Limb is Gone; Neighbors Outraged

My tree guys removed the limb today just before noon. The side neighbors weren't home. Everything went smoothly. They got most of the pieces of the limb in the neighbor's yard with a hook on a pole. When they cut the main limb, the remaining segment in their yard hung from the straps. They videotaped the entire procedure to be able to show that we didn't go on their property. Then they went to work cutting away the rest of the limb back to where it joined it's parent limb in the rear neighbor's yard (they had his permission for that).

All went well. At the end, the neighbor's adult son came home. He was enraged and chewed me out for a few minutes. He wouldn't listen when I tried explaining the law, so I let him rant. Apparently, I'm the cause of all grief they've ever experienced in life. He was on the phone a lot relaying the situation to someone. I tried giving him a copy of the legal information I have. He refused it. It's a shame because, up to this point, I always thought the son was cool with me. Judging from his words today, you'd think he's always hated everything I've done. Eventually, the son talked to my rear neighbor over the fence. Once he found out that I had that neighbor's blessing, he seemed to quiet down... I think it's time I finish building my fence between our yards!

So the limb is gone now, and the pillings are sitting on the lot tonight with the pile driving machine. Tomorrow the pilings go in!

As a post-script to this: I passed by the lot tonight on my way to church. Two police cars were there. One just in front of my lot and one across the street. Two officers were talking with a couple I didn't recognize, so I figured it had nothing to do with my encounter earlier. It turns out that someone had a gun to someone else's head in the house across the street from me. Yikes. And it really is such a nice little neighborhood. Really, it is! This one house is the one every neighborhood has: the sore spot that everyone wishes they would move away.

Today is V-Tree Day

I've confirmed that, according to state law, I have every right to cut a tree limb that encroaches on my property. I don't need the neighbor's permission, and I don't even need to give them notice. Therefore, at 10AM today the tree surgeon will meet me at the lot to cut the limb. The end hanging in the neighbor's yard will have to fall as it will. The lawyer told me I could offer to come over and clean up their end if they give me access to their yard. But I don't have to do that.

In other news, the temporary electric service has been hooked up, so I now have power at the site.

Progress on the Tree Limb Fiasco

According to the lawyer I used for creating the contracts, I have the right to trim any tree limb from any neighbor's tree if it crosses into my property and prevents me from using my property the way I choose to.

Actually, by law, I can make the tree owner pay for the cutting. I'm not interested in this because I would be affecting the wrong neighbor. And actually I was wrong yesterday: the tree trunk isn't completely in my rear neighbor's yard. It actually straddles the line between my rear neighbor and my side neighbor (see updated diagram below).



I'm waiting for the lawyer to call me tonight or tomorrow morning so he can put a copy of the relevant law in my hands. Then I plan to cut the limb tomorrow or the next day. The only trick will be how to cut the limb so that I minimize how much will fall into the neighbor's yard. I'm assuming at this point that she's not going to invite me into her yard to do the cutting.

I'm very disappointed that she's forcing me to start off our relationship this way. You figure you want to have good relationships with your neighbors. Oh well...

Stakes in the Ground... And the Tree Limb Fiasco Begins

The stakes marking the location of my pilings have been placed! I know it's a small thing, but it's exciting just to have people working at the lot and showing signs of actual progress!

But alas, there has to be a complication. The pile driver says he can come do the job anytime now. That's great! There's just a minor issue over a tree limb that snakes across the corner of my property from my rear neighbor to the side neighbor (see graphic). The side neighbor has always indicated she would like to keep the limb for her yard, while her adult son has said he'd be fine with us cutting it down. The pile driving equipment cannot get to the piling in the corner of my garage with the limb in the way.

Tonight, I went to the neighbor as a courtesy to ask if they'd mind me cutting the limb because of the problem with the equipment. Now, the limb would have to go eventually anyway because it not only poses a danger to my fence (it hangs low), but also to the roof of my garage. After a discussion, the lady told me she wasn't willing to lose "her tree", and that I would have to get an attorney!

I believe I'm well within my rights to cut the limb because it crosses into my property. I'll verify that on Monday. And I reminded her it's not "her tree" at all, but it belongs to my rear neighbor.

When I first bought the lot and considered where my house and driveway would be, there was a shaggy-looking pecan or elm tree close to the street. It was just on their side of the property line, and some of it's knobby roots spread out into where my driveway would go. I asked her if she would consider letting me pay to have the tree removed so that the roots wouldn't interfere with my driveway. She thought about it for a day or two and called to say it was okay.

Tonight, she conitnually returned to that event saying that she did that for me when she didn't have to, and now she regrets getting rid of that tree because she loves trees. And she's not willing to give up "her tree" in the back yard. Yes, it was nice of her to let me remove the front tree. I acknowledged that and reminded her that she did not object but gave me permission. If she had felt that strongly about it, she could have said no then. However, it's a completely seperate issue. The front tree was "hers" and she had a choice. I appreciate her cooperation in that instance. This time, she doesn't own anything, and it's my right as a property owner to trim or cut a limb that hangs into my property.

It's ridiculous anyway because there are several limbs hanging into her yard from the same oak tree. Only one runs through my property. Her landscape isn't going to be drastically transformed if this one goes away. There's also more going on here than just being a plant lover. There were several untended shrubs and plants growing on my side of the property line when I had to build my chain wall. She had commented that she hated to see the plants killed. I gave her ample opportunity to dig them up and transplant them if she wanted, and she never touched them.

It Pays to Price Shop!

When it came time to get the trees cut down, I got quotes from 11 companies. Most quotes were between $8,000 and $11,000. I got one that as a whopping $19,000! No thanks. But then I got a quote for $4,000. All his insurance checked out, and he had already come as a referral from somebody we knew. So he was definitely my choice.

And it turned out to be a good deal, even though it took a few weeks for him to complete the job. (I had told him I wasn't in a hurry anyway). Some of his equipment broke down, and that took some time.

On the downside, my neighbors developed an adversarial relationship with him and his crew. The neighbors claimed they were shooting off loud fireworks, like M-80s, which they later admited to. And his boss promised that it wouldn't happen again. My neighbors also claimed they messed up some shingles when they had to get on their roof to cut an overhanging branch. Luckily, I happened to have pictures I had taken several days prior that showed the damage was pre-existing. The tree crew also managed to pull the neighbors cable line off the house... twice. And the neighbor was using cable for their TV, phone, and internet access. Ouch! Not a good way to make a first impression.

All-in-all, the tree guy was true to his word. He had promised to come back later and grind one of the stumps a bit more. I had to remind him weeks later, and I didn't think he was going to follow through. But he did come back and do it.

The moral of this story is: get lots of quotes. You don't have to settle for the first guy that comes along. And even if most or your quotes are clustering in the same range, you still may find an outlying price that's lower. Beware of the lower price, though. I lucked out here, but I could just as well have wound up with a bad experience.