Realtor · Oakland, CA and a Real Estate Investor with Multi-Family Units and a Self Storage Facility · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
Any idea how to find out how to find out who the actual owner of the property is so we can send a registered letter and or contact them by phone? We have photos and we have identified the address where the tree fell from, but so far the efforts made (i.e. knocking on the door, leaving a note, etc) to contact the owner have not been successful. For what it is worth this happened in Cleveland, Ohio. The tree literally crushed part of the fence, and did some damage to the electrical wiring as well as knocking a pole from where it was secured.
@Brian Garlington act of god; unless they take responsibility personally, you are not likely get coverage from there carrier. You will have to either cover it personally, or place claim against your own insurance.
If you search the address at the Property Appraiser Office, it will provide you with the owner's name and mailing address (where the property tax bill is sent). Sorry to hear about the tree...fingers crossed it will be taken care of by the owner.
@Brian Garlington act of god; unless they take responsibility personally, you are not likely get coverage from there carrier. You will have to either cover it personally, or place claim against your own insurance.
I talked to my insurance carrier in hopes that if I filed a claim, they would get the work done and then go after the property owner of the adjacent property.
They basically said they are not entirely sure that they can hold the owner liable for the damage but I can “hope” the owner does the right thing.
@Brian Garlington was the tree a known hazard? Unless you can prove the neighbor was negligent, as in they knew or should have known the tree was going to fall, it’s unlikely they’ll be held liable. Probably not worth getting insurance or lawyers involved on this. Any damage to your property from the tree will be your responsibility unless the neighbor was negligent.
Its not your neighbors liability . Now that the tree has fallen on your property , its your tree . Unless you have notified the owner prior to the tree falling that it was a hazard .
@Brian Garlington. How much damage we talking here and what’s your insurance deductible? I literally just had this almost exact same situation happen to me, only difference is I’m not actually entirely sure if it was my neighbors tree or mine (it’s near the property line).
Long story short, hurricane Dorian blew part of a tree over and onto my house/roof. Thankfully there wasn’t any damage to the actual structure. My landscaper charged me 90 bucks to cut it down..
This is what insurance was told to me about 10 years ago - This happened to me and the neighbor was not responsible for the tree falling and causing property damage to my home. The only way I could have received payment from the neighbor's insurance was if the tree was dead and i told the neighbor about the dead tree (need proof and documentation) and they did nothing about it.
This is why properties have branches and limbs the size of tree trunks extending all over other properties as if its no big deal. Basically, if any part of a tree hangs on your side of the property you can cut the part of the tree that's on your property only.
Any idea how to find out how to find out who the actual owner of the property is so we can send a registered letter and or contact them by phone? We have photos and we have identified the address where the tree fell from, but so far the efforts made (i.e. knocking on the door, leaving a note, etc) to contact the owner have not been successful. For what it is worth this happened in Cleveland, Ohio. The tree literally crushed part of the fence, and did some damage to the electrical wiring as well as knocking a pole from where it was secured.
I'm a little late to the game, but wanted to make sure you knew about the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer site (formerly, and still colloquially, referred to just as the Auditor's site)... https://myplace.cuyahogacounty.us/
It's an extremely robust interface, and you can search by property address, parcel number, or owner name (or just use the map feature to click on any parcel), and see tons of info on the property. Transfer info (back to 1/1/1975), property tax info (including tax mailing address), building and land info, etc. It's by far the best public records site for real estate I have ever seen/used (and I have bought and sold real estate in multiple places for 2+ decades)... who would have thought that Cleveland of all places would win this title?!
Unfortunately (for you), I believe Anthony Rosa is right on this one. Unless the property owner had been given notice about a defect related to the tree, or if he/she/they happened to be out there trimming the tree or something when it happened, the owner will not be found liable. You could file a claim with your own dwelling/landlord policy though. But that might not be worth it, depending on what your deductible is (and the fact that your premiums will likely increase dramatically at your next renewal after a claim).
Same thing happened to my OOS rental in Birmingham, Alabama this past week. A large tree from my neighbor fell onto my property and on top of my rental, I am in the process of getting an estimate for the roof, but the pictures after the tree was removed looked like there wasn't too much damage, got lucky there. But to have the tree removed cost 3,500.00! My property manager said it is seen as an Act of God and I could not go after the neighbors to pay for it. My insurance carrier confirmed the same. I know how you feel, I was very surprised the hear that a tree falling from a neighbor and damaging my house is my responsibility. I asked my property manager to try to contact the owner and ask if they will help pay half, but I will be very surprised if they agree to compensate me at all.
Any idea how to find out how to find out who the actual owner of the property is so we can send a registered letter and or contact them by phone? We have photos and we have identified the address where the tree fell from, but so far the efforts made (i.e. knocking on the door, leaving a note, etc) to contact the owner have not been successful. For what it is worth this happened in Cleveland, Ohio. The tree literally crushed part of the fence, and did some damage to the electrical wiring as well as knocking a pole from where it was secured.
Did you check the auditor's page? Also, I would call insurance just to be safe.
Same thing happened to my OOS rental in Birmingham, Alabama this past week. A large tree from my neighbor fell onto my property and on top of my rental, I am in the process of getting an estimate for the roof, but the pictures after the tree was removed looked like there wasn't too much damage, got lucky there. But to have the tree removed cost 3,500.00! My property manager said it is seen as an Act of God and I could not go after the neighbors to pay for it. My insurance carrier confirmed the same. I know how you feel, I was very surprised the hear that a tree falling from a neighbor and damaging my house is my responsibility. I asked my property manager to try to contact the owner and ask if they will help pay half, but I will be very surprised if they agree to compensate me at all.
@Johnny Lau. I just feel This is one the classic examples of being majorly price gouged for being an out of state investor. How large is the tree? The tree that fell on mine was partly on the roof and covering the AC (it’s a single story).
The highest quote I got was 600 and the lowest was 90, to remove it. 3500 for tree removal means either 1. The tree is massive and requires a dumpster to remove or 2. You’re being price gouged
Unless they were informed of the tree being a hazard before it fell ,a act of god means you pay the bill .
I inspect all trees in my area .fact my neighbor told me that my tree was leaning over on her house and it was,she asked if would take care of it .I did do not want a big claim ,so I took it out .
@Johnny Lau. I just feel This is one the classic examples of being majorly price gouged for being an out of state investor. How large is the tree? The tree that fell on mine was partly on the roof and covering the AC (it’s a single story).
The highest quote I got was 600 and the lowest was 90, to remove it. 3500 for tree removal means either 1. The tree is massive and requires a dumpster to remove or 2. You’re being price gouged
When a tree falls onto your investment, it's yours, and it's referred to as a cost of doing business. I've been advised now for years by my ins. agent to carry a very high deductible ($1500 per house) on our properties. I don't recommend you involve your insurance company unless there's is physical damage to the real property that exceeds the deductible by a factor of two because you will face increased premiums that eat that up...and then some. By the way, in almost all cases any damage to the yard is not covered unless you put a rider in place when you set the policy in effect.
My property manager originally thought it would cost me 500-800 to remove the tree, this was before he went to the site. Several tree trimmers went to site with him the next day and said they could not remove it with their own equipment. I guess it took heavy equipment and a dumpster to haul it out. One guy finally had the equipment to do the work. I’m guessing the tree was 40-50 feet from the pictures and looked pretty heavy and thick, actually 2 trees fell. But yeah, 3500.00 is a lot, original quote was 4300.00 but we talked it down a bit.
I’m curious what other people pay for a large tree removal?
@Johnny Lau. How thick was it (diameter)? That sounds extremely expensive. Are you sure the city wouldn’t haul it away? My landscaper cut it down and up and bagged it in 2-3 hours and then put it by the curb. It was rather large and it was picked up by the city
They arent liable unless negligent. I had A tree fall on a tenant car and unless I was negligent I was not liable. Your insurance covers you in this situation.
Tree removal depends on location size and accessibility. Wires can increase cost because they have to get the bucket truck around them. Not sure if the wood is usable in your area that may factor in.
We coughed $800 to have a big old Olive tree trimmed and shaped, it was hanging over the roof. Five guys with chain saws climbed the tree, a couple more on the ground fed branches into the chipper. Took a half day or so. No bucket truck involved, I'm sure those are expensive. We have a couple other trees that are much taller and bigger. Hope I never have to pay to work on those.
I just had this same situation with one of my rentals in Mid Michigan. Adjacent neighbors really thick tree branch about a 10" circumference fell onto my roof damaging the gutter and knocked off a few shingles.
I had to get to the county recorder to get info on the owner as the traditional method didnt work for me with knocking and letters.
Got a hold of them, explained the situation showed photos and they took care of my damages. Looks like I got lucky on this one with a good neighbor
Had the same issue happen to my quad in Ohio early 2018, that one didnt go so well and neighbor was a complete D**k. So I ended up repairing the roof on that bad boy. Full roof replacement $6500. This time my PM is sending letters and documenting when those branches hang over my roof because the neighbor is responsible if you have given them notices and they do nothing about it.