Dead Tree on Neighbor's Yard (insurance, lawyer, new house)

[kagmypts]

We will be moving to a new house in unincorporated Dekalb County in a few months. There are three dead trees on our neighbor's property that are dangerously close to our house. In fact, one of the dead trees has already fallen through our roof and caused extensive damage. Luckily the house is still under construction, and nobody was hurt. Since we plan to move in 2 months, we would like to the remainder of the dead trees to come down so that the next tree that comes through our roof does not actually harm anybody. We have made our neighbor aware of the dead trees and the hazard they pose to us and our house, but he refuses to take them down (it costs too much as he says). Does anybody know if there is anything we can do to force him to remove the trees (or contact names/numbers at the county)? Thank you!

[plessthanpointohfive]

We're one both ends of this situation. We have one tree that, while still alive and healthy, is growing out the side of an embankment...so, it's growing out horizontally some before straightening out and growing vertically. It leans. It's only a matter of time before it falls on my neighbor's house.

And then our other neighbor has a walnut tree that's suffocated by ivy and is dying. It, too, is a leaning tree and when it goes it's going to fall across our parking pad and crush our cars and land on the house.

We've already in the process to get city approval to remove our embankment tree (as well as another tree that's growing too close to our foundation.

But while we were getting estimates for tree removal we got one for our neighbor's tree. It will cost $650 to get it down. We plan to approach our neighbor and explain the danger and offer to pay half. If he says no, we'll probably pay the whole thing.

Better that than the 50K+ in damage it would cause by falling on our cars (used and old so 10K each to replace, and repair of roof 30k+) and stave off a neighborhood feud.

Do you already have estimates?

[Mattie]

Timing is everything. On the day of our closing here in GA, we went for the final walk-through. An enormous tree had fallen from the neighbor's property across the backyard of the house we were purchasing. We delayed closing until it was removed. I know the sellers paid for the removal, but I always wondered why they didn't try and get the neighbor to take responsibility.

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by southgeorgia

orphaned quote (removed by moderator)

I am sorry if this comes off kind of curt, but your answer is not really helpful. First, we have already paid for the house we are moving into so it is not as if we can just walk away. Second, we purchased our soon to be home before our neighbor did. Third, it actually is my neighbor's problem as he has already been found liable for the $1,500+ in damage for his dead tree that already fell onto our house. Since he knew the tree was dead before it fell, he is considered negligent. I do not make the laws.

As for why I do not pay to have it removed, they are not our trees. I would LOVE to pay to have the trees removed, but I do not own them. However, my neighbor just does not care.

Pless, the trees have already been permitted for removal (because they are dead). The cost for tree removal is about $1,000 per tree due to their size and the fact that they are so close to our house. I would be happy to pay for those trees to come down (as it is worth $2,000 to not have to risk having a tree fall on us while we sleep), but once again, the trees are not ours so we cannot authorize their removal.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by southgeorgia

Its not his problem.

Of course it is. Are you kidding me? Try telling that one to a judge. If you have a hazard on your property that may cause damage or injury and you do nothing...it's called negligence.

Of course from a practical and pragmatic perspective, it may be easier and less expensive overall to pay for the removal yourself, but you still need his permission to do so. If he refuses, then all you can do is wait and let the insurance company pay less your deductable. Most likely the insurance company would subrogate and sue him and/or his insurance company to recover, but you'd be out your deductable and the damage will have been done. You could also sue now, but you'd be out of pocket for the costs.

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Of course it is. Are you kidding me? Try telling that one to a judge. If you have a hazard on your property that may cause damage or injury and you do nothing...it's called negligence.

Of course from a practical and pragmatic perspective, it may be easier and less expensive overall to pay for the removal yourself, but you still need his permission to do so. If he refuses, then all you can do is wait and let the insurance company pay less your deductable. Most likely the insurance company would subrogate and sue him and/or his insurance company to recover, but you'd be out your deductable and the damage will have been done. You could also sue now, but you'd be out of pocket for the costs.

Thanks, Neil. As you mention, we need his permission to take down the trees, and he does not want to give it... there are way too many details, which I have omitted for simplicity, to get into on this forum. We have already won a suit for the damage that was previously done to our house. If another one of his dead trees happen to fall in the same place the last one did (which is highly likely given that all three trees are practically touching), my husband and I will likely be killed. The tree that already went through our house entered where our master bed will be. It is all nice and dandy that we can sue for damages after the fact, but that does not help if we are dead. For that reason, we want to be proactive!

I am going to try to get in touch with some of the people down in Dekalb County on Monday morning to see if there is anything we can do. Once again if anyone has any suggestions for contacts, we would appreciate it. Thank you again!

[elvez]

I would send a certified letter to him and his insurance company warning them of their liability for any damage caused by the dead trees. His insurance company would probably drop him if he does not take care of it. If the trees fell and injured someone it could be a major payout for them. SouthGeorgia is Moderator removed: No name calling, please. How can he say it in not your neighbors problem when he is totally liable for damages caused by obviously dead trees on his property.

[spacelord75]

We had a similar type problem...neighbor is an elderly man, who's a really sweet old guy, but he had zero motivation to get the estimates to remove this massive pine tree that sat about 20 feet from our house on his property. It had been totally choked out by a wisteria vine (no lie, the vine was a FOOT thick in certain areas of the trunk of the tree!) and the branches of the pine tree had no needles and were falling off. I called my insurance company and they said no matter what, if it's a dead tree it's his responsibility, but a friend who's a lawyer suggested going the certified letter route. I was in process of taking photos to send with the letter when he came by and fortunately said he was having it taken down. Long story but....it IS his responsbility and if he's being uncooperative you should send the certified letter to him and his insurance company as soon as possible. Good luck.

[kagmypts]

Thank you for all of the input. I just wanted to let everyone know that after having a long conversation with our neighbor that he took down all of the dead trees this past weekend. Thank you again for the suggestions!

[neil0311]

Glad it worked out for you, and so easily too. Just goes to show that you can't get if you don't ask.