All Forum Posts by: Stephen Shelton

 Its location was barely a threat to the house even if it fell in the worst possible way, but my tenant worries about things.  She's a great tenant and I was having some other trees removed anyway so I had them cut off the top.

It's even less of a threat to the neighbor's house, but the tree seems to shed small branches that fall in my yard.

As crazy as people are anymore who knows? They could park on the side of their yard and put a branch on their car and say I damaged it. Who knows.

Removing the tree:

* Eliminates risk in a storm

* Eliminates potential issue of roots damaging the drain field (though this would have been an issue decades ago)

* Eliminates maintenance trims

Also good terms with the neighbors means they'll likely allow me access to their backyard when I need to stain/seal the fence, and our yards have a line of railroad ties at the boundary, mine from the previous owner. I want to remove them and have a load of topsoil dumped so I can just make a smooth decline with no barrier. It will be easier to do this if the neighbors are friendly.

 Not really mainly because of it's location and it's a kind of spindly tree. I also had a lot of the height removed to make it less of a hurricane threat, even tough at its highest height it wasn't much of a threat anyway.

 LOL I can tell you're from the north! 😄 Japanese Maples hate the heat down here. I love the red threadleaf Japanese maples, so in 2003 when I drove to PA I bought a small one just to try here. They're slow growing trees, but in those 16 years it may have doubled in size.  Maybe. It won't die, looks healthy, but it just doesn't grow.  One winter I even dumped bags of ice around the trunk during cold snaps to help simulate winter.

I know the tree species really wasn't your point, but I had to share.

YES! Thank you.

That is exactly what it is! I looked it up and that is exactly how the bark looks on this tree.

We can't even trust the media to tell us what is happening right now, and even when video proof exists that they're lying they're still prone to either hold onto the lie or quietly forget about it.

Anyone else remember the frequency of news articles from 2009 to 2016 discussing some negative figure of the economy (Unemployment, manufacturing, GDP, etc) and how it was usually accompanied with the word "unexpectedly"?

"Journalists" have no credibility whatsoever when it comes to predicting the future of the economy. I'd trust my cat or a magic 8-ball first.

After the recent hurricanes I've come to have a healthy fear of tall trees. This one I had capped, but it will grow back.  Also it is planted maybe 20feet from my drainfield.

I also watch too much Fear Thy Neighbor on cable 😄

In situations like this I start doing the "what if" game so I like my "what if" idea, but I don't want to handle this in such a way that they begin an endless series of demands.

Thanks for the replies, it fit my understanding in that they can cut branches in their yard but they're out of luck otherwise.

Honesty if they want to chip in to remove it I'm game. I have a nearby property with a dying oak I need removed too. Like I said no one else likes this tree, and I wouldn't want to cause tension with my tenant.

But, Scott, your post literally made me laugh out loud!

BTW I think the tree is a Tulip Poplar, but the bark looks nothing like the pics I found.

Also my tenant worries about things. Example: after the last hurricane the dirt around the tree had a 1/8" gap to the tree indicating the winds pushed it a bit. She worried it could fall into the house, so I had the top of the tree removed to reduce its bulk a year or two ago.

I have a SFR where an older couple just bought the neighboring house. They've improved the look of the landscaping, but they approached my tenant about the leaves that drop from one of my trees.

It's a deciduous tree that sheds large leaves (size of a large hand), but they fall off en mass in the fall (it's dirty in the fall). Basically it's a northern style tree in FL. It's an oddball here.

My tenant did not give them my contact info, but the neighbors want to talk with me about it.

The tree is healthy, and survived recent hurricanes like a champ. So what legal ground do they have to make me do anything?   This is Florida BTW.

I have no idea what to expect from the conversation, but want to be prepared.

Also, no one likes this tree but me, but this has already got me thinking of cutting it down and replacing it with a red-leaf crepe myrtle that has caught my eye.

Recently I got a call from a tenant stating that the electric was going crazy in her house.  Lights were extra bright, shutting off the breaker to the fridge caused lights to flicker, and some bulbs burnt out while I was there.  The biggest problem was that she saw smoke coming from the rear of the electric oven and that ultimately claimed the life of the oven.

I called a 24/7 electrician, he determined the issue was outside the home, and the power company's repairman quickly spotted the issue atop a pole leading the power to the house. I filed a claim with the electric company and today I received a letter from their management company denying the claim.  It says:

So... 

• If a tree branch falls on a car I'm responsible.
• If a shingle blows off the roof and hits someone on the head I'm responsible.
• If the tenant has a pet that bites someone I'm responsible
• If someone in 70 years of life never learned that water makes things slippery slips on a wet sidewalk after a thunderstorm I'm responsible for the new hip.

But...

If the electric company does not maintain their lines and send screwy voltage into my house it's not their fault? Squirrels are everywhere down here. Is it not negligent for them to provide inadequate shielding or conduit on the power wires to protect against basic and well known threats from the environment?

In the end, the emergency electrician cost $210 and the replacement stove cost about $492.

Also the electric is in the tenant's name and not mine.  (I'm not sure if that matters)

So what should I do?  Should I reach out to an attorney?  Should I demand this company visit each property and install proper protection on the electrical cables to prevent this from happening again?