Trim oak tree growing over the wall onto our property?

[billethkid]

Along the wall behind our home, on the road side of the wall there is a large oak tree that has several branches that have grown large enough to cross over the wall and touching the ground on our side of the wall.

I have called Downtoearth, that does the trimming. They said they would look into it. Explained as determining who will pay for it. I said it was no different than the bushes they trim when growing over the wall.
So now waiting to hear back from an "account manager".

Anybody have a similar experience?

[Toymeister]

I haven't run across this situation, however if you have the ability and it is an expensive quote which is up to you to pay; have you considered this 80.00 tool 9.5 In. 7 Amp Electric Pole Saw (https://www.harborfreight.com/95-In-7-Amp-Electric-Pole-Saw-62896.html)

If this isn't helpful to you it may be to someone who reads this

[blueash]

If the laws haven't changed, HERE (https://www.theledger.com/news/20171006/law-post-hurricane-advice-on-tree-liability-in-florida) and Here (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe962) is a pretty good summary of tree limbs over property line rules in Florida

For those who don't click links, you can trim tree branches from a neighbor's tree only up to the property line. You may not go onto your neighbor's property to trim those branches without the neighbor's permission.

The same rules applies to roots.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

I haven't run across this situation, however if you have the ability and it is an expensive quote which is up to you to pay; have you considered this 80.00 tool 9.5 In. 7 Amp Electric Pole Saw (https://www.harborfreight.com/95-In-7-Amp-Electric-Pole-Saw-62896.html)

If this isn't helpful to you it may be to someone who reads this

Harbor Freight?


https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/hmt-forum/nice_try_china_meme.png

[Toymeister]

Harbor Freight?


Unless the poster is going into the tree trimming business this will work well. It has over 6,000 positive reviews.

[TommyT]

Who owns the tree??? A neighbor or the Villages. If the Villages, call property management and they will get this corrected. If a neighbor, ask them to either trim it back or give you written permission.
If you just go out and trim a tree and it get sick or dies, you might be liable !!

[Marathon Man]

Who owns the tree??? A neighbor or the Villages. If the Villages, call property management and they will get this corrected. If a neighbor, ask them to either trim it back or give you written permission.
If you just go out and trim a tree and it get sick or dies, you might be liable !!

I agree with this. Talking the contractor does not seem like the correct path to take. They will need to be directed by someone to do the work. It's likely that they have only been directed to trim bushes, so triming a tree would not be the same to them.

[n8xwb]

You don't deal with the trimmer. Call the Villages VCDD. I believe their customer service number is 352-753-4508...We had a dying tree over the wall at the back of our Courtyard Villa. I called them complaining that the dead leaves were blowing over the wall and were then a nuisance in my yard. They took a look at the tree which was ⅔ dying and instead of pruning off the dead branches, they removed the entire tree...total time from complaint 'til remedy -- 6 weeks.

Good luck!

[billethkid]

Update.
I talked to TV property management.

Bush or tree on TV property/landscaping that grows over the wall onto your property is the home owners responsibility.

[billethkid]

///

[Two Bills]

Update.
I talked to TV property management.

Bush or tree on TV property/landscaping that grows over the wall onto your property is the home owners responsibility.

There you go then.
Cut down to boundary line.
Leave the cuttings (TV property) for them to clear.
"TIMBER!!"

[Rosebud2020]

Update.
I talked to TV property management.

Bush or tree on TV property/landscaping that grows over the wall onto your property is the home owners responsibility.


So here you are with an oak tree that was improperly planted. Yes -- improperly planted. Live Oaks at maturity are 50 ft. in diameter and 50 ft. tall. It never should have been planted where it would grow into/onto your property.

The Villages should be responsible for the entire trimming and upkeep. Good luck and what a shame but it's probably something akin to fighting city hall.

[graciegirl]

Who knows if the oak from a casual acorn grew or someone planted it.

Blueassh is right that the branches that hang in your yard are your responsibility to trim if you want them trimmed. I personally am beginning to view most Live Oaks as a nuisance that can fall and cause a lot of damage. Did any of you see the huge oak that fell during Irma and narrowly missed Laurel Manor Rec Center? It fortunately fell toward the parking lot, but still took days to chop up and haul away. If it had fallen toward the building it would have caused great damage to the building.

[Topspinmo]

I haven't run across this situation, however if you have the ability and it is an expensive quote which is up to you to pay; have you considered this 80.00 tool 9.5 In. 7 Amp Electric Pole Saw (https://www.harborfreight.com/95-In-7-Amp-Electric-Pole-Saw-62896.html)

If this isn't helpful to you it may be to someone who reads this

I have that limb saw and yes it works good on small libs 5 to 6 inch in diameter, it’s not going to cut limbs over 15 inches. Plus you have to bar and chain experience, the chain going get loose quickly and dull in hard wood which means you have to know how to sharpen Rhe chain and keep it tight. The reach has it’s limitations, over 15 feet due to angle of cut and leverage works good on soft wood.

Usually Oaks limbs growing outwards are Hugh. It may work on ends, when the trunk of the limbs get big a chainsaw needed. IMO not something someone should try with no experience in saws or trimming.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

So here you are with an oak tree that was improperly planted. Yes -- improperly planted. Live Oaks at maturity are 50 ft. in diameter and 50 ft. tall. It never should have been planted where it would grow into/onto your property.

The Villages should be responsible for the entire trimming and upkeep. Good luck and what a shame but it's probably something akin to fighting city hall.

Whoa! That is a huge exaggeration.

[Topspinmo]

So here you are with an oak tree that was improperly planted. Yes -- improperly planted. Live Oaks at maturity are 50 ft. in diameter and 50 ft. tall. It never should have been planted where it would grow into/onto your property.

The Villages should be responsible for the entire trimming and upkeep. Good luck and what a shame but it's probably something akin to fighting city hall.

I think maybe the Oaks was here long before Europeans descended raping the area. The developers were committed to saving live oaks when they first started developing the area. Even though you don’t own the air above or ground under you’re property you’re responsible for upkeep with in reach.

[Sunflower1]

Legally, it’s your responsibility to trim anything that grows across your property line. If they trim it for you, they are being kind.

[Polar Bear]

Legally, it’s your responsibility to trim anything that grows across your property line. If they trim it for you, they are being kind.
If you want it trimmed, yes, it’s your responsibility. But I’d think of it as more of your right, which it is.

And if they trim it for you on your side of the PL...without asking your permission..., in addition to being kind they are also trespassing.

[Gigi3000]

So he could cut the tree down entirely if so desired?

[Polar Bear]

So he could cut the tree down entirely if so desired?
Not sure where you picked that up.

You can trim up to the property line. And even then you must be careful not to significantly damage the tree.

[blueash]

Originally Posted by Rosebud2020
So here you are with an oak tree that was improperly planted. Yes -- improperly planted. Live Oaks at maturity are 50 ft. in diameter and 50 ft. tall. It never should have been planted where it would grow into/onto your property.

.


Whoa! That is a huge exaggeration.

Not at all. You are misunderstanding his use of diameter. He doesn't mean the trunk, he means the spread of the tree. Arborday.org says

Grows 40'-80', with an 80' spread. So if anything Rosebud was under-stating the horizontal potential nuisance of this tree.

[OhioBuckeye]

Along the wall behind our home, on the road side of the wall there is a large oak tree that has several branches that have grown large enough to cross over the wall and touching the ground on our side of the wall.

I have called Downtoearth, that does the trimming. They said they would look into it. Explained as determining who will pay for it. I said it was no different than the bushes they trim when growing over the wall.
So now waiting to hear back from an "account manager".

Anybody have a similar experience?

I agree, if you want to trim some branches away from the ground, I really can’t see how that would hurt a thing. It won’t kill the tree! But I know TV, State or Fed. Govt. protect the Live Oaks. Interesting comment though!

[graciegirl]

Access Denied (https://www.hunker.com/12003734/florida-laws-on-cutting-down-trees)

[Rapscallion St Croix]

Originally Posted by Rosebud2020
.




Not at all. You are misunderstanding his use of diameter. He doesn't mean the trunk, he means the spread of the tree. Arborday.org says

Grows 40'-80', with an 80' spread. So if anything Rosebud was under-stating the horizontal potential nuisance of this tree.

Thanks. You are right, of course. I guess I misunderstood Rosebud's gender as well.

[Alana33]

Why not nicely ask the neighbor whose tree it is too cut it back from his side?
If owner not amenable them call the Villages management or whoever deals with such issues.
Your neighbor probably isn't even aware of your situation.

[billethkid]

Why not nicely ask the neighbor whose tree it is too cut it back from his side?
If owner not amenable them call the Villages management or whoever deals with such issues.
Your neighbor probably isn't even aware of your situation.

The tree is on Villages common in landscaping along a wall. The wall is adjacent along one line of our property.

As stated in my update post above. I did contact TV property management. They pointed out what is on the resident's side of the wall is the residents responsibility.

[CFrance]

Perhaps you could appeal to ARC or some other authority that this tree was improperly planted and should be removed and/or taken care of by TV. Right plant for the right place. It doesn't seem right that you should bear financial responsibility for a tree that shouldn't be in that spot to begin with.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

Perhaps you could appeal to ARC or some other authority that this tree was improperly planted and should be removed and/or taken care of by TV. Right plant for the right place. It doesn't seem right that you should bear financial responsibility for a tree that shouldn't be in that spot to begin with.

I would guess that a tree large enough to have limbs touching the ground on the OPs side of the wall probably preceded the wall and was planted by a squirrel.

[Annie66]

///
I'm sorry, maybe I'm too much of a newbie, but what does "///" mean in your post?

[billethkid]

I'm sorry, maybe I'm too much of a newbie, but what does "///" mean in your post?

itsa "bump".

Gets post visible in the new posts again.

[Polar Bear]

I'm sorry, maybe I'm too much of a newbie, but what does "///" mean in your post?
Or it can be a way of “deleting” your post.

You can’t actually delete a post. So if you decide you want to get rid of what you said for any reason, you replace it with any three characters...the minimum allowed for a post.

[Skunky1]

Consider it your tree hanging over into your neighbors yard. What would you do?

[CFrance]

Consider it your tree hanging over into your neighbors yard. What would you do?
I can tell you what my former neighbor did. The person who had bought the house originally had a queen palm installed on either side of the house. By the time he moved, the palms were high enough that we and the people on the other side of that house were constantly having to get up on ladders to trim those fronds away from scraping crystals off of our roof shingles. We contacted the neighbor, a snowbird, and she had someone come trim the trees, but they still remained a problem. One winter she had them both taken out, because they never should have been put in those spots to begin with--too close to our houses and hers as well.


IMO The Villages should acknowledge that this tree is in the wrong spot, and take it out. Even if they didn't actually plant it themselves, they shouldn't have put a wall, yard, and house too close to it.

[CFrance]

[/COLOR]

Naw. The Villages people are nice people. I am talking about the highly successful and well organized and extremely rich Morse family....who people enjoy hating because they are highly successful and rich...for the most part. And who knows WHEN the little acorn started the great oak.

RoseBUD.


I think you may be skirting the issue, GG. For one thing, the area (Bridgeport at Miona) is not old enough for that tree to have been an acorn and now be that big. It was either planted there or the wall was put too close to the tree.


For another thing, Billethekid has already contacted the property agency of the developer, and was told essentially it is his problem. I don't hate/bash the developer or begrudge the family their financial success, but I do think there are areas where they could do things for the residents that wouldn't break the bank. And I believe this is one of them.

[Polar Bear]

...I do think there are areas where they could do things for the residents that wouldn't break the bank. And I believe this is one of them.
It might sound harsh, but I don't think it's good practice for any business to do things for individual homeowners that are clearly that homeowner's responsibility. It could open up endless requests that would be hard to deny once that door is open, not to mention potential liability issues.

Sometimes things that sound good are simply not practical.

[graciegirl]

[QUOTE=CFrance;1701471]I think you may be skirting the issue, GG. For one thing, the area (Bridgeport at Miona) is not old enough for that tree to have been an acorn and now be that big. It was either planted there or the wall was put too close to the tree.


For another thing, Billethekid has already contacted the property agency of the developer, and was told essentially it is his problem. I don't hate/bash the developer or begrudge the family their financial success, but I do think there are areas where they could do things for the residents that wouldn't break the bank. And I believe this is one of them.[/QUOTE


You are right. I am annoyed about another issue entirely and I am tired of being annoyed by it. Once maybe but now the fourth time.

I will now change the subject because I am really not a fan of live oak trees except when they are far away from people's homes. Then they are beautiful, like all that area near the intersection of Buena Vista and Stillwater trail. It is absolutely beautiful to see the live oaks grow there.

[CFrance]

It might sound harsh, but I don't think it's good practice for any business to do things for individual homeowners that are clearly that homeowner's responsibility. It could open up endless requests that would be hard to deny once that door is open, not to mention potential liability issues.

Sometimes things that sound good are simply not practical.
When a business makes a mistake, good business practice suggests making things right for the consumer. Planting a tree where it is going to cause someone a problem is a mistake. Claiming it's the homeowner's responsibility is hiding behind an ordinance, or whatever it's called. It's not good business practice. Make right what you did wrong.


If I were Billethekid, I would take this higher up in the organization. There are extenuating circumstances.


That's it, I'm done! On to a poop thread.

[Polar Bear]

...Planting a tree where it is going to cause someone a problem is a mistake...
Therein lies the rub. Maybe the tree was planted in a bad location. But I’ve read nothing in this thread that makes that a certainty.

There are many...and I do mean MANY...trees in TV that could be argued to be in a poor location. But so many things come into play. How long has it been there. Has it been maintained properly during growth years. Many more.

I’m not totally disagreeing with what your saying...especially the part I quoted. I’m only somewhat disagreeing with the general idea that any developer is automatically deemed responsible for somehow fixing any tree that a homeowner believes to be a problem.

I had two palm trees that were growing into a mature oak on my lot. They had to go. But I’m sure they looked nice when they were young and the oak tree not as large. Call it poor landscaping foresight if you wish. But it’s done so commonly I would never try to convince any developer that something they planted ages ago was their responsibility to remove. Proper trimming during early growth years might have prevented the problem. I had the palms removed myself.

[Marathon Man]

I am reading that the tree was not planted propery - writen by people who have not seen the tree. C'mon now.

Take a drive round any town. Lots of big trees hanging over property lines. Not a problem at all unless someone sees it as an invasion of their airspace.