This tree is going to hit my house!!!

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GouletPens

GouletPens

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Ashland, VA
I live on an acre of land with almost no trees. However, my property is surrounded by woods, many of them 40-50 feet tall or more. There's one tree in particular that has been partially uprooted and would have fallen, if not for the tree that it's leaning against holding it. This tree really worries me b/c it's tall enough to hit my house, or even worse, my shop!!!

It's not my property, and therefore not my tree, so I don't know what I can really do about it. I don't know the owner of the land (there's no house on it, it's just land). Should I contact the owner and have them fell it safely? Should I contact my homeowner's insurance company? I'm a 9 month homeowner here and never had to deal with this before. It's a very windy day today here in central VA so I'm particularly concerned. Any help is appreciated!!

Check out the pics. I added some crude MS Paint scribbles to help point out the problem.
 

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I'd call your insurance agent today and your county government to see if they can find out who owns the land and/or give you the rules on cutting down a tree that threatens structures on your property. From there I'd try contacting the owner if you can find one, otherwise I'd look at adding some bowl stock to your inventory by calling a local tree trimming service.
 
jimbob91577 said:
I'd call your insurance agent today and your county government to see if they can find out who owns the land and/or give you the rules on cutting down a tree that threatens structures on your property. From there I'd try contacting the owner if you can find one, otherwise I'd look at adding some bowl stock to your inventory by calling a local tree trimming service.
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Can I cut it though, cuz it's not my tree? I guess the owner would never know the difference since they don't even live there, but I'm just thinking a 'reputable' tree cutting service might not take the job cuz it's not my tree....or I wouldn't want the liability in case they fell it and it still hits my house, the insurance might not pay it cuz it's not my tree. To make matters more confusing, I've applied for a change in homeowner's insurance and the agent is supposed to get back to me about switching it....it's been a month or so now (the tree wasn't like this when I applied) and there's some sort of hangup. It's just a big ol' mess!
 
Don't you cut that tree. Don't do it.. get ahold of the current insuror not the new insuror.
 
Your property goes all the way up past the trees, meaning you have the legal right to cut anything that is hanging over the property line. The owner of the tree has no obligation to do anything at all. your insurance company has no obligation to do anything because there is no damage yet. Basically, it is up to you to have the offending section of the tree removed if you feel it is a danger to your house, or you can wait for the damage to possibly happen.
 
Around here if it is across the property lines you can cut it. Unless you just want to I would let the property owner do it, less risk for you. Contact your insurance soon regardless.
 
FIRST, go to the county building, zoning.

They will know or know how to find the owner of the property.
Inform the county of your problem - they will probably advise you.

IF NOT, call your insurance company and have them write a letter to the property owner - insurance letters are more official and THEY are the damaged party, when the tree falls.

IF YOU DO NOT put the owner on notice, your insurance will probably have to pay for damage to your home ( and you may be cancelled or your rates may skyrocket), if the owner has been "put on notice", they will be liable. (Could require court action, but that will be your insurance company vs the other landowner - you are still "out of the picture".)

I am not a lawyer, just have had a fair amount of experience in WISCONSIN - YMMV!!
 
If the roots of the tree are not on your property, I would not touch it.

YOUR COUNTY can advise you of your rights and obligations --- THEY will KNOW YOUR state laws.
 
UPDATE

I contacted my insurance agent, and he, like many of you, said to contact the county. I'm getting on that right now. You can't tell from the pictures (and you don't know my property lines), but no part of the tree has crossed the property line...yet. Another tree on their property is holding it back for now, but when one of them gives, it'll certainly then be on my property. I'll update more as it comes....either way, the thing is way too big for me to mess with on my own, and I'm not hiring someone to cut down my neighbor's tree.
 
YOUR COUNTY can advise you of your rights and obligations --- THEY will KNOW YOUR state laws.
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YEAH WAT HE SAY!!!

You get mixed up in it, YOU OWN IT...

right now it's a He Said / She Said situation

write a letter to you insurance company, send these foto's with it, DO NOT sign the letter. Take it to a notary public, sign it in front of them (they are paid witnesses) albeit impartial. They do not have to act any further, however you might find one who will observe you seal the letter and take it upon themselves to mail it on your behalf. Once you get that done you have notified them and they chose to take action or NOT take action. You did all you could do.

If you do take steps yourself, you will NOT be reimbursed the costs of clearing NOR any subsequent loss incurred by such actions.

I STRESS I am not a legal counselor in your state or any other state. I can say I have seen this situation played out. Best of Luck!!!
 
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Cutting down a tree that is leaning on another tree can also be very dangerous and should not be done if you don't have any experience with this type of situation.
 
I agree completely with Jim regarding the dangers of cutting a leaning tree. I did this kind of work when I was younger and there's an awful lot of pressure on that tree supporting the uprooted tree and strange/bad things can happen very fast. I don't know the laws in your state, but where I live a land owner is responsible for the damage caused by any tree that shows obvious signs of being a danger (i.e. dead or in this case partially uprooted). That being said, the land owner should be responsible for having the tree removed (and of course giving you any of the wood you wanted for pen making). You should be able to find out who owns the land at your county offices and contact him/her to advise them of the situation. What I don't think you want to do is wait until it causes some damage or worse hurts someone.

Jim Smith
 
I wish I had seen this sooner.

There have many posts here oin the past about insurance companies treating inquiry calls as claims.....even though they aren't.....and raising premiums. Hope that doesn't happen to you.

First two things you would need to do is check with a county office.....maybe public works or maybe the county attorney to determine what your legal situation is and what the county rules might be. Next thing to do is check with the tax office for information on the owner of the property.

If you don't have experience with felling trees, get a pro. It can be a tricky proposition.
 
Here's a neat trick------any power lines that could be knocked down by these trees.
Call Power and Light have them come out and take the trees down.
Around here if you will do the clean up----they will cut down just about any tree that could knock a line down.
And you never stepped on his propery and there's a work order showing they cut the trees down just in case someone wines.
Safety always comes first.
 
UPDATE

I don't think the insurance thing really matters. Apparently the new policy is being held up by a claim my wife made 3 years ago on a lost $100 necklace and that's why the new company doesn't want to underwrite it...buncha punks.

Anyway, I called the circuit court, the commissioner of revenue, even the local deputy and no one can give me the information I need. Basically, I have the person's name who owns it from the county record and they told me to grab a phone book and start calling. I have no idea if the person that owns this land is even in the state, so I'm supposed to call everyone by that name in the country about it?! That's basically where the county left me off. Apparently, this kind of thing never happens around here according to the deputy. I guess I'm going to have to go knocking on all my neighbor's doors and see if they know the people that own the land. I really don't know what else I can do besides hire a company to fell the tree despite the fact it's not mine.

The b**** of it all is the reason I am trying to switch insurance is because my old one has such a high deductible....so even if the tree hits my house I'm paying for it anyway. Boy, homeownership is great!!!! :mad:
 
Gary Max said:
Here's a neat trick------any power lines that could be knocked down by these trees.
Call Power and Light have them come out and take the trees down.
Around here if you will do the clean up----they will cut down just about any tree that could knock a line down.
And you never stepped on his propery and there's a work order showing they cut the trees down just in case someone wines.
Safety always comes first.
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No dice....it's not close enough to the power lines and it's leaning a totally different direction....very creative though.
 
The way I see it, nobody knows where the owner is, the owner doesn't live
there and therefore has no idea that damage is about to happen.

If you were to get up there and take off the Statesmen, Emperors and the
Junior Gents, you'd miss most of the damage. Cut off a few more cigars and
the tree would clear the house if it fell.

But it would fall onto your property, at which time you could harvest the
slimlines, barons, swapping blanks, giveaways and stoppers.

You'd have to sneak over the property line to get the bowl blanks, though.
 
Well, I'd say the first thing to do is to learn who owns the property.

Either:

The tree will not fall and you'll want it cut it down.

or

The tree will fall and you'll need to know who's insurance company to talk to.

Regardless, you're going to have to know who the owner is.
 
Skye said:
Well, I'd say the first thing to do is to learn who owns the property.

Either:

The tree will not fall and you'll want it cut it down.

or

The tree will fall and you'll need to know who's insurance company to talk to.

Regardless, you're going to have to know who the owner is.
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I have a name and that's it. No other contact info, just a name. The county won't contact him for me and won't give me his info. My only option is to ask my neighbors if they know the person or to start calling every person by that name in the phone book. Even still, if it does fall and heaven forbid, does hit something of mine, then I'm going to have to get a lawyer and sue and deal with their insurance (if they have any which they may not, b/c it's just land, no improvements) and that's just a huge old mess. I'm really really hoping it doesn't come to that. Maybe this is retribution for all of this tree's cousins I've chopped up for my own pleasure:angel:
 
I looked at all the photos and until I saw the one looking from the tree to the house it was hard to see how the tree might fall etc. in that last photo it looks like there are several trees between it and your shop. It is hard to tell from the photo. but if I am seeing it right there is little danger that tree would actually come down in one single crash. it has a lot to catch it on the way down. i woudl also caution about doing any cutting on your own. there are things going on with that tree and the ones it is leaning on that could send that thing several yards in any unknown direction. I've been knocked around pretty good just trying to trim small limbs off trees. there is a lot more weight than you think. is is also now stressed under that weight. think of a bow that is drawn back. A really really big bow, and it is just looking for a reason to release that energy. I was once about 50 yards from a large pine tree when it was felled. and I don't want to be that close again. the concussion alone popped my ears. and that tree was being brought down by pros. they do have an unbelievable amount of weight and energy in them. if you made some mistake I can't imagine how you would live long enough to know about it.
 
I kind of had the same problem about 6 months back. The tree was leaning heavily and then we had some high winds then crack,,, so I knew it wasnt going to be long before this tree was going to be in my house. I contacted the adjacent property owner which is an apartment complex and spoke with the property manager. When I explained the situation to him was told that he really wasnt too sure as to where their property line ended and the city started. So I called a tree trimmer, got an estimate, called the property manager back and said no I was not sure where the property line ended but I knew the tree wasnt on my property and the cost of getting someone out to map out the lines was going to cost too. So i merely said ok how about we split the cost of the tree trimmer because if that tree hits my house, damages it and I do find out it was on your property I was pretty sure the cost will be much much higher. They paid the entire bill.....
 
GouletPens said:
.....and that's it. No other contact info, just a name. The county won't contact him for me and won't give me his info. My only option is to ask my neighbors if they know the person or to start
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That's BS as far as I'm concerned. The tax rolls should be public information and you should be able to get the mailing address of the owner. You may have to personally visit the tax office if they won't give you the information over the phone; but you should be allowed to have it.

Other thing you could do is visit the county clerk and search the deed records to find the deed for the owner of the property. They will have a copy of the deed on file....probably on microfilm.....and it will have a mailing address for the owner at the time the property was purchased. Don't know how modern the record keeping is in your county; but many counties are updating their methods and have all of this information on computer and is very easy to find unless the land has been in the hands of the owner for many years or many generations.

Another possibility is to look at the survey of your property if one was done when you purchased your home. As a minimum, the names of the adjoining property owners should be on the survey and if so, the surveyor might have more information on them........possible a copy of their deed.

And assuming you have title insurance, the people who did the research for the policy will have information on the adjoiners. Contact them (the title company) or whoever you dealt with when the sale closed.

I actually worked in this business for many years and the information "IS" available. Just may take a little effort to dig it up.
 
I was just about to say pretty much exactly what Randy just said,
I have researched lots of properites, and every plot of land I have looked for has a title holder in the clerks office, with his contact information.

On another note, if you contacted your insurance owner already about that tree and the potential damage, hope you don't have a problem should that tree hit your house.

I had most of the tree top limbs broken on several trees during a wind storm,
they stayed in the tree, but the tree was next to the driveway and I was afraid they would come down and hit the car, so I called my insurance co. hoping they would pay to take care of getting them down. Not only would they not pay for getting rid of that risk,but they told me if they fell and damaged the car, that they wouldn't pay for that either because i had notitified them of the possibility that the car could be damaged.
Sheesh. Need less to say it cost me out of pocket money to call a tree service.
 
I should have mentioned that there is a learning curve involved in searching deed records. But in every clerk's office I have ever been in there was always an employee who was more than happy to explain the system and give some basic instruction. Awful lot of information available in a typical County Clerk's office and it can be a little intimidating for a newbie, especially if yours is a large county; but it is not nucular science (you would think a person could learn how to pronounce one simple word after being in the national spotlight for 8 years and with a librarian wife:rolleyes::rolleyes:) and you should not have any trouble picking up the technique.​
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penhead said:
I was just about to say pretty much exactly what Randy just said,
I have researched lots of properites, and every plot of land I have looked for has a title holder in the clerks office, with his contact information.

On another note, if you contacted your insurance owner already about that tree and the potential damage, hope you don't have a problem should that tree hit your house.

I had most of the tree top limbs broken on several trees during a wind storm,
they stayed in the tree, but the tree was next to the driveway and I was afraid they would come down and hit the car, so I called my insurance co. hoping they would pay to take care of getting them down. Not only would they not pay for getting rid of that risk,but they told me if they fell and damaged the car, that they wouldn't pay for that either because i had notitified them of the possibility that the car could be damaged.
Sheesh. Need less to say it cost me out of pocket money to call a tree service.
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IF its a tree YOU own, YOU are responsible for it. However, if you DON'T own it, you don't control it.

AS has been said, the tax roles have his address. Your title insurance company probably can tell you. Might try looking under old tax lien records, if he doesn't pay taxes ON TIME, there may be a contact name in the court system.
 
Well like I said, the insurance isn't the problem. The agent I contacted is actually not even my agent yet, since the underwriting hasn't yet gone through. However, I have a high deductible on my current insurance so if it does hit anything I'm screwed no matter what. I was a residential property management major in college and spent my fair share of time in the clerks office. There was also no information about when my house was actually built when we bought it, so I had to do plenty of digging there. I agree though, going in person they're going to be much more inclined to help me than over the phone.
 
Yep, you are right, you DON'T own it, you don't control it.
All you have to do to get it taken care of if it hits your house will be to call your insurance agent. Right?

cut/past from Goulet:
I've applied for a change in homeowner's insurance and the agent is supposed to get back to me about switching it....it's been a month or so now (the tree wasn't like this when I applied) and there's some sort of hangup. It's just a big ol' mess!


ed4copies said:
IF its a tree YOU own, YOU are responsible for it. However, if you DON'T own it, you don't control it.

AS has been said, the tax roles have his address. Your title insurance company probably can tell you. Might try looking under old tax lien records, if he doesn't pay taxes ON TIME, there may be a contact name in the court system.
Click to expand...
 
Your county has GIS mapping online. You can find the name and current address of the property owners online. Then you could send them a certified letter with return receipt.
 
UPDATE

I have a lead.....one of my neighbors says they know where the owners live so I'm going to pop in for a visit.
 
If it is over your property line, you own it. Does not matter where the roots or the trunk is, it only matters what is hanging over your property. Get a couple of cases, a couple of friends, and have a tree removal party. Or just have everyone get drunk and watch the tree fall on the house, it's always funnier when you are drunk.
 
If it is over your property line, you own it. Does not matter where the roots or the trunk is, it only matters what is hanging over your property. Get a couple of cases, a couple of friends, and have a tree removal party. Or just have everyone get drunk and watch the tree fall on the house, it's always funnier when you are drunk.
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This sounds LIKE GREAT ADVICE !!!! Yeah !!!!
 
Be careful about just cutting it down. In many states that have any kind of timber industry, cutting a tree on another's property can lead to theft charges being filed. I was a member of the Forestry Forum a while back and there was an incident where someone accidentally cut a tree on another's property because they did not know exactly where the property lines were. They were charged with theft and sued by the adjacent land owner.
 
Gary Max said:
Here's a neat trick------any power lines that could be knocked down by these trees.
Call Power and Light have them come out and take the trees down.
Around here if you will do the clean up----they will cut down just about any tree that could knock a line down.
And you never stepped on his propery and there's a work order showing they cut the trees down just in case someone wines.
Safety always comes first.
Click to expand...

I was working my way through this thread to post this same idea... I had a cedar about 40 or 50 feet tall, about 2 1/2 ft diameter that was leaning about 20 degrees right over a power line that crosses my property. The tree was smack in the middle of my property, but the power company came out and took it down before it fell on the line, along with two others that were growing close to the line... I wound up with lots of cedar to turn... but the tree that was leaning was nearly hollow up the middle.

The power company even cleaned up all the branches and leaves of the trees..
 
Randy_ said:
That's BS as far as I'm concerned. The tax rolls should be public information and you should be able to get the mailing address of the owner. You may have to personally visit the tax office if they won't give you the information over the phone; but you should be allowed to have it.
Click to expand...

Randy's right, tax rolls are public information and even though they charge a fee, I'm pretty sure the county has to give you the records, or let you look them up yourself... When I was in Texas, I lived in Harris county, and there was a website that you could look up tax information on properties for free... you could actually look to see what a property sold for last sale, property tax assessment, owner, etc..... if you have an address for the property, check that and see if there is a site you can look up yourself.
 
GouletPens said:
Well like I said, the insurance isn't the problem. The agent I contacted is actually not even my agent yet, since the underwriting hasn't yet gone through. However, I have a high deductible on my current insurance so if it does hit anything I'm screwed no matter what.
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Brian,

If it makes you feel better, if there is another party involved, it's likely your deductable doesn't come into play. For example, in December, my wife was rear-ended by another driver, totaling her car; our deductable didn't come into play because it is HIS insurance that has to pay out. We chose to go through our own company, so they paid us and will subrogate to recoup losses. If, for some reason, your insurance paid out and your deductable were to come into play, you would be within your rights to sue to recoup your own out-of-pocket costs.

Ain't insurance grand? :rolleyes:



daniel
 
I'm not saying to cut what is on the other persons property, I am saying that anything that is growing over the property line is yours to do what you wish with. You own the property and that includes above and below, not just the soil that you see, but all the way down and up (Don't confuse eminent domain involvement though). You have the right to remove any offending object that is on your property. I was kidding about the alcohol part though, I do not recommend mixing alcohol and chain saws together, one after the other is okay and if you get the order wrong, it's going to be obvious....LOL
 
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Randy_ said:
I should have mentioned that there is a learning curve involved in searching deed records. But in every clerk's office I have ever been in there was always an employee who was more than happy to explain the system and give some basic instruction. Awful lot of information available in a typical County Clerk's office and it can be a little intimidating for a newbie, especially if yours is a large county; but it is not nucular science (you would think a person could learn how to pronounce one simple word after being in the national spotlight for 8 years and with a librarian wife:rolleyes::rolleyes:) and you should not have any trouble picking up the technique.​
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Click to expand...

Randy you mean it's not Nuclear energy or weapons?? OMG that's why we didn't find any in Iraq, we wuz lookin fur the rong thang
:cowboy::cowboy::cowboy:
 
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