Neighbors and Trees...

You are totally right -- she has every right to cut branches that hang over her yard, and she can pay for it herself! She can tell her lawn guy to do whatever she wants on her property. Why on earth would you have to pay for it? That's craziness. But don't talk to her until you're feeling a little more rested and rational. :-) Good luck.

Unless you are in some way being negligent by not maintaining a rotting tree, tree limbs over her property are her problem, whether the roots are on her property or not. Pound sand!

She gave you some A / B choices that she wants decided upon.
You can choose to tell her that you are taking option C) None of the above.
Make sure she knows her yard guy does NOT have permission to come onto your property and you will press trespassing charges and damages if he does.
Post a 'No Trespassing' sign in your yard.
Take pictures of your yard NOW so you can tell if anything changes.
From her side, her yard guy can cut at the property line what ever over hangs on her side (and that still won't keep leaves from blowing from one yard to the other which is why she wants to mutilate your tree on your side farther back than she is allowed).
Leaves are a part of yard maintenance and they do blow about.
If she doesn't like yard maintenance - Bummer, Dudette, she should move to where she has no yard to maintain.
There's a book every home owner should read cover to cover:

http://www.amazon.com/Neighbor-Law-Fences-Trees-Boundarie...

As long as the tree isn't dead and a threat to fall on her, it's her responsibility to handle it. Um, trees have leaves. Sometimes they fall. This lady needs to pull the stick out of her rear and handle it herself.

The "choices" she gave you are only the choices that she's happy with. But they're obviously not your only choices. Leaves in her yard are her problem when it comes to cleaning them up. If the branches from your tree are causing actual problems, like blocking her driveway or touching her house then it's up to her to have the branches that are over her property trimmed down at her cost. If they cause damage from falling, such as during the storms, she has to file a claim with her homeowners insurance.

"I'm sorry, Leona, but this isn't legally our responsibility. Clean-up is your responsibility, and you're free to trim the branches that overhang on your property even though it's our tree. We won't be reimbursing you for the cost since we have our own damages to pay thanks to this pesky storm as does everyone else on the neighborhood. I suggest you call your homeowner's insurance to see what they'll cover."

EDIT: If your tree fell into her yard and caused damage you ARE NOT liable for it unless you were remiss in taking down a rotting tree and knew it was rotted. If a storm took down the tree no matter what condition the tree was in and it fell in her yard SHE is the one responsible for removal and clean up and cost, NOT YOU. Her insurance may cover it. Your insurance will not. My father is an insurance underwriter and has been my entire life so I know what I'm talking about.

If she sends her tree guy onto your property, it's trespassing. All tree trimming should be done by her on her property and ONLY what covers her property. Period.

Is it bad that my first reaction to this is to buy her a big rake?!

If the trees bother her so much, she can pay to have the branches cut back. If no one is in danger, you shouldn't have to do it.

I would tell her that this is not your problem and that she needs to deal. She probably thinks since you got rid of the last tree she had issues with that she could bully you into getting rid of this one. Like you said I am sure everyone has leaves in their yard. Shoot some of your leaves could be across the county that does not give anyone the right to tell you to cut it. I hope you get some rest!

Good luck and God Bless!!!

The tree guy who came by to address a similar concern for my father told him that while he could cut the branches of Mrs. Smith's tree which overhang dad's property, if he were to do so in such a way which were to compromise the tree, then it becomes dad's problem, as it was because of his agressive trimming, and no longer an act of god.

With that in mind, he decided to leave the tree be.

Personally I love mature trees, wouldn't want to see it cut back at all. She should have thought about it before she bought the house.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

PS- hope you get your house and yard in order soon.

Hi! Ah trees... Who would think there was anyone out there who hated trees! I have a similar neighbor issue. Here's the deal- if the tree is sound and doesn't present a hazard you don't have to do anything. She is free to cut whatever overhangs onto her property, no more. My advice to you is to go outside right away and take lots of pics so that should someone overstep their bounds you have proof. You don't have to do anything or pay for anything and in the end it won't matter how happy you try to make her she won't be happy. I'd just ignore her, trying to discuss it will only give you stress and you'll never get her to change her little mind. Good luck!

Check the local ordinances. Print them out (I'm assuming here they're in your favor and say that your trees are none of her business except where they directly overhang her property, or if they fall onto her property). Then keep the printout, two copies, by the front door, with the relevant passages highlighted. Next time she comes over to complain about the trees, smile sweetly and say, "Since you are so interested in the trees I did some research for us both. This copy is for you to keep. As you can see, local law says...." etc. Any time she brings it up, just smile and refer her back to the local ordinances.

One thing NEVER to do is go onto her property to trim your trees where they hang over her yard. If you were do that, and be injured, it would create a huge legal mess-- would she be liable since you were hurt on her property? Would you be liable if your chain saw fell and damaged something else in her yard? And so on. Don't cave and offer to trim her side of the tree, ever.

Do check your insurance policy as well as local law to know what to do if your tree ever falls into her yard. Doesn't sound likely right now but with those hurricanes, who knows?

Ignore her.

She sounds like a complete pain in the butt. And you sound like you have better things to do.

Whenever she comes over, I'd say, "Okay. Thanks for the information. You're welcome to trim whatever is hanging over on your property, but please do not cut anything on our property. We have trees because we like them. If you don't like the leaves, you can put a bigger fence up."

Oh, and SHE can pay for it. It's her property.

Instead of discussing it, I would call a lawyer and ask him or her to draft a letter telling this woman exactly what her rights are in regards to branches overhanging her property. The letter should specify exactly what she CANNOT do to your trees as well. The lawyer should tell her that if she has her lawn guy or anyone else cut down your tree or harm it in any way, she will have to pay for a tree of comparable size to be brought onto your property and planted to take the place of the one that she illegally removes.

Trees up the value of your property. You know that, right? You lowered the value of your property by removing the tree you already removed. (It's your call to do that. It isn't HER call to do that.) The lawyer also needs to point out the property value issue.

The reason I'm saying to do this instead of just telling her no, is that she sounds like she will just go ahead and do it anyway if you say no. $75 is not very much for her to get her way. She thinks you took out the other tree because she pushed for it. So she thinks she can bully you into this.

Another thing to tell you (Fanged Bunny made me think of it) is that some trees can only be pruned during the winter months because of the sap that runs and bugs getting into the wounds and damaging the tree. You had better do research on this tree to find out when it can be safely pruned and tell the lawyer THAT. He or she should clearly state that if she causes the tree damage down the line because of improper pruning or improper timing of the pruning, that the tree will have to be replaced.

Please don't let her get away with it. See the lawyer. I really believe that letter is money well spent.

Dawn

Really?? Shes complaining (and thats the nice word my fingers typed) about leaves in her yard?? LOL Wow.

She has way too much free time on her hands! We have a neighbor with a tree we hate..well they had one...it died. It was a crab apple tree they planted 12 inches from the property line. We offered to help move it, explained we did not wish to harm the tree as it grew, but we did not want the falling vegetation in your yard. I do home childcare and did not want the kids eating the fallen crab apples, etc.

They refused. They were already pissy and inserted that old bit into the tree thing. When we put our chain link fence in, they were sure the property line was more in their favor than it was. We found the underground stakes and all that bit, but they brought in their own "expert"..LOL..who found the same stakes. So dumb and I am sure cost them a bunch of money.

But they refused to move it and as it grew my hubby trimmed and cut it right at the fence line. The tree looked dumb. Half of it was shaved as the tree itself was almost touching the fence as it got bigger. Eventually it died and what did they do? Planted a new one...2 feet in from the fence line. Same kind. Now we shave that one too.

If your neighbor doesn't like, she needs to trim it at the fence line and pay for it herself. Geeze.

I'm inclined to agree with you (go pound sand lady). I think I would let husband talk to her (since he is who she spoke to already, directly, AND since you are sleep deprived and admittedly irritable due to your work trip).

Let him tell her that you are not cutting down your tree or having it removed. If, however, she wants to pay her lawn guy to cut overhanging branches, that is her business and up to her. Make sure husband is careful in his word choices, because you do NOT want there to be ANY misunderstanding that you might be paying for anything she has done. In fact, if you can figure out a nice way to do it, I would make the statement in writing and keep a copy for myself.

Wow! I applaud you for having so much patience with this neighbor. You must be the nicest, most patient neighbor! I would've told her to pound sand by now. But, I do understand the importance of trying to maintain at least a civil relationship with neighbors cause without that, things can get quite unpleasant for all involved. I live in Chicago so I don't know how the borders for yards work over there but we have a saying "Tall fences, make for good neighbors". Get at tall fence to avoid seeing her as much as is possible. Yes, avoid her, and if you do have an interaction with her where she brings it up again just say "It is annoying how Mother Nature throws these branches and trees about," and then just say "Oh my, I gotta go" and go into the your house.

WOW! I wish that leaves were the only things flying in my yard from Debby and I am way south of you!
No matter where in the country you live, leaves will fall off trees and the wind will blow them. If you lived in North Carolina and the leaves fell off your poplar tree into her yard would she expect you to rake them? I think not!
Tree limbs are another subject. You didn't mention what kind of tree so I am imagining all sorts of scenarios. Is it like a Jacaranda or Poinciana with long branches? If so, then she can certainly trim the portion hanging in her yard with damage to the tree. If it is something more shaped like a mango or avacado or banyan, then if you make the tree lop-sided by cutting off one side then it might be more prone to falling in a windstorm. And if your tree fell in her yard, then you would be liable for the damage. If it won't harm the tree, then I would let her know that if she wants to hire a certified arborist to trim the branches on her side then OK. But as for leaves????sheesh I have crud in my yard I can't even identify which yard it came from

Well I know it is your tree and she has the right to cut off branches that hang into her yard at her expense. I also know that if your tree falls into her yard, regardless of whether she trimmed the branches, it is your responsibility to clean it up and pay for all damages. Well your insurance does since it is an act of god. It gets really ugly if you don't maintain the tree but I digress. :p

Thing is I don't know if you are responsible for leaves. Does the whole tree have to fall......

Anyway if she wants it cut off her property she has to pay for it.

I'd tell her to pound sand and not pay for it. How can she prove the leaves are from your trees? Really? NONE of them are from any other tree on the block? And if it's in HER yard it then becomes her problem. If you already took down the big tree, I'd tell her any other costs are on her if she has a problem with it.

OMG we had this same issue but we were the ones with the neighbor's tree hanging over our yard and the branches nearly hitting our roof line. Jo W. is right. It's your tree, but if it's bugging her because it's hanging over her side, she can cut it down at her expense. BUT keep in mind that if the tree damages anything on her side, you're liable. Also keep in mind that if she trims down the tree just on your side, it could die and fall over one way or the other with any damage being still your liability.

Check for ordinances in your neighborhood. In our city, there are none for trees in the backyard. So if a tree is growing into another person's yard, they can cut down whatever is going over into their yard. They CANNOT cut that which is on your side of the yard.

If it bugs her so much, tell her to cut it down. Make sure the branches are sealed off to try and prevent the tree from dying. That's what we ended up doing. We paid $350 to have all of the branches that were hanging over to our side cut down. It was a eucalyptus tree that dropped all sorts of debris all the time and we were simply tired of it. If you've given her the "green light" to cut branches down, tell her to go for it and leave you alone.

i have no use for tree-haters.
if the offending tree isn't menacing her house (which could be a real issue if it has potential to take out her roof or something), she has no leg to stand on. tell her to spend her own freaking $75 getting the branches on her side cut back if she wants, and can do so without injuring YOUR tree. if she can't handle blown leaves after a summer storm, she's got her own issues to deal with.
try not to freak out on her, just because she is a neighbor and you know youre testy right now. just tell her, briefly and with as much courtesy as you can muster, that it's a non-issue for you and you will neither be taking down the tree nor paying for her to have it trimmed, and she's free to take that wherever she'd like.
idiot.
khairete
S.

I would tell how much it cost to remove the tree you already did. Ask her when you can receive a check for her half of that cost since she is the one that wanted that tree cut down.

If she can't pay for her half you don't see how you could possibly consider doing any pruning to the other tree. If she does pay for her half (don't hold your breath) then prune her side of your tree and send her a bill. Then if she ever complains you can always bring up the cost of removing a tree and that she didn't pay.

BTW, you can tell her you really like the looks of that tree and don't want to cut it.

Good luck to you and yours.

well damn, i WISH i could make my neighbors chop their trees down for all their leaves in my yard!!! I dont have any trees in my yard, but tons of leaves from others'. But i would NEVER expect them to cut them down or even come in my yard and clean up their trees' mess. This woman sounds insane. Like most others said, just tell her if she has branches hanging over into her yard she is welcome to pay and have someone take care of it herself. Otherwise, get a damn rake or leaf blower and take care of it herself.

Wow; glad I have nice neighbors. My husband lived in three house on our street; the one next door, and the one across the street and of course, the one we live in now. His grandfather planted a tree that is so huge and hangs partly in the yard we have now. Although, that tree could be an issue in a hurricane, we don't say anything.

Just wanted to add that the house across the street that my husband used to live in has lots of farm animals; the geese, roosters and their cat love to hang out in our yard. We don't like the geese but we don't say anything. We just joke around about the situation. I love my neighbors and this is what our town used to be like; now, every one is getting annoyed w/everything. Not sure if your husband is handy but my hubby has a chain saw and has cut down trees that might be an issue in our yard in ahurricane. Just to let you know, our neighbor next door, eventually cut major branches that were an issue w/power lines.