So My neighbor's tree just fell into our back yard.

[PA_jen]

Last edited Mon Jun 14, 2021, 05:22 PM - Edit history (1)

not the whole tree but a good chunk is covering our back yard. Doesn't appear to hit our house but we can't get out the basement door.

Tried to talk to the neighbors and they are not answering us so left a note and took a bunch of pictures. contacting our home insurance tomorrow. This is the first time we ever had to deal with something like this. any advice or suggestions will be helpful.


UPDATE: thank you all for your responses. I called my home owners insurance and they started a claim. right now where the tree fell it is in the backyard and not in danger of harming anyone. Unfortunately my road is being worked on and closed to non residential traffic so having someone come our and do any removing just yet probably won't happen a quickly as I like.

[dweller]

1. It is now your tree

or at least the part in your yard 😑

that’s the way it works here in NC

✌🏻

[Yonnie3]

2. In Virginia as well

Where it lands is what counts.

[PA_jen]

4. so we are response for clean up and damage?

[Yonnie3]

7. That's what happened here in Virginia

Part of a large tree fell on a rental unit behind us and damaged the roof. The owner had to repair. There were some exceptions but none applied in this case.

Your home owner's insurance people should know what applies to your situation. It does vary state to state and could be different in your location.

[dweller]

9. Your homeowner's insurance

covers you, the neighbor’s covers theirs … as noted below, contact your ins and take pics, they may cover some of it
Got a chain saw, or a friend with one?

✌🏻

[Ocelot II]

15. Depends on whether the tree was rotten inside and the neighbors knew about it.

In that case they'd be responsible for cleanup (at least that's the law in my state). Otherwise you're probably stuck with it. Same thing happened to me - a chunk of a neighbor's tree fell on my lawn as the result of an unusually heavy snowfall; fortunately it didn't damage anything but I had to assume the cost of removing it since the tree wasn't known to be in danger of falling. But I knew that was the law so I didn't make an issue of it. I got lucky the next time a large branch fell onto the lawn; this time part of it fell on the sidewalk so the city came and took away the whole thing.

The neighbor on the other side is a different story. One June day some years ago they (a couple) came to my door and demanded that I cut down a row of large trees along the property line but entirely on my side. They said they were too near the electric line to their house and if there was a storm their house would catch fire, so I would have to do this immediately. I said I was not going to cut down my trees but that they had the right to trim the branches on their side of the property line as long as they didn't damage the trees. They got really angry and told me I was being selfish and I had a moral obligation to cut down my trees; I said sorry, no deal, and gave them the phone number of a tree service I'd used.

Despite their insistence that I had to cut down my trees immediately or their house would burn down, they didn't do anything until that October. I came home one afternoon to discover that they had trimmed the branches of my trees far inside my side of the property line, and then thrown all the branches into my yard (several hundred pounds of them). This was a do-it-yourself job; no reputable arborist would do it that way. Two years later they trimmed the trees again but at least used a tree service. By this time I'd had a privacy fence built so the awful wife couldn't see that I was in the yard, and I heard her tell the men to just throw the branches into my yard. They told her they couldn't do that, but that they had to haul them away. So at least it wasn't as bad that time.

But then the following year they poisoned all my shrubs and plants along the property line with Round-Up. That's a whole 'nother story. But I got a lawyer involved and they've left me and my garden alone ever since.

[c-rational]

16. Sorry to hear of your un-neighborly issue. Was this area in one of your paintings if I recall

correctly?

[Ocelot II]

17. Yes, the edge of the bad neighbors' garage appears in one of them.

[Grins]

23. And in NJ. One out for you...

Did you think the tree was a threat to your home, and if so, had an expert or someone from your city say it could be a problem - and write your neighbors a letter warning them? A certified letter?

If not forget it. Since your home was not damaged, suck it up, file a claim with your ins. company and keep up the premiums.

[JoeOtterbein]

8. In PA we are responsible for any trees, or tree limbs,...

...that are on or over our property line.

[dweller]

10. I'd bet it's that way in all states

They’re all in cahoots together imo

✌🏻

[MiniMe]

12. Works that way in Maryland too

Had my neighbors tree fall onto my roof and into my yard and I tried to call insurance. They informed me that it was my responsibility to get the tree removed. They would put in a claim if I liked, but it probably wouldn't pay me anything because of the deductible, they were right. My deductible was much more than the cost of getting the tree removed.

[applegrove]

3. Get an electronic wood spilter if you cut up the wood. We took down a huge maple

between us and the neighbours and shared the wood years ago. My dad split his half by hand when he was 60 and had a terribly sore shoulder as he aged. I think you can probably rent the log spliter. Don't use a wedge and sledge hammer yourself.

[left-of-center2012]

5. When a Tree Falls, Who Pays for the Damage?

When an oak topples in the forest and no one’s around to hear it, who cares? But when your neighbor’s tree falls on your roof, you’ll care—and want to know whose homeowners insurance will pay.

“If the neighbor’s tree falls on your house, it’s your problem,” says Gary Blackwell, an independent insurance agent based in Corinth, Maine. Your insurer may reimburse you for repairs to damaged structures, such as your home and a detached garage, and for removing debris—minus the deductible. (Your neighbor isn’t legally responsible for reimbursing your deductible; you could sue to recover that amount, but it’s not a sure bet.)

Insurers generally limit what they’ll pay to remove the tree to $500 or $1,000, says the Insurance Information Institute (III), an industry organization. But if the downed tree caused no damage to any structure on your property, you’ll have to pay for removal and debris cleanup yourself.

“Technically, there would be no damage to file a claim,” says Jason Hargraves, managing editor at insuranceQuotes.com, which is based in Austin, Texas. (Your insurer might make an exception if, say, the tree is blocking a driveway or access to a ramp for a disabled person.)

full article at:
https://www.consumerreports.org/homeowners-insurance/when-a-tree-falls-who-pays-for-the-damage/

[Lochloosa]

6. If its a live tree its yours. If it was obviously dying its there's.

Take lots of pics and contact youf insurance company

[Buckeye_Democrat]

11. My parents had neighbors with trees, the branches...

... growing over time to even cover my parents' patio cover and roof!

My parents asked them to do something about it, especially since they'd been dealing with the seeds covering their patio and clogging their gutters, but the neighbors replied that any branches over their property was entirely their responsibility!

I never bothered to look up the laws on the matter. I just know that my older brother cut off many of those branches and then dumped them in the neighbor's lawn. I saw a gigantic pile during a visit there. The end result was that their trees were butchered, assymetrical and very ugly.

Edit: I think they were Sycamore trees with numerous "helicopter" seeds. Maybe Maple trees, but they don't seem to branch out so wide from what I've observed.
The weird and anti-social neighbor planted them in the 70's right next to the property fence instead of near his home.

[csziggy]

21. American Sycamores have big round spiky seed things

So if they were "helicopter" types, probably maple - or possibly UK sycamore.

American Sycamore:



UK sycamore:



American Maple:

[Buckeye_Democrat]

22. They were probably Maples, then.

I swear, it's like that particular neighbor was constantly scheming ways to be a menace while declaring it was "legal". He probably would've been an eager slave owner a couple centuries ago.

Edit:
My parents still mostly felt sympathy for him and tried to be nice.
I just remembered he also was the only neighbor who wasn't required to clear the flora on the other side of his property near a creek. He had it declared some kind of nature sanctuary. Then he boasted how it made some local officials upset at him, like that was his primary motivation. His wife was more reasonable, but often went along with him.

[csziggy]

24. Not close enough for me to have a case but my neighbors have planted invasive species

Until the property next door was developed, we never saw a Chinese tallow tree or ardisia plants but now they are covering my farm and crowding out the native species. I don't know why the nurseries are allowed to sell the damned things - they are known to be harmfully invasive.

Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do - except let my dandelions and other native species grow wild on my property and hope they spread onto theirs!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

25. Ugh, sorry to read that.

Be thankful that the neighbor isn't even closer, I guess.

[csziggy]

26. The big problem is that I have sixty acres to try to keep clear of the stuff

They had like 3-4 acres each. I wish I could have afforded to buy that hundred acres next door when I first looked at it. ***sigh***

[JoeOtterbein]

13. Another way to look it; Who's responsible for racking leaves from the tree in your neighbor's yard?

BTW, our electric co. here in SC-PA York County will set you up with a tree-trimmer-removal co and then let you pay for it in installments on your bill.

[dweller]

14. Is it a hardwood

or an evergreen ?
Do you know ?

✌🏻

[Patterson]

18. Call your state Insurance Commissioner and ask them for advice.

Get a complaint form sent to you and have it ready to go if you need to do. The ones I have talked to have been ready to rumble.

Also get lots of pictures.

[Patterson]

19. Call your state Insurance Commissioner and ask them for advice.

Get a complaint form sent to you and have it ready to go if you need to do. The ones I have talked to have been ready to rumble.

Also get lots of pictures.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

20. The neighbor with the tree can be found liable sometimes.

https://www.findlaw.com/realestate/neighbors/conflicts-involving-trees-and-neighbors.html

My neighbor's tree looks like it's going to fall on my house. What should I do?

Landowners are responsible for maintaining the trees on their property. Legally, they have two duties: make reasonable inspections and take care to ensure the tree is safe. If your neighbor doesn't remove the dangerous tree, and the tree does in fact cause damage, your neighbor can be held liable.

If you've spoken to your neighbor about the tree issue, and he hasn't done anything about it you do have laws that protect you. The tree may constitute a nuisance, by interfering with your use and enjoyment of your own property. You could file a nuisance claim, and if the court finds that the true is a nuisance, the court may order the tree removed.

Most cities have ordinances prohibiting property owners from keeping dangerous conditions on their property. If you call your municipality, they may remove the tree themselves or order your neighbor to do it.

Utility companies may also have an interest in the tree's removal if the tree's condition threatens any of its equipment or causes a fire hazard. A simple call to a utility company may prompt them to remove the tree themselves.

I was happy to read that part. My parents' former neighbor was a nuisance who would try to defend his actions with various legal protection, or his interpretation of them. As long as something was "legal", he'd happily do all kinds of immoral and anti-social things.

The guy's house was OFTEN the target of vandalism by the neighborhood kids. Although that was wrong too, the guy really did invite much of it upon himself.