Trees super close to house - should I walk away from it?

Question

Hi everyone,
I am looking at a place in Tampa FL which have trees super close to the house. I am worried that the trees could fall on the property due to hurricane or the root could hurt the foundation. Both of them would cost a lot to repair. What do you think? Should I walk away from it because of it? Or there is a way to mediate the risk? Thanks!

Best,
Gin

Theresa Harris · Answer

You can make a lower offer based on what you think it will take to remove those trees and during the inspection stage, get a tree company out to give you a quote.

Michael Haynes · Answer

Hello Jin Zang in Tampa. It looks like an older house? The roots from both trees may have grown into the sewer lines. They are attracked to water and lots of the 1950's houses had Ceramic Sewer pipes. Big problem. Did you flush the toilet and run the water? To take out those trees you need a Crane...big money. If you try to get Homeowner's Insurance they will raise the cost. The thing to do is to call a tree service and get an estimate. I would not be surprised if it costs $10,000. The tree service should have a licensed Arborist who can get the City out there to get you a Permit to remove the dangerous trees. If it were me, I would pass on that property. I always put a Premium on my properties that had no trees. Dealing with Code Enforcement over trees is a nightmare.

Ray Hage · Answer

You'll definitely need to get both of those trees out and it looks like it won't be a cheap job. You'll need to do it with a permit from the city and it will most likely be about 2-3k per tree. Maybe they will give you a little discount since it is two at the same time. You could try seeing if the owner will remove them and have that written into the contract before you purchase it. It'll depend on how receptive the owner is.

Trees super close to house - should I walk away from it?

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