The lease states "Tenant shall pay for repair of any drain blockage or stoppages, unless caused by defective plumbing parts or tree roots invading sewer line."

In addition to the limb the roots have cracked our driveway and are lifting part of his drive so that the water flow comes to my drive and my house.My question is why am I responsible at all...having been notified there is a problem with his tree limb why should I have to do the leg work and pay half to enhance his property's safety and value?

I pointed this out to them and begged them to just fix the root problem. 

My style would be to go out of my way to find out the root of his issue and attempt to help him out of that situation.  

(Add "bay area" to your keywords thing to get the joke.)If you're moving to the city/island of Alameda, there's currently a grass roots rent control movement gaining traction.

Many of the modern houses of today are rooted in that.

If you do decide to continue being a landlord, it sounds as though you could use some advice about how to screen tenants, but your plan to sell the property is probably a better idea; it's hard enough to manage property that's close to home, never mind one that's so far away.Best of luck with it and good for you, coming to BP for advice...most of us have been in your shoes and we're all rooting for you!

There are some deeply rooted problems that only a changed heart can fix, but much respect and admiration for the people who take on such a task without pushing others out.

Unfortunately the black light is going to show 100’s of things including…Turmeric (a spice), Olive oil, Canola oil, Honey, Ketchup so I would assume much of the kitchen will show up, and don’t go near the bathroom. :-)You can fight odors if there are any (though I don’t think you mentioned it.) with an ozone generator while the property is empty.

Once roots are in, it's history.