Real estate questions (regarding trees)

Man you guys get off track easily… Gun control… Vegetarianism. Back to real estate!!!

What are the risks of buying a house with a large old oak tree right smack next to it in the backyard? Two story house, concrete perimeter, Oak tree appears to be about 3+ feet across and the trunk is at least 8’ tall. Would you pass on it? Would you take the tree out immediately? What would that cost? $20K? (No access to backyard by heavy equipment.)

I’m just wondering because every winter there are Oak trees that fall over in Menlo Park because of the rains, and this monster seems to me to be a big liability in either rain or an earthquake.

You can see the trunk in the background on the rightof this photo:

It can easily be removed with max $2000 ( lowest est $500).

Removing or leaving oak tree is personal choice.

I know redwood tree is CA protected tree which we are not supposed to cut, but I guess oak tree is not. You need check whether oak tree is CA protected or not from City/County site. As long as it is not CA protected tree, the tree life is in your hands, and definitely it is not a major blocking factor for buyer.

Second, backyard trees are easy to remove as this will not normally affect neighbors. There are plenty of craigslist tree removal services available. When you remove, make sure you remove the root (you need root grinder) that cost easily another $300 (Machine+labor). Everything inclusive, I have done with $500 to $2000 depending on size and your negotiating skills.

[EDIT] Note Elt1 remarks OAK TREEs are protected, means a show stopper unless you want to live with it

Redwood city has a tree Czar, aka the tree Nazi…He will never let you cut it down…You will have to kill it first. …He came to one of my construction sites and threw a fit because we stored materials near a redwood tree…Didn’t matter there was a slab of concrete there…The tree people are insane…Oak trees are protected especially more than 12" diameter

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Ha! I hear you.

Do you agree that it’s a liability or would you not worry about it?

It is a liability, but a beautiful tree…I would trim it drastically. …And make sure the ground doesn’t get to wet…Wet soil on a very windy day is what causes them to topple…

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Interesting. My biggest fear is the trunk falling into the structure. Do you think the branches are the worst part?

The branches catch the wind…Reduce the wind load, less chance of falling down…Check stats but windfall trees killing people is a low risk in the BA compared to hurricane and tornado states

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I’d have it cut. But if that’s not an option ,trim it down. Real down.

What do we need to do? I have one tree that needs to be killed. Tried with some amazon tree killer /root killer, but did not kill the redwood tree. This is very small plant at present 2 inch diameter. I can not pull it out, but needs to kill it.

Just dig around and find some main roots…Cut and wait…should die quickly. .Cover up the holes so the tree Nazis dont catch you. …

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Terri,

The problem with trees is that the roots can damage cement patios and walkways and perhaps home foundations if close enough. The Fremont home I bought had that issue on a relatively small scale. Technically the tree is on my neighbor’s lot in the back, but it is a big tree and the branches encroached onto my yard fairly closely that it dumped a lot of leaves and branches onto my yard. I was able to have someone climb that big tree and cut back the branches to my property line so it is no longer an issue but did have to redo the cement patio since it had buckled or had been uprooted due to the roots from that tree which is fairly fair away. That is why I will not really look at properties with big mature trees near the main house. Yes, lovely and nice, but I do not want to have to deal with a foundation issue later.

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A 2" tree ??? Just cut it down

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2"? Can’t you just cut it off and put a rock over it? :slight_smile:

I hear you. I’m actually surprised there isn’t more damage, but it is a concrete perimeter, so it’s not going to do as much damage as with a slab. Obviously there are the issues of the roots getting into the sewer system, though, I didn’t see that mentioned at all on the disclosures.

This has to die as if natural, redwood issues… I can’t do it openly due to Tree Nazi’s, but root cutting possible.

Can you explain how the tree nazis would notice a 2 inch diameter tree disappearing?

Plus, I thought they were only protected over 12" diameter.

There are trees died, with stump alone, so far no replacement made. If it disappears, Nazis will replant with new one, dies they wont.

It takes 50 years to grow that tree. And it will take 1 hour to chop it down.

My take is that the tree is an asset. It adds to the value of the home. If it does end up diseased, you can remove it easily with some cost. You just have to monitor it and make sure it is maintained, healthy, and not damaging your house.

On the other hand, if you are buying the house to demolish it for rebuild, then I can imagine tree can be a problem, with restrictions and effort to either remove it or build around it.

I mistakenly killed an oak tree by drowning it… If you over water an Oak it will drown… The roots rot … I doubt you can drown a redwood

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In general, I completely agree, however, as I said, it’s a regular occurrence that in Menlo Park , about 4 miles away, Oak trees fall during the rainy season every year. It sounds like they have very shallow roots, so they fall more easily, and I’m guessing this house has the same kind of soil as there. I’ve seen some of them and I’d never have guessed that they were going to fall. Full leaves, healthy looking trunk, no moss to my recollection. But once they’re uprooted, it’s shocking how little root structure there is. This tree could have a trunk 3 feet across, and if it fell, the roots would be 7’ across total and small and stubby, yet the branches are 30-40 feet across.

If this were a cherry tree, redwood tree, anything else, I wouldn’t really worry about it falling without showing symptoms of being diseased.