questions about tree values

[earth2terra]

First let me give you some background : my husband and i own an 11 acre mostly wooded lot that backs up to a 15000 acre hunting lease and or tree farm, a few months back a contractor working on behalf of the managers of this timber tract were cutting a precautionary fire break between the property and mine as well as my neighbors on both sides. due to a possible error in a map two bulldozers took a 90 degree turn up my property and bulldozed approx 1000 feet up my side fence line and about 30 feet wide. this was all wooded and used by my family as an area to walk and enjoy nature. we were able to stop the progress and get all the contact info from the dozer drivers that we needed, the next day i met with both the timber manager and the dozer owner, they admitted their wrong doing but wanted me to give them a dollar amount that i felt would cover the damages. of course i have no idea how to value trees so i contacted a landscaper who gave me an estimate of nearly 17000 to cover clean up as well as purchase and replant of new trees, i contacted the two gentlemen in charge and proveded them a copy of the estimate i also said that in reality the final total may be more because i would have to care for and water for these young trees for some time considering our drought conditions in texas, there currently is no running water on this part of the property ...
i want to clarify that im not trying to get free money out of this i just want my property back as close to the way it was a possible, so when they returned an offer of 2,500 a was abit offened. when i asked how they would have felt if this had been their home and property they sort of snickered and said that it would have already been cleared.( so i definitely understand we are on different pages, they think they did me a favor)
so heres the final question: am i wrong to assume they should responsible for the buying and planting new trees etc? they see this all in timber value and as they only took down what trees a large dozer could wipe out its not all that much. i see it as where i used have wooded walking trail ive got a landing strip for small airplanes:bang:

 

[Guido Salvage]

I think that there may be two issues at work here...

> Your view is that the "work" has diminished the value of your property and that it ought to be restored to the condition it was in prior to when the dozer arrived. Your major concern is the aesthetics of the property.

> Their perspective is that a few trees were accidentally knocked down and to them that is not a big deal so they will give you something for your trouble. To them trees are something that will fuel a fire and removing them eliminates a hazard.

Not exactly concurrent interests.

Be sure to check the state statutes to see if there is a prescribed process for determining damages when something of this nature occurs. If not, I think you need a timber expert to view the damage and provide an estimate of the economic value of the trees (both current and future) as well as to determine what the cost of remediation will be. Be sure to get pictures and video of the damage, as well as how they entered your property.

It may come down to having to hire a lawyer in order to get adequate compensation.

Good luck!

 

[ronnyb]

Contact an attorney. $17500 seems way low for what you are describing.

 

[carguy]

You really do need to hire an attorney, as much as I hate dealing with lawyers, because the timber company will try to pay as little as they can. Here in Virginia if a cutter goes past the property line the owner is entitled to triple damages for the timber value. I believe that your situation is different because you were not growing timber but a forest for recreation. This situation should be no different from someone accidentally running into your car. They would be responsible for making you whole again. As others have indicated, you should also take a lot of pictures.

 

[Tree Pig]

As others have stated get an attorney and find out what state law is. You may find you need to get an estimate from both an arborist and real estate person to determine how much the mistake did devalue your property. If cutting out a huge chunk of trees ruined a nice vista, dropping your property value $25000 they could be held liable for that loss. It could also turn out that experts say that the change did not affect or increased property value (doubtful). Its different state to state and even with in states for cause of loss.

 

[pdqdl]

A couple of years ago I was given permission by a homeowner to cut down a nest of scrub brush (abou500 sq.ft.) in exchange for using their property to access the highway right of way. When they discovered that I was working for the billboard sign company, that got all hot about the whole project and sued.

My insurance company and the billboard company settled for somewhere around 50 grand, in order to compensate the lady for not more than a pickup truck load of weed trees that she wanted gone anyway.

Moral of the story: get a scum-sucking, bottom feeder lawyer, and make them pay for their error. It is inexcusable to miss a property line by 1000 feet, and you have suffered an actual loss of value that the perpetrators do not seem to be willing to correct.

You negotiated in good faith, and they gave a ridiculous offer in return. An attorney will deal with their insurance company.

 

[ashevilletree]

Yea, it stinks that you have to deal with a lawyer, but find one-a good one at that and settle this.

 

[no tree to big]

how big were the trees that got dozed? how many? any damage to anything else? how were the surrounding tree's roots effected by the machines? I think they were stupid to not take the 17K offer and since they came back with a low ball offer and were d**ks about it too I would stick it to them as hard as I could. a 16" tree is valued at much more then the the cost of replanting with a 4"

 

[pdqdl]

I don't think the OP is following this thread. One comment, and no further responses.

 

[johninky]

[QUOTE 17000 to cover clean up as well as purchase and replant of new trees,
:[/QUOTE]


If my math is even close. $17,000 to reclaim less than an acre of land seems pretty high to me.

 

[pdqdl]

When it comes to compensation, it's not at all about the cost to "reclaim". It's about the loss of what was. Since nobody can really restore it back to original condition, it becomes a serious dispute about the value of the loss.

Obviously, the guys that did the damage had no appreciation for the forest area they disrupted, and the property owner has the right to expect it to remain in the condition it was being maintained. The value of that difference is why we pay lawyers and the courts to solve our problems.