Dream House but BIG Tree

[Anonymous]

We found our dream house (location, price, design) and are ready to put our offer in BUT there is a huge tree about 5 feet from the foundation. The tree canopy towers over 3/4 of the roof and if a limb were to fall there would definitely be extensive damage. This house is located in Takoma Park (not historic district). What are our chances of being able to remove the tree? We are fine with replanting new trees a bit further from the house. The tree appears to be healthy but our inspector was wary of a couple of the limbs integrity. Anyone have success removing a tree in Takoma Park?

[Anonymous]

I would dislike you as a neighbor if you did that

[Anonymous]

You do what you have to do to protect your house. I'd be wary too and would call a reputable arborist to assess and give you a quote. Tree removal, especially one that big, could easily run thousands of dollars.

[Anonymous]

Could you send a picture to the person in charge of granting the removal permits and see?
https://takomaparkmd.gov/services/permits/tree-permits/

[Anonymous]

So trim the limbs, not get rid of the tree!

[Anonymous]

Just cut it down

[Anonymous]

An enormous tree just toppled in our neighborhood during a rain storm. It looked perfectly healthy. Took down another tree, fence, powerlines and cracked a pole. Thank goodness it did not hit a house. Made me look nervously at so many other big trees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just cut it down

Difficult within the city limits of Takoma Park. Read the above link.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So trim the limbs, not get rid of the tree!

This. Have an arborist check it out and trim and fertilize it. It is possible that the tree could fall on your house, but a big oak that is 20-30 feet could fall on your house and do significant damage, as well. Learned this the hard way. The sickly tree five feet from the house is still there, and the big healthy tree that was 25 feet away fell. A tree further away might actually do more damage, as it will have more momentum before it hits.

[Anonymous]

You may not get a permit to remove the tree in Takoma Park. And if you do, prepare to pay thousands for the permit ($1500-5000) in addition to the $4-7K to remove the tree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would dislike you as a neighbor if you did that

What?

My neighbors from across the street begged me to take down our tall tree because they were afraid of it.
So, I consulted an arborist who said that yes - the tree could come down in a storm and land on the neighbors’ house, bringing the power lines and telephone poles with it.

So, we had the tree taken down.

With climate change and the resulting strong storms and heavy rains, large trees planted near homes isn’t really practical anymore.

[Anonymous]

Stupid , I would've me the sellers take it out , that's a life threatening issue. Suprised the insurance company didn't make you take it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may not get a permit to remove the tree in Takoma Park. And if you do, prepare to pay thousands for the permit ($1500-5000) in addition to the $4-7K to remove the tree.

Does the city of Takoma Park pay to fix your destroyed house? Do they pay your insurance premiums? That’s total BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would dislike you as a neighbor if you did that

Me too. Trees are the beauty of a neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

It’s about 5,000 to remove a large tree that’s easily accessible from the street. This wouldn’t stop me from buying a dream house.