Neighbors oak tree fell on my property......

So this afternoon while I was at work, the neighbors HUGE oak tree suddenly split and came crashing down in my front yard. The tree limb brushed across the front of the house and part of it landed on my front porch. The tree limb also landed on another tree in my yard and it appears that tree is in jeopardy of hitting the power lines.

So now I'm faced with a huge mess and a dangerous situation..

The property that the oak tree is on is vacant... and the owner lives out of town.

How do I best handle this situation?

Call your homeowners insurance

If it hit your house, it's now your insurances problem.

mtn wrote: If it hit your house, it's now your insurances problem.

+1

I get these claims all the time. They should be able handle it.

For your own sanity don't get big ideas of how your neighbor is going to pay for it. Probably not going to happen unless they are feeling guilty or genorous.

Your insurance pays for it first. If they want to go after other dudes insurance. Let them do it on their own time.

I think that it is an opportunity to get a nice chainsaw

Call the insurance company and then a tree removal guy. Firewood?

Thanks for the input!

I just called the insurance company, the agent wasn't in and I'm expecting a return call.

Some photos of the mess...

pilotbraden wrote: I think that it is an opportunity to get a nice chainsaw

pilotbraden wrote: I think that it is an opportunity to get a nice chainsaw

Meh, Lightning struck a huge oak in my back yard a few years ago. I picked up a Husqvarna 350 to clean up that mess. As I recall it took 2 months to clear the mess. This time around I want to push the easy button.

Oak in the back yard that got struck by lightning a few years ago...

I used some of the cut wood and a blower to burn the stump to the ground....

Doc Brown wrote: I used some of the cut wood and a blower to burn the stump to the ground....

Looks like you should have used it as a forge.

Yeah, that looks like a healthy looking tree that fell. As far as I know that's considered an "act of god" and would not be your neighbor's liability. The only time a tree falling on your property might be considered the neighbor's problem is if the tree was dead and it was negligent of them to have not removed it previously. But it's difficult to prove the negligence.

In any case, as has been said, it's your insurance company's problem now. Even if it was the neighbor's responsibility, they would be the easy button to handle it.

dculberson wrote: Yeah, that looks like a healthy looking tree that fell. As far as I know that's considered an "act of god" and would not be your neighbor's liability. The only time a tree falling on your property might be considered the neighbor's problem is if the tree was dead and it was negligent of them to have not removed it previously. But it's difficult to prove the negligence. In any case, as has been said, it's your insurance company's problem now. Even if it was the neighbor's responsibility, they would be the easy button to handle it.

Yeah, only if the tree is visibly dead/dying will the insurance deny the claim.

mtn wrote: If it hit your house, it's now your insurances problem.

Even moreso than that, it's crossed your property line, and everything that's on your property is your homeowners' insurance's issue. By the same token, if it was your tree that fell, only the part that stayed on your side of the line would be your problem.

Sucks, kinda, but makes sense - for reasons exactly like you've outlined. Good luck.

Pete Gossett wrote:

Doc Brown wrote: I used some of the cut wood and a blower to burn the stump to the ground....

Looks like you should have used it as a forge.

The fire burned hella hot for almost two weeks. Of course I melted a bunch of stuff and tried out various accelerates. This is when I learned antifreeze will burn like napalm if it gets hot enough

Electric blower was ran 24/7

and finally...

Duke wrote:

mtn wrote: If it hit your house, it's now your insurances problem.

Even moreso than that, it's crossed your property line, and everything that's on your property is your homeowners' insurance's issue. By the same token, if it was your tree that fell, only the part that stayed on your side of the line would be your problem. Sucks, kinda, but makes sense - for reasons exactly like you've outlined. Good luck.

Mostly true.

In reality it's his problem. At least here in FL most policies should cover the cost to remove the tree from the house / deck / fence and drop it on the ground. From there it varies on if/how much debris removal they will cover but is usually limited to $500. So before you sign that $5,000 tree removal contract you should check with the adjuster regarding the limits.

If a tree falls and doesn't hit anything on his property they wont pay for anything. They also aren't interested in leaning trees or the standing remains of a tree.

dculberson wrote: Yeah, that looks like a healthy looking tree that fell. As far as I know that's considered an "act of god" and would not be your neighbor's liability. The only time a tree falling on your property might be considered the neighbor's problem is if the tree was dead and it was negligent of them to have not removed it previously. But it's difficult to prove the negligence. In any case, as has been said, it's your insurance company's problem now. Even if it was the neighbor's responsibility, they would be the easy button to handle it.

The tree has heart rot. I don't know if that changes anything though.

If power lines are in danger you might try contacting the utility to see if they will help with part of it. It varies from place to place, They generally want to avoid downed lines if possible.