Tree removal question (house, live in, costs)

[Lampert]

I live in central MA. I have something like 10-15 not huge but big big (3-4 stories high) oak trees growing between my house/driveway and a road (with power line). Probably about 10-15 feet from my house and 6 feet from the road.
All the branches toward the road have been cut by previous owners so all the weight is toward the house.
The trees look mostly healthy but I feel a bit uneasy and I am considering removing them and replacing with trees that don't grow very tall.

Given the position I am assuming a crane will be used for most if not all the trees. I haven't started shopping around but does anyone have an idea of what I would be looking for in term of price?
Can I get away with $1,000 per tree or $1,500 (or more!) is more of a reasonable estimate?
I can't really afford to pay something like $30,000 total so in that case I may just have someone come and check that the trees are actually healthy.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[sawyer2]

There will certainly be some economy of scale but pricing for this kind of work is highly dependent on where you live and how easy or not it is to access the tees.

Your best bet is to call up whoever does that work locally to you and they can pull up an aerial view of your property for a ball park, or get them to stop by for a quote.

[GeoffD]

My next door neighbor had an old oak pulled down recently. $2,500 and that’s SouthCoast where labor costs are lower. I was quoted $2,000 for five much smaller trees by the same guy. I just paid him $500 cash to remove a tree that blew down 3 weeks ago. The 80-ish owner who drove a bobcat plus three guys for 3 hours. I’m sure a paper check would have been a couple hundred more. I think it really depends on tree and the location. A bucket truck, a chipper, and a crew for a few days to remove a bunch of big oaks is going to cost quite a bit.

[BostonMike7]

I had 8 trees renoved a few years ago. 4 were large including a massive oak and 4 were medium.

It took 3 full days and $5k for the job. I felt that was a very good price.

Two other companies wanted to use a crane. They were $7500-8000 for the job.

[porterhouse]

The tree business is a good one to be in. Family in western MA had to wait months for someone to even take their business last year.

[wmass]

Being just six feet from the road, it is possible these are public trees on town property - Check with your Town tree warden/highway department. If they are healthy, you may need to have a public hearing first to get permission to remove (Mass General Laws Chapter 87) and there could be a town bylaw for scenic roads, etc. Otherwise, you could face fines. If they are not healthy or considered a hazard, the Town might take them down at no cost (if public trees) and/or the electric company might if they threaten their wires. (Oaks are pretty durable. I think you'd end up missing the trees, and it may be worth just having them pruned).

[Shrewsburried]

I recently had a job quoted in central MA by a licensed and insured company. 6 trees, largely mature white pines which were quite large and two smaller sugar maples. The owner stated $1.8k for the first one, $500 for the rest. This was for a drop and stack, though it did include a crane was neither of us wished to risk the asphalt drive as it remains in good shape with no cracking and would be the high point. No lines or structures in range.

[matrix5k]

We just had 6 big trees removed and a bunch of medium/little ones for $5,000 including pruning and grinding stumps. They used a crane and it took just one day.

[Bamaman1]

Many people think trees in yards are an asset. This proves they're often a liability.

Your best bet would be to find an arborist and get an evaluation on the condition of those trees. Cutting down 10-15 trees is a major expenditure that may can be avoided.

I had a diseased tree that could have fallen on our neighbor's very expensive home, and I called a "woodchuck." He came out and cut a 36" oak on the other side of my property and sent me a bill for $1k (I didn't pay.) Ended up calling another tree company who took down the right tree. And then they took down another tree hit by lightning that was entwined in the electrical lines.

$1,000 a tree here and $1,000 a tree there. These things get to be a financial burden.

[Lampert]

Thank you everyone for your input!

I am going to ask for some quote and will decide what to do.