Are trees 5 feet from property a serious threat to foundation?

[Rob C.]

There is a tree within five feet of a property I have under contract. It's got a noticeable lean to it and the unanimous advice I've received is to remove it. However, what is more concerning to me is whether it is impacting the foundation. From what I've learned so far that won't be known for sure until the tree is removed. Does that sound right? The home inspector wrote in his report that it could be affecting the foundation given its proximity, but when I spoke with him he said that there were no visible signs of a problem and it was probably not much of a risk. He did suggest that I have an arborist take a look though. So I had a couple arborists take a look. One said there was a 50/50 chance it could be affecting the foundation. Needless to say, that was rather alarming. The second didn't give a percentage, but thought that it was not a problem. And for what it's worth the general contractor I'm working with said that the foundation seems fine to him. Is there anything else I can do to be more certain? Do any of you biggerpockets veterans have any experience with this sort of thing? I'm having a hard time judging the level of risk involved here

Thanks

Rob