Is the maple tree dead? (landscaping, backyard, fencing, summer)

[Jude1948]

My backyard neighbors have a maple tree that is one of the few left after the builder cleared for the subdivision. It has major dead limbs at the top and various others spread about the tree. About three years ago when we moved in I treated it with a Bayer product which was a one year treatment. Since then we have watched many limbs come down with wind and rain storms. I felt from the start that there was no hope of saving it. When they built the house behind us and the new neighbors moved in we talked about it probably being dead, and since it is sort of shared by both of us, even tho it is on their property, we would help with the cost of taking it down. They had a couple of estimates one being $1600. Another person said it was still viable and with some manicuring (taking all the dead branches off) it would make it. This for $850. Have any of you had an experience of this nature? I hate to invest any money if it is pointless and it will die in a couple of years. And yes I am worried that it may come down and damage someone's fencing or landscaping.

[CptnRn]

It is best to have an arborist take a look at the tree and see what they think. We were faced with a similar problem a couple of years ago, and decided to remove the tree because a windstorm had cracked the trunk. It could have been bolted to reinforce it but the arborist predicted it would have rotted out from water entering the crack in a couple of years, so it wasn't worth the expense. We hated to loose the tree though because it shaded the West side of our house, which needs the shade in the summer time.

This website has some good information on what to look for to see if your tree is sick. Save A Tree - Home

Here are some others that might help.