Of course this is very high. It was not expressed as a quote, just as a severe, worst case scenario. The point is the endangered homeowners should ask about how much is the safety and well being of the family worth.
If the tree is small & easily accessed, then the cost would be much lower. My suggestion, in the current situation, is to offer to pay for the removal if the cost is just several thousand dollars for a tree which–in the eyes of the OP-- endangers the health & safety of children and may result is crashing into their house.
P.S. And there can be complicating factors. About 2 years ago, needed an easily accessible tree in a flat yard removed in Georgia (per HOA demand letter). Licensed & bonded tree folks all estimated in the $5,000 to &6,000 range. Ended up needing to remove multiple trees, although not for access, resulting in a bill of over $20,000.
In OP’s case, access does not seem easy so may require extra charges and may require removal of more than just one tree.
I googled tree removal costs and took the results with a huge grain of salt. Have an acquaintance who owns a tree removal service. Entire crew is licensed & bonded and the trucks are large specialty trucks. He shared that he will not take a job for less than a much higher amount than found on Google. Bragged about how much he makes per job.
Don’t ask what the cost was to replace a roof and kitchen which were sheared off the side of my neighbors house when the tree came crashing down. Miracle nobody was home. The replacement work was finished relatively quickly so I assume the two insurance companies did not have a prolonged back and forth about “my property vs. your tree”.
Our town has a lot of old trees and small properties, if my tree falls on the neighbors property, it’s their insurance company on the hook unless they show the owner was informed the tree wasn’t healthy (which the OP did). Otherwise it’s the property owner, not the tree owner.
Yes they can place a lien for unpaid dues. We have served on our HOA board. But don’t see any indication that the HOA has authority to require (“order”) a homeowner to take down a dead tree in their back yard. Please post a link.
After reviewing the relevant governing documents of a particular HOA, consult your HOA attorney or law firm for any further questions. HOA governing instruments can & do differ. State laws governing HOAs can and do differ.
Yes, state laws differ and HOA regulations differ, even in Georgia. Your blanket statement about HOAs in Georgia is not applicable to all neighborhoods/HOAs.
I don’t believe the OP’s property is in Georgia so I don’t want to get more off-topic, but I did want to clarify a misleading statement.
Yes, of course. That’s why I was curious what you said you found in the state of Georgia. I’ve already emailed with HOA board members, and they are reportedly checking with counsel to see if there’s anything they can do under the “landscaping“ or “beautification“ or “safety” areas although I don’t remember seeing a specific safety issue on a person‘s personal property, and the dead tree is hardly visible from the front of their house as it’s in the back
I had water damage to my bathroom ceiling that my neighbor upstairs refused to let the building to have access to their apartment to fix it. From my previous dealing with the neighbor I got to know their insurance company. I contacted them directly to let them know I was having issue with the neighbor again. The insurance company told me that if an insuree doesn’t take necessary precautions to protect the property then the insurer may not be obligated to cover damages. Another word, if the upstairs neighbor didn’t allow the building to fix the leak then any damages to my apartment they would need to pay out of pocket. The insurance company actually contacted my neighbor to let them know that they had to do all they could to limit damages to my apartment.
OP may want to send an official notification to the neighbor of possible damages to their home if the tree isn’t removed asap and let them know that their insurance company may require them to do so.
SIL had a F2F meeting with the neighbor. She had hired her own arborist to inspect the tree. The arborist told her the tree is most definitely dead and needs to be removed. However, now she’s asserting the tree isn’t ON her property, but either ours or the catty corner neighbor’s land. She wants a new legal property survey before she will even consider doing anything.
SIL told her if she wants to hire a surveyor–fine. Go ahead. Just don’t dawdle over getting it done. Because now she’s been officially informed the tree is considered “dangerous”.
FWIW, the survey markers from when D & SIL purchased the house last April are still mostly intact up on the hillside. SIL says the tree is close to the property line (within about a foot), but according to the old flags, it’s definitely on her side.
Ugh. Sorry they’re being so difficult. I’m anticipating similar response because the good news on our end is the homeowner association will be sending a “formal notice” letter to our neighbors about their dead tree, but I wonder if they’ll also try to claim that the tree isn’t in their yard. Stay tuned and keep us posted of your family’s situation.
Seems like this is really an issue about money = the cost of removal of the tree. Did the arborist give an estimate ?
Consider getting an estimate for the removal of the dead tree. Then discuss with neighbor or ask for permission in writing to have the tree removed if affordable. Make sure to use a licensed, bonded, and insured (especially workman’s comp & liability) tree removal service.
P.S. Google: A Complete Guide to Documenting a Tree Fall Case in Georgia (dated March 3, 2025)
OP: Even though your matter may not be in the state of Georgia, the above “guide” should be helpful in taking appropriate steps to document your case.
I would send the neighbor a formal letter about the tree is dead, dangerous to the house, needs to get removed
I probably would also say that SIL is going to get the tree removed while getting the survey done, and whoever’s property the tree is on should then be responsible for the cost of survey and removal of the tree. I would let the neighbor know he/she has x days to remove the tree before the SIL takes the matter into his own hands.
It appears the tree may fall on the OP’s kids house and create damages to the house. Th arborist said:“the tree is most definitely dead and needs to be removed.”
I would contact the insurance company to ask them what’s the best way to go about it. I am sure the insurance company would want to avoid cost of repair and possible lost of lives or injuries.
Neighbor does not trust any information unless it’s from a worker/company she’s hired herself. (It’s why she believed the arborist she hired but not the 3 others who shared the results of their inspection of the dead tree with her.) Unless the property line survey is conducted by someone she hires, she won’t accept the report/outcome.