Lesson Learned

[HarleyDog]

Again, I have been reminded that sometimes life is not fair. For over 3months We have been renovating our detached garage into a awesome man cave. I have about a weeks left of work until completion and I am excited as heck. Then on Wednesday, my step son calls me at work to tell me the neighbors tree fell on my shed. I'm thinking no big deal as long as nobody was hurt. I come home from work later that evening (it was dark) to find this tree has split my shed in half. It was a huge friggin tree. I go to bed and plan on inspecting closer at daylight and to work from home so I can contact neighbors insurance company.

Morning comes and I do my inspection and I notice a large branch which appeared to be laying on the roof of the man cave. I walk inside and water is pouring through the ceiling (it was raining). I climb into the attic to get a closer look to find a huge tree truck snapped off laying in there. I inspect further and low and behold there was about a 2ft hole and 3 other holes ranging Bowling ball size to softball size. Brand new insulation, ceiling lights and new electrical wiring all getting doused with water.

I contact neighbors insurance company and they basically told me that would be for my insurance to cover. I'm pissed now. I called my insurance provider and they explained if a neighbors tree falls onto my property during a storm than it's our responsibility to cover the damages. I just wrapped over 12K into renovating this building and now I'm sick inside. I wanted to just puke as this was a very cruel joke life was playing on me.

My insurance company is going to cover the claim, I just have to cover the deductible. When I asked HTF is the neighbor not liable, I was informed in cases like these caused by a storm the only way the neighbor would be responsible is if I had proof that I informed him of the dangerous tree and my concerns. WTF? My neighbor is a dick and I don't speak to him, ever! Plus, it's not like I would just walk onto his property and inspect his friggen trees? The tree was noticeably dead and should have been taken care of by the neighbor.

Long story short, I'm only going to be out of the deductible, but I'm sure my rates will go up all because of someone else's neglect. My completion of the man cave is going to be set back several months and now I have a ton of more shit on my plate to take care of while my neighbor will be sitting on his back porch watching me repair all these things while sipping on lemonade and not giving a damn. Lazy bastard didn't even apologize.

If you have neighbors with trees you are concerned could fall and do damage to your property, I strongly suggest you write a letter, notarize it and send registered mail to your neighbor just as a precaution. He's damn lucky the Bengals didn't make the playoffs this year, or someone may have got hurt. What a dick!

[SunsetBengal]

So sorry to hear that, Harley.

[Cure4CF]

Sorry to hear that man, but like you said at least nobody got hurt. Hopefully it gets resolved quickly and your ins. doesn't go up a ton. Sucks your neighbor is a dick. Best of luck!

I had 2 trees in the back taken down because I didn't want it to damage my neighbors property or fall on my kids when we were playing back there. One of them put a hole in my garage and the other had big ass limbs falling off for what to seem was no reason. It was $3000 for both but I would of had to pony up a ton more to the neighbors out of moral responsibilities if they would of damaged something of theirs. I have great neighbors and would think they would do the same.

[HarleyDog]

(01-15-2017, 01:25 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: So sorry to hear that, Harley.

It is what it is I guess (I hate that phrase but applies). I needed a sounding board. Can't complain to my wife because she appears to be angrier than me so that would just escalate into us marching over with torches and pitchforks to our neighbors house. On the bright side,I was supposed to have the pool table set up yesterday and went ahead with the plans. A roofing company came and did temporary quick patch on  the roof until it could be correctly repaired/replaced. I will continue to complete the project, leaving only the work of the contractors to complete, while mine will be done.

Also, I didn't drywall the ceiling when installed a few weeks ago. I had them put up OSB board instead. Very glad I did that now. I might have to replace a sheet or two but much easier to live with than replacing the entire ceiling. Somewhere in all this BS there is a silver lining. Just haven't found it yet.

[Bengalzona]

Sorry to hear, old friend.

On the bright side, at least you won't have to worry about the tree in the future.

Don't spend time getting angry about bad neighbor. Life is too short. And he ain't worth it.

[Bengalzona]

My neighbor at my old house was a cop and, despite the fact he was originally from Cleveland, he was a pretty good guy. We had a gap of about 20 feet between our houses and I had an 80 foot palm tree on my side that the wife ordered me to take down. I must have tied about 800 feet of rope around that thing to make sure it would fall the right way. Joe, the cop, came out and laughed because it was so overkill. But in the end, it ended up falling right.

[HarleyDog]

(01-15-2017, 01:37 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: Sorry to hear, old friend.

On the bright side, at least you won't have to worry about the tree in the future.  

Don't spend time getting angry about bad neighbor. Life is too short. And he ain't worth it.

Unfortunately he has about 8 other trees within distance of our shed and man cave. The guy that came and cut the tree out of my shed warned that several others were dead. He informed me he told the neighbor about it as well but kind of received a "your wasting my time" sort of response. I wont stay angry because your right. I heard he is moving soon. I will be a great neighbor and rent the friggen uhaul to get his ass out of here. We live in a really nice, quiet neighborhood. It will be even better if he leaves.

[SunsetBengal]

(01-15-2017, 01:46 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Unfortunately he has about 8 other trees within distance of our shed and man cave. The guy that came and cut the tree out of my shed warned that several others were dead. He informed me he told the neighbor about it as well but kind of received a "your wasting my time" sort of response. I wont stay angry because your right. I heard he is moving soon. I will be a great neighbor and rent the friggen uhaul to get his ass out of here. We live in a really nice, quiet neighborhood. It will be even better if he leaves.

Well, at least in case of future tree disasters, the neighbor has been officially warned by a tree person.

[jfkbengals]

Sorry to hear it.

I learned this concept back in 2003 after Hurricane Isabel rolled through.

A buddy's sister had a huge tree topple from the neighbor's yard and cut through the fence. There was nothing struck besides the fence, but there it was laying in the middle of her yard. The neighbor called his insurance company and they sent out a tree service who proceeded to cut up and remove the tree from the fence line and neighbor's property but not hers. She flipped when they told her she was responsible for the portion that lay in her yard. Come to think of it, I still don't think she ever fixed the fence!

[jfkbengals]

(01-15-2017, 01:53 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Well, at least in case of future tree disasters, the neighbor has been officially warned by a tree person.

Good point.

Harley, you should contact the tree person and see if they will give you something in writing to prove the neighbor was warned, just in case.

[HarleyDog]

(01-15-2017, 02:13 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: Good point.

Harley, you should contact the tree person and see if they will give you something in writing to prove the neighbor was warned, just in case.

He is already going to do that for us. We will cover our rears if it happens again.

[Wes Mantooth]

I have some good news for you I think: Your rates should not go up.

Im pretty sure, almost certain actually, that since this is storm related it will be an "Act of God" claim. They cant raise your rates for that.

But yeah, that sucks, man. We have a neighbor who's long dead tree is due to come down on my shed, along with a neighbors, sooner than later. Its just a matter of time. Hes aware of it, but does nothing. In the meantime I've been cleaning up dead branches for years after every storm. He doesnt care though. Hes trash.

I feel your pain. Good luck.

[Bengalzona]

(01-15-2017, 01:53 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Well, at least in case of future tree disasters, the neighbor has been officially warned by a tree person.

Watch out for those 'tree people'!

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(01-15-2017, 01:53 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Well, at least in case of future tree disasters, the neighbor has been officially warned by a tree person.

I'd try to get that in writing, if possible. Or at least ask the person who did the job about it and record it.  I don't know about Ohio, but in GA you don't need the other person's permission to record your conversation.  So check first.

Sorry, for the shitty luck.

Think of the story you'll have to tell when the job is finally finished.

This Thanksgiving, I got my in-laws kitchen sink stopped up while we were cooking the Thanksgiving meal.  I felt like shit.  My father-in-law is a great guy, retired from working at a shipyard, after retiring from the Navy. Real do-it-yourself kinda guy.  So I feel even shittier cause he is fixing it all by himself.  I could see the years of sludge he was pulling out of the pipes.  I was the fall guy; wrong place, wrong time.  But, he was pissed because he couldn't find his snake to clear the clog.  As he is getting more pissed by the minute, my mother-in-law asked him to take the turkey out of the oven for her.  I thought he was gonna lose his shit.  I knew exactly what he was thinking, "Yeah, let me stop what I'm doing, wash my hands, and help you with the turkey."  I volunteer to help her.  At least, I'm doing something to help.  As I'm helping my mother-in-law with the turkey so he can unclog the sink, the damn oven rack gets caught up and the turkey almost tiped over onto the floor.  I thought, "If this god damn bird hits the floor I'm walking straight out the door and driving home.  Wife and daughter will have to find their own ride home.  He couldn't clear the clog so he tape trash bags over the sink with a "Do not use" sign taped to it.  It was like a cone of shame, but for a son-in-law instead of a dog.  Then I asked, "So . . .  Ya got anything else you need me to break while I'm here?"

Then my wife adds, "Well, at least he didn't fall through the roof and break a rib like you did at our house, Dad."

Point being, do you remember the Thanksgiving nothing happened and everything was perfect?  Me neither, brother.  Me neither.

And like you said, most important thing is no one was hurt.

[Sabretooth]

(01-15-2017, 02:13 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: Good point.

Harley, you should contact the tree person and see if they will give you something in writing to prove the neighbor was warned, just in case.

An email and or registered letter to the present neighbor may be helpful in the future in case of more storms before he moves.
The same to the next new owners.
Good Luck and glad there were no human injuries.

[Beaker]

(01-15-2017, 01:46 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Unfortunately he has about 8 other trees within distance of our shed and man cave. The guy that came and cut the tree out of my shed warned that several others were dead. He informed me he told the neighbor about it as well but kind of received a "your wasting my time" sort of response.

Just wait until he is at work, take a chain saw and fell them all in his backyard. When he comes home and asks you WTF, just tell him "must have been that wind storm".

[*michaelsean*]

It's also possible for a healthy tree to lose a branch in a big storm. But yeah it's always been the case that whoever receives the damage from a falling tree or part of a tree as a result of a storm is on the hook. I did think that dead trees were different.

[Millhouse]

Yeah that sucks to hear. I never understood why the neighbor shouldnt be liable for a tree from their property that falls on a neighbors. My grandma had a neighbors tree fall on her garage quite a few years ago, and went through the same thing as you did. Except her neighbor offered to help with the cleanup, so at least she was nice about it.

Did your neighbor offer to help clean up or help at all? If not I would just throw all the chopped up wood over on their property and leave a note on it saying 'Here is your tree back"

[Benton]

Sorry to hear. Neighbors are the worst part of owning property.

[HarleyDog]

(01-16-2017, 12:20 PM)Beaker Wrote: Just wait until he is at work, take a chain saw and fell them all in his backyard. When he comes home and asks you WTF, just tell him "must have been that wind storm".

Would love to. However he works from home and never leaves the house. Great idea.

(01-16-2017, 04:11 PM)Millhouse Wrote: Yeah that sucks to hear. I never understood why the neighbor shouldnt be liable for a tree from their property that falls on a neighbors. My grandma had a neighbors tree fall on her garage quite a few years ago, and went through the same thing as you did. Except her neighbor offered to help with the cleanup, so at least she was nice about it.

Did your neighbor offer to help clean up or help at all? If not I would just throw all the chopped up wood over on their property and leave a note on it saying 'Here is your tree back"

That actually did happen (without the not). Tree guy threw all the logs back on his property.

(01-16-2017, 04:22 PM)Benton Wrote: Sorry to hear. Neighbors are the worst part of owning property.

Aint that the truth. Yet, neighbors on the other side of my house are great. The other neighbor? Well, he's just a dick and nobody talks to him.