Predictions for this tree?

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To clarify - the tree is on your property?
Can you access it at all from your yard? From your roof?

Unless you have the agreement in writing, removal is probably up to you (and probably even with a written agreement unless you want to pursue this in the courts which if probably much more costly than hiring a pro to finish it); in the future it sounds like you shouldn't make verbal agreements with the neighbor (and limit communication as much as possible 🙄)
 
The tree looks to be in a bad place.

Your neighbor did you a favor by removing the limbs and now you should step up and pay to get the rest of the tree removed.

From where I"m sitting you guys deserve each other.
 
The tree looks to be in a bad place.

Your neighbor did you a favor by removing the limbs and now you should step up and pay to get the rest of the tree removed.

From where I"m sitting you guys deserve each other.
I'll admit we've only seen one side of the story, that's a huge conclusion to jump to.

Op isn't asking for a judgement of character, but is apparently asking if a walnut tree can survive this (at least that's what I got from #3 in this thread - though originally it seems that the plan was to have the tree down completely).
 
The tree looks to be in a bad place.

Your neighbor did you a favor by removing the limbs and now you should step up and pay to get the rest of the tree removed.

From where I"m sitting you guys deserve each other.
I agree - bad spot for a tree that tends to get really large. IMO, walnut doesn't belong anywhere near areas of high foot traffic. The nuts can result in staining on shoes that will transfer to carpeting or worse - sprained ankles or falls.
 
At least he took care of all the brush.
If that thing survives, I can just see the massive amount of water spouts she's gonna have if not dismantled right away.
The fact that they did it that way shows spite,disregaurd for the neighbor or just some cheap SOB ,prob all the above!
 
I agree - bad spot for a tree that tends to get really large. IMO, walnut doesn't belong anywhere near areas of high foot traffic. The nuts can result in staining on shoes that will transfer to carpeting or worse - sprained ankles or falls.
It was in a vegetative forested area except for our carport until he clearcut his river buffer and paved to the property line and put up a 2 story garage. That’s fine, but that is what made this tree a problem for him. We have offered every year for five years that he can remove the tree. The problem with our doing it, is that he is very litigious, has threatened to sue us multiple times for frivolous reasons and told us “it will cost you a lot of money.” We would need to access his property, it’s very close to his new structure, and we would put our own worker at risk of having to deal with him. The ideal solution was that he hired the person and took care of the tree that is a problem for him, not us. He agreed to do this, then he broke that agreement and left the tree like this. I asked if it might live, because we aren’t sure what to do now.
 
The tree looks to be in a bad place.

Your neighbor did you a favor by removing the limbs and now you should step up and pay to get the rest of the tree removed.

From where I"m sitting you guys deserve each other.
Well you’re definitely not sitting here.
 
I'll admit we've only seen one side of the story, that's a huge conclusion to jump to.

Op isn't asking for a judgement of character, but is apparently asking if a walnut tree can survive this (at least that's what I got from #3 in this thread - though originally it seems that the plan was to have the tree down completely).

At first glance Beckytate's question seems to be about a tree's ability to survive.

But is it?

This is much like a divorced couple arguing over custody and visitation rights over their shared children.

There is resentment over the neighbor clearing his property to his property and water lines.

There is a two story building that the neighbor has built that seems to be a point of resentment.

There is a tree that has been partially removed because it presents a nuisance to the neighbor who has paid for the partial removal.


Beckytate is OK with the neighbor paying to have her tree removed, knows it is a nuisance to her neighbor, insist that the tree work be performed from her neighbors property and ask if this tree 'might live' after having all of it's limbs and foliage removed.


This is more about two neighbors being bad neighbors to each other than it is about a tree.


In my 35 plus years of being a tree service business owner I've gotten over being surprised at how often what is needed is counseling for neighbors that share property lines and there is very little if any 'arboriculture' involved.

I pity the fool tree service company that enters into this swarm of bees.

Next up is having the tree work done then fighting over who pays the unpaid bill for services rendered.
 
This is much like a divorced couple arguing over custody and visitation rights over their shared children.

There is resentment over the neighbor clearing his property to his property and water lines.

There is a two story building that the neighbor has built that seems to be a point of resentment.

There is a tree that has been partially removed because it presents a nuisance to the neighbor who has paid for the partial removal.


Beckytate is OK with the neighbor paying to have her tree removed, knows it is a nuisance to her neighbor, insist that the tree work be performed from her neighbors property and ask if this tree 'might live' after having all of it's limbs and foliage removed.


This is more about two neighbors being bad neighbors to each other than it is about a tree.


In my 35 plus years of being a tree service business owner I've gotten over being surprised at how often what is needed is counseling for neighbors that share property lines and there is very little if any 'arboriculture' involved.

I pity the fool tree service company that enters into this swarm of bees.

Next up is having the tree work done then fighting over who pays the unpaid bill for services rendered.
“This is much like a divorced couple arguing over custody and visitation rights over their shared children.”

Not really. We told him he could have the tree.

“There is resentment over the neighbor clearing his property to his property and water lines.”

I am going to suggest that you take a breath before you assume motivations of other people. That was mentioned only to point out that this tree was not a problem for anyone until then, and that we gave permission for him to remove it. There are no water lines in that location (?).

“There is a two story building that the neighbor has built that seems to be a point of resentment.”

Again, you are making assumptions here. This was mentioned because it is this building, that makes this a risky tree removal.

“Beckytate is OK with the neighbor paying to have her tree removed, knows it is a nuisance to her neighbor, insist that the tree work be performed from her neighbors property and ask if this tree 'might live' after having all of it's limbs and foliage removed. “

Partially incorrect. Yes, we are OK with allowing our neighbor to remove this tree at his expense. That seems fair enough, since it wasn’t a problem for him until his modifications. Allowing him to do this seemed like the right thing to do. However in fact we gave him permission to access our property for the purpose of removing the tree, and his crew staged there. In writing, he stated that he was going to remove it down to the top of his fence. He changed that agreement without communication. I am curious if it might live because we don’t know what to do now.

We definitely wouldn’t want to put our own worker in the position of having to deal with this guy. Be clear, there is no way to remove this tree without access from both properties. That’s the problem worrying us. Would you want to perform a risky tree removal next to an expensive structure for someone who has threatened to sue you for the express purpose of “costing you a lot of money”? We don’t say or do things like that. We try to give him space. He’s had problems with other neighbors also. We have asked for peaceful coexistence. He is unhappy about a lot of things, not just this tree.

“This is more about two neighbors being bad neighbors to each other than it is about a tree.”
”In my 35 plus years of being a tree service business owner I've gotten over being surprised at how often what is needed is counseling for neighbors that share property lines and there is very little if any 'arboriculture' involved. I pity the fool tree service company that enters into this swarm of bees.”

“Next up is having the tree work done then fighting over who pays the unpaid bill for services rendered.”

I can see how you might think this without the full context or being in our shoes. We pay our workers and treat people well. I’m sorry you have had these negative experiences and I can only imagine what goes on in these kinds of situations. If you Google fences and trees, they are a top neighbor problem issue, so I can see how at first glance this might seem like a stereotype to you. There’s a little more to this situation though, and why I asked if the tree will live. It’s hard to know what to do now. Believe me, he is dying to sue us for some thing and this feels like a set up. Sometimes things are not as simple as they may seem and this guy has a long history of playing games like this.
 
“This is much like a divorced couple arguing over custody and visitation rights over their shared children.”

Not really. We told him he could have the tree.

“There is resentment over the neighbor clearing his property to his property and water lines.”

I am going to suggest that you take a breath before you assume motivations of other people. That was mentioned only to point out that this tree was not a problem for anyone until then, and that we gave permission for him to remove it. There are no water lines in that location (?).

“There is a two story building that the neighbor has built that seems to be a point of resentment.”

Again, you are making assumptions here. This was mentioned because it is this building, that makes this a risky tree removal.

“Beckytate is OK with the neighbor paying to have her tree removed, knows it is a nuisance to her neighbor, insist that the tree work be performed from her neighbors property and ask if this tree 'might live' after having all of it's limbs and foliage removed. “

Partially incorrect. Yes, we are OK with allowing our neighbor to remove this tree at his expense. That seems fair enough, since it wasn’t a problem for him until his modifications. Allowing him to do this seemed like the right thing to do. However in fact we gave him permission to access our property for the purpose of removing the tree, and his crew staged there. In writing, he stated that he was going to remove it down to the top of his fence. He changed that agreement without communication. I am curious if it might live because we don’t know what to do now.

We definitely wouldn’t want to put our own worker in the position of having to deal with this guy. Be clear, there is no way to remove this tree without access from his property. Would you want to perform a risky tree removal next to an expensive structure for someone who has threatened to sue you more than once for the express purpose of “costing you a lot of money”?

“This is more about two neighbors being bad neighbors to each other than it is about a tree.”
”In my 35 plus years of being a tree service business owner I've gotten over being surprised at how often what is needed is counseling for neighbors that share property lines and there is very little if any 'arboriculture' involved. I pity the fool tree service company that enters into this swarm of bees.”

“Next up is having the tree work done then fighting over who pays the unpaid bill for services rendered.”

I can see how you might think this without the full context or being in our shoes. We pay our workers and treat people well. I’m sorry you have had these negative experiences and I can only imagine what goes on in these kinds of situations. If you Google fences and trees, they are a top neighbor problem issue, so I can see how at first glance this might seem like a stereotype to you. There’s a little more to this situation though, and why I asked if the tree will live. It’s hard to know what to do now. Believe me, he is dying to sue us for some thing and this feels like a set up. Sometimes things are not as simple as they may seem and this guy has a long history of playing games like this.

Hi Becky,

Can you send in more photos so we can more clearly see the situation this tree has found itself in?

Thanks.
 
Hi Becky,

Can you send in more photos so we can more clearly see the situation this tree has found itself in?

Thanks.
I hired an arborist to advise us. Again, I’m sorry that you guys end up in the middle of these kinds of disputes. I don’t imagine his tree guy felt very good about leaving the tree like that. He was in the email chain where our neighbor made assurances about what the project was going to be. I can see why you responded in the way that you did, you must deal with this kind of stuff all the time because trees are fine until they are a problem for someone. Either the homeowner, or someone near the property line. I hope that the majority of your work is the kind of thing arborist love, saving trees or removing them when necessary, in the best way.
 
I hired an arborist to advise us. Again, I’m sorry that you guys end up in the middle of these kinds of disputes. I don’t imagine his tree guy felt very good about leaving the tree like that. He was in the email chain where our neighbor made assurances about what the project was going to be. I can see why you responded in the way that you did, you must deal with this kind of stuff all the time because trees are fine until they are a problem for someone. Either the homeowner, or someone near the property line. I hope that the majority of your work is the kind of thing arborist love, saving trees or removing them when necessary, in the best way.

Hi Becky,

Look into hiring an International Society of Arboriculture Consulting Arborist. They are trained at handling situations like you are in and most of them also are trained at being expert witnesses in court and carry insurance that covers such activity.

On a lighter note: You may have a highly valuable black walnut log!

Be warned that some arborist find this video funny.

 
I agree - bad spot for a tree that tends to get really large. IMO, walnut doesn't belong anywhere near areas of high foot traffic. The nuts can result in staining on shoes that will transfer to carpeting or worse - sprained ankles or falls.
Yes. It’s been a problem for our neighbor so we agreed that he could remove it, as he had offered to do.
 
Hi Becky,

Look into hiring an International Society of Arboriculture Consulting Arborist. They are trained at handling situations like you are in and most of them also are trained at being expert witnesses in court and carry insurance that covers such activity.

On a lighter note: You may have a highly valuable black walnut log!

Be warned that some arborist find this video funny.


🤣. I had never heard about valuable black walnut logs. Carpenters like the wood sometimes. Some people sell the walnuts when they have a few trees on their property. This gentleman said he got $185 for this load. I will say this, when the walnuts were happening we had no squirrels at our birdfeeders. But again, we were fine with him removing this tree that was a problem for him. If he decided he did not want to keep his agreement to remove it down to the top of the fence, he should have said so. The cleanest thing is just to do what you say you’re going to do, and then if you change your mind, communicate about that. Simple.
FC3BF40D-DD3E-4F7F-A66B-C0F548889D7D.jpeg
 
becky, on what basis and expertise do you found your statement that access to both properties is required to fell the tree?
 
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