid the tree would fall, wanted to remove, but left it up to entice buyers, etc.
+2
What kind of "neighbor" asks someone to participate in a fraud... Your tree - have it cut down with the rest IT WILL SAVE you money in the long run... If it comes down on its own you may be screwed....since this tree was compromised in the blizzard. Unless you are an arborist you really can't know when it will come down... We are in hurricane season (that may not affect you - most of the time)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
