solascriptura Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 (edited) I'm sitting here inside my toasty house during this Nor'easter watching this huge pine tree swaying between my house and my neighbor's house. Its definitely on her property and she even has mentioned that she wants to bring it down. One day. Sigh. If it ever comes down involuntarily, I suspect that it will hit my house and not her's. Who would be to blame? Who's insurance would cover something like this? Why do people plant trees so close to their homes? Do they not know that some trees will not stay small, but will become huge huge trees? I'm seriously surprised that this tree hasn't damaged her foundation. This pine tree's trunk is literally two feet away from her living room wall. Edited March 2, 2018 by solascriptura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I hope it stays up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 On her property, then it's her responsibility. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 On her property, then it's her responsibility. You mean her responsibility to pay for any potential damages to my home? sigh. I can't imagine that this would be any good for neighborly relations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Actually we had this problem in our CA house. We were told that if it is an "act of God" then it is not the fault of the person who had the tree. It is just an accident, no one is at fault. We had a tree that was being uprooted due to flooding. The neighbors behind us came to our door and told us it was going to hit their house and could we please cut it down. But it was pouring rain, a Sunday, and already dark. We called 4 places but no one would come out. THANKFULLY! It came down some, but just rested on top of their swingset. It didn't damage anything. However, we were also told that it varies by state, so you will have to look into what your state's laws are on this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I think it varies by state. My mom was responsible when her neighbor's tree fell during a storm and damaged her home. She was annoyed the neighbor didn't at least offer to help pay the damages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 You mean her responsibility to pay for any potential damages to my home? sigh. I can't imagine that this would be any good for neighborly relations. In actuality, the insurance companies would pay & then fight with each other. BUT around here if you know that you have a problem tree (dead limbs or whatnot) and it falls down, the insurance will most likely not pay it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 In most jurisdictions, a tree falls where it falls, and you pay for damage to your home, she pays for damage to her home, without regard to who owns the tree. There are usually exceptions, though, if the owner of the tree knew (or, possibly, should have known) that the tree was diseased or dead or otherwise more likely to come down. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Our next door neighbor had a tree that was DEAD that would have fallen on our house, not hers, but was entirely on her property. She rented the house out, and we told her realtor about it--no action. We had the worst winter ever last year, but thankfully it held. When her renters moved out, we went to see the next ones and welcome them to the neighborhood. We also asked them to tell her again about the dead tree, and that since she knows it is dead, if it falls down her insurance probably won't pay for the damage to our house so it would fall on her to do so. That finally got her attention, and she had someone come out and take it down. I happened to be home that day, and we got some firewood out of the deal--nice hardwood, stacked up for us. Score! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 (edited) Our city took down a tree in front of my neighbor's house - but on the parkway so not his responsibility - when I sent them a letter and a copy to my attorney (well, hubby at his work addie :-) ) noting they had been informed it was a diseased tree (huge fungus growing out of the base) and we would not let them claim "Act of God" when it fell since they now had prior warning about it. They had it taken down the following week. Next week we had a huge storm. Many other trees came down or lost major branches. So glad Evil Tree was already gone. I was proactive about this since years ago another parkway tree in front of our house did fall - half on a van parked across the street, and half onto our house. City claimed Act of God. Our insurance covered our house - we did have a $3,000 deductible, but got an entire new 50-year roof out of it. Neighbor's car insurance took care of the squished van. Edited March 3, 2018 by JFSinIL 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I went to my state's website for the Office of the Insurance Commisioner. There was an FAQ there that answered this question for my state. (The answer was that most homeowner's insurances will pay AFTER you pay the deductible. But they will first attempt to get the neighbor's homeowner's insurance to pay. But fault is difficult to prove. ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I'm in the same area as jean. we had the monstrous big leaf maple clump (seven/eight separate trees, in a clump) - that was starting to die/rot in the middle. because of topography, I was afraid I'd get some trunks on my house. the thing was massive. the owner was renting his house out. we thought about offering halfsies to get it down, but the cheapest bid was $5K and we weren't willing to spend that much. He cleaned up the house and yard - and took out the monster - last summer before putting the house on the market. took the guy the entire afternoon (and a few chain saw chains encountering nails due to neighbor - grew up there- and my boys building tree forts in their days) just to bring it down - a few more days to clean up the mess. I was concerned we'd be stuck with the bill if it came down. I DO NOT miss it! i hated the leaves (most on my yard) and the helicopters. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 My neighbors trees twice came down on my property (neighbor on either side) and insurance company said "act of God" they are not responsible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 My neighbor has two trees right at our fence line. They grow intertwined, and one tree is obviously dying. It drops a crap load of branches in my yard every time we get a storm. If it falls, it'll hit our house. Maybe it's time to ask neighbor about having it removed. Might even be cheapest to go halfsies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 We had a very large tree come down a few months ago. We did not suspect it was weak so it was very much a surprise. It hit our house and narrowly missed our neighbor's across the street (it was that big). While chatting with our insurance people, I asked what would have happened if it did hit their house. In my state, apparently, it is "no fault" unless we knew the tree was dead/weak and neglected to do anything about it. The insurance companies battle it out on their own. I suspect we may find out eventually. We have three more of these monsters in our yard, all of which could hit another house depending on how it falls. And there are at least six more in neighboring yards that could hit our house. None appear dead or dying....but neither did the one that fell. All are well over 100 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandamom Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I had the same question when the neighbor's trampoline flew through the yard and landed on our shed. I'm not worried about our shed but if it flown all the way till it hit our house, I would have been worried. It is currently tied off in the tree that it is currently sitting in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 We had a neighbors tree come very close to hitting our house years ago. It ended up catching on our swingset and hanging suspended over the house. We called our insurance company and they said it was our responsibility to do something about the part that felt on our property. Dh ended up removing it but the bottom of the trunk is still sitting on the fence between our properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 A week after we bought our house, the neighbor's tree fell onto our house. Thankfully it just knocked off a few roof tiles. He took the tree down and repaired the fence. We took care of our roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I don't know who would be at "fault" but the sugar pines where I used to live sway crazily in the wind but rarely fall. I hope you will have no reason to worry about whose fault it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagleynne Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 I'm in Indiana, and when our neighbor's pine tree came down on our car and front porch we were told it was an "act of god" and that it wasn't covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 In my state, the damaged property is covered by its insurance no matter where the damage-causing ‘thing’ comes from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 geez. I'm surprised that neglect is considered an "act of God." And why do they call it that? I didn't realize that insurance companies were so religious. hahaha. The tree is holding. I just can't figure people out. My neighbor is very nice and I like her a lot. I know that cutting trees is crazy expensive. However, the aftermath of major tree damage is too big to ignore. This goes beyond the damage of property. People live in houses! If a massive tree falls on a house, it can hurt someone!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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