Remove a tree or wait?

[Ryan Murphy]

Recently purchased a property with build potential.  There's a tree that can be removed without requiring a permit, and it probably has 2+ years before it grows large enough that we would need a permit.  The tree is at the edge of our property, abutting a neighbor's property that is also zoned for more build potential.

We are interested in looking at that next door property some day and maybe negotiating to buy it from our neighbors.  Then we would have a larger foot print and be able to build much more at a better cost.

Here's my question, for any developers that may have experience with buying buildable lots with tree issues:

Would we be shooting ourselves in the foot by removing the tree prior to trying to negotiate to purchase the next door property?  Would their property value increase because we got rid of our tree that could impede a developer's ability to build on their property?  Or is that not really a consideration for developers?