Dealing with a fallen tree
August 24, 2011 7:34 PM Subscribe
Ontario StormFilter. Neighbour's tree came down causing property damage to us. What next?
I'll just get the all facts listed, but I'm afraid I can't leave out the editorializing.
We're located in Ontario.
Our neighbours are assholes of the first class. They've been that way for years. We don't have a good relationship with them, so this isn't going to be easy, which is why I'm turning to Ask, just to try to get the jump on the steps to take in the morning.
The storm that whipped through the province brought down our neighbour's tree. It crushed and smashed our fence. (The fence is 100 per cent ours and on our property line.)
The tree is currently resting on our roof. As far as we can tell right now (still in the midst of the storm) the roof looks fine, although what kind of damage is going to be done to the eavestroughs when they pull the tree off is anybody's guess.
Of course the insurance agent is going to get a call first thing in the morning, once we can get out and take a proper look at the damage. But what happens after that?
Is this one of those act of God cases? Although I'm sure God wouldn't think too much of his creations who planted a tree so close to their house. The thing was actually growing on their roof and attempting to breach their windows.
Is this something that we're going to need a lawyer to pursue? Or will our insurance company go after their insurance company?
How can we get the tree removed ASAP. Knowing them, they'll drag their feet as much as possible.
And how can we do this with as little cash outlay on our part (i.e. paying to pull the tree off our roof) as possible?
To make matters worse (or maybe better, I don't know), the neighbours are in the process of trying to sell their house. The for sale sign is on the lawn and the first open house was on the weekend.
I assume we've got to get out there and start snapping pictures in the morning.
Posting anonymously only in case this turns into a legal battle.
I'll just get the all facts listed, but I'm afraid I can't leave out the editorializing.
We're located in Ontario.
Our neighbours are assholes of the first class. They've been that way for years. We don't have a good relationship with them, so this isn't going to be easy, which is why I'm turning to Ask, just to try to get the jump on the steps to take in the morning.
The storm that whipped through the province brought down our neighbour's tree. It crushed and smashed our fence. (The fence is 100 per cent ours and on our property line.)
The tree is currently resting on our roof. As far as we can tell right now (still in the midst of the storm) the roof looks fine, although what kind of damage is going to be done to the eavestroughs when they pull the tree off is anybody's guess.
Of course the insurance agent is going to get a call first thing in the morning, once we can get out and take a proper look at the damage. But what happens after that?
Is this one of those act of God cases? Although I'm sure God wouldn't think too much of his creations who planted a tree so close to their house. The thing was actually growing on their roof and attempting to breach their windows.
Is this something that we're going to need a lawyer to pursue? Or will our insurance company go after their insurance company?
How can we get the tree removed ASAP. Knowing them, they'll drag their feet as much as possible.
And how can we do this with as little cash outlay on our part (i.e. paying to pull the tree off our roof) as possible?
To make matters worse (or maybe better, I don't know), the neighbours are in the process of trying to sell their house. The for sale sign is on the lawn and the first open house was on the weekend.
I assume we've got to get out there and start snapping pictures in the morning.
Posting anonymously only in case this turns into a legal battle.
We were in a similar situation in 2003 when Hurricane Isabel came through and knocked down all the trees between both neighbors' houses and our house. Even if the tree is on their property, any damage sustained to your property (house, fence, etc) is paid for by you and your insurance company. I can't say what the reimbursement for tree removal is, as my father-in-law got the trees off our house, but the insurance company fronted us the money for a replacement roof after getting an estimate from the roofing company.
posted by jenny76 at 8:44 PM on August 24, 2011
posted by jenny76 at 8:44 PM on August 24, 2011
I don't know where you are in ontario, but in toronto, arborists are part of city services, and the equivalent department in your city/town might be able to provide you with some advice relevant to your jurisdiction, as well as perhaps provide help in removing the tree with minimal additional damage.
posted by Kololo at 9:24 PM on August 24, 2011
posted by Kololo at 9:24 PM on August 24, 2011
One of my trees fell on the corner of my house during the night a few months ago. When I called the insurance company the next morning with my policy number, my step-father was chainsawing the tree up to cart away for free firewood. They gave me a claim number, and I took some photos before relative got too far into the job.
When the claims assessor visited the next morning to assess the damage he asked me to email him the photos. I have a $100 deductible on my house policy but the assessor waived that because of relative's contribution, he said the insurance would otherwise have paid for the tree removal. The insurance company used one of their preferred business to coordinate the repair work (some interior cleaning work from a broken window, slightly dented roof & guttering, broken barge board, a small window awning was torn down, and two wall sections needed repainting), but I could have chosen the repairers myself if I had any preference.
The whole claim process was quite painless and paperwork-free.
posted by Pigpen at 9:27 PM on August 24, 2011
When the claims assessor visited the next morning to assess the damage he asked me to email him the photos. I have a $100 deductible on my house policy but the assessor waived that because of relative's contribution, he said the insurance would otherwise have paid for the tree removal. The insurance company used one of their preferred business to coordinate the repair work (some interior cleaning work from a broken window, slightly dented roof & guttering, broken barge board, a small window awning was torn down, and two wall sections needed repainting), but I could have chosen the repairers myself if I had any preference.
The whole claim process was quite painless and paperwork-free.
posted by Pigpen at 9:27 PM on August 24, 2011
We live in a neighborhood where this is a constant issue, and unfortunately, in our case(s) (and I believe this is generally true, although we're in the U.S. and not Canada) there was no liability on the part of the neighbor (we had a vehicle totaled several years ago by a falling tree, and more recently had the roof perforated by a big ole "widowmaker").
posted by drlith at 3:39 AM on August 25, 2011
posted by drlith at 3:39 AM on August 25, 2011
It has nothing to do with your neighbour. Everything to do with your home insurance.
The same thing happened to my sister. She was out of town. I was the contact.
It's not even about personalities.
Just contact your home insurance company. Everything is automatic after that.
posted by feelinggood at 1:37 PM on August 25, 2011
The same thing happened to my sister. She was out of town. I was the contact.
It's not even about personalities.
Just contact your home insurance company. Everything is automatic after that.
posted by feelinggood at 1:37 PM on August 25, 2011
This has happened at my parent's house in Ontario, both having a tree fall on their propety and having their tree fall on the neighbour's lawn during a storm.
Basically if your neighbour's tree falls on your lawn, the neighbour is not liable, it is unfortunately now your (and your insurance's) problem.
In the recent instance at my parent's house there was no damage involved and since they already had to have someone remove trees from their lawn, they paid to remove the one from our neighbours, mostly because they are nice people and because we have the reverse problem and our neighbours are hard to deal with.
posted by devonia at 3:15 PM on August 26, 2011
Basically if your neighbour's tree falls on your lawn, the neighbour is not liable, it is unfortunately now your (and your insurance's) problem.
In the recent instance at my parent's house there was no damage involved and since they already had to have someone remove trees from their lawn, they paid to remove the one from our neighbours, mostly because they are nice people and because we have the reverse problem and our neighbours are hard to deal with.
posted by devonia at 3:15 PM on August 26, 2011
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posted by sincerely-s at 7:45 PM on August 24, 2011