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I have a neighbor whom I am very friendly with. I recently showed him plans to replace the fence that is separating my property from his. At that time he expressed his concern about my trees (probably about 6 or so) that fall between our property lines.
He states that the trees are damaging his driveway. I have seen evidence of cracks in his driveway, as well as mine. The trees are all on my side of the fence. They are very tall and provide lots of shade to my already sweltering house (I live in Orlando, FL).
I bought this property just a couple of years ago and one of the selling points was the trees. They are tall and beautiful. The thought of removing all of these trees makes me want to move! But I also want to continue to be neighborly with this gentleman.
He offered to cut the root system that is on his side of the property, but this may kill the tree and cause the tree to not be stabilized, possibly causing more liability on my part. At present time I allow him to come onto my property to trim as much of the tree as he wants, so that leaves and such don't fall on his property.
I have an arborist coming out on Monday to see if there's a way to cut the root system and save the tree. Meanwhile, I'm writing to see if anyone else has had experience with this. Who pays for the removal of the trees? Has anyone on here had success in cutting a large part of the root system of a tree and still be able to stabilize/save the tree?
i think it would technically be your responsibility to pay for removal, but since you want them, and he doesn't, maybe he would agree to kicking some money towards it? even if only 25%...it would be nice. then maybe he could put some money towards new landscaping along your property lines?
I'm feeling ethically it might be my financial responsibility, but I've also read that whoever benefits is the one who is supposed to pay. It sounds like lawyer territory but I'm trying not to be so formal about it. I really just want to save the trees somehow....as I mentioned, it was a big reason why I bought this house. :-(
Are the oaks? If so, you really need to have the roots looked at closely. Many times these trees roots will seek out your foundation and cause expensive damage. When we were house shopping we looked at a house that had a huge beautiful oak in front of it. Had it looked at closer and the roots were screwing up the house so it would have had to go. We passed. I didn't want to deal with a messed up foundation or removal of the giant oak.
Hopefully your arborist will be able to give you good news. If action is going to be taken I would just go to the neighbor and say, "Hey, this is how much they are quoting. I'd rather not see the trees be hacked, but at the same time I value our relationship and understand where you are coming from. How do you want to split the cost of what you want done?"
The loss of large trees will diminish the value of your property. You could pay a consulting arborist to estimate the value of that tree and see if your insurance company will insure it. If the neighbor damages your tree your insurance company can then go after his for a legitimate financial loss. Look of an arborist that does such appraisals for the timber industry in Florida.
I smell ficus. Ficus trees are an invasive that have been very popular in Florida. If that is what they are, remove them now before they get totally out of control. You bought into a problem, not a feature. I've seen ficus roots go seventy feet or more, ruining everything in their path. They like to fall down in hurricanes as well.
Cutting a root system, if it is under the canopy of the tree, will make it fall in smaller hurricanes. In general, I agree with the idea of letting one or more licensed arborists guide you.
Ficus are a problem becuase their roots tend to run along the surface and spread out widely. There are other trees with main roots that go down. A really old ficus sure is beautiful though. There was a huge ficus in our old neighborhood that was almost 150 years old. This thing was absolutely huge and really beautiful. Unfortunately, it was also very climbable and there was a family of 8 illegal aliens living on platforms stuck up in the branches (They even had a couch up there). If you have Ficus like that one, I would be loathe to cut them down as well. Perhaps you could pay to relocate you neighbor's driveway?
As far as responsibility, it depends on whose property the trees are located. It is unusual that they wold be planted right smak in the center of the property line. If they are, you need to work out an agreement. If you were to go to court, the judge woudl tell you to go out in the hall and work out an agreement and your lawyers will say "That is $12,000 please").
Maybe you can agree to replace the trees with some fast growing less problematic trees. We had a tree called a Sapphire Dragon that grew 6-10 feet a year.
Were you in the area for Hurricane Charley? I ask because after seeing pictures of how many trees and tree parts in the Orlando area went down from that storm, I simply wouldn't do anything that might destabilize a good-sized tree and make it more likely to go down in a subsequent storm.
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