Something you all have forgotten...

That tree was there LONG before the neighbours moved in. If they
didn't like the tree they shouldn't have bought the house. They
definately should not assume that they can do as they please with it!


If they'd bought knowing your garage was built encroaching 2 feet onto their
property, I suppose they wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but would
have to just accept it?

I don't think soooooo!

An illegal encroachment doesn't get to stay there just because they knew about
it when they bought, unless local laws say different.

Now your argument WOULD hold water if you were talking about a pre-existing
problem not covered by private law issues - the classic one being people that
move in next to an airport and then complain about the noise from over-flights.
HELLO - did you buy at night during an airline strike......

"CpRensCoNY" wrote in message
...
I find that being nice to neighbors makes it all the more likely that
they
will try to take advantage of you.

Some others have taken care of attitude here so I will not. You are
writing on
a garden line so you should know or try to know a bit more about the
silver
maple. If you follow the postings it is clear that you are the catalyst
of the
trouble.

And from what do you base this on? If things were left up to me, I would
just leave well-enough alone. Besides, my folks had no idea how big that
tree was eventually going to get and that it would encroach on their side.


You may still be able to save the situation. Buy the Mrs. next door a
bunch of roses and state you wish to bury the hatchet. It is a great deal
cheaper than an attorney and will save you from making a fool of
yourself.

The situation is the tree--nothing else. Therefore, the situation cannot be
saved without the tree being saved. The attorneys cost us nothing. As
stated, my folks get personal attorney fees paid for by my father's union.
BTW, we won't be making a fool of ourselves since we and our tree seem to be
covered legally on this matter.


Maybe you have not passed 40 years of age.

not even 25, but my folks are 60+

You will look back upon this fracas
with regret. Repeat, a silver maple is not a backyard tree. It is to any
gardener without a few free acres a menace in the garden. Another posting
explained that to you. Curious attitude you have regarding neighbors. Are
you
sure you are not on a hill in Montana.

I'm sure neighbors are more neighborly in montana than in brooklyn. In the
city, particurly in this neighborhood, you have a lot of young arrogant
families moving in who have that mentality that its their property--they'll
do what they want. They're the ones with no regard for their neighbors and
if I told you about half the things that went on over the past year and half
of rennovation to their house, you might just find yourself on the other
side of the fence, so to speak.

"Bill Spohn" wrote in message
...
Something you all have forgotten...

That tree was there LONG before the neighbours moved in. If they
didn't like the tree they shouldn't have bought the house. They
definately should not assume that they can do as they please with it!


If they'd bought knowing your garage was built encroaching 2 feet onto
their
property, I suppose they wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but
would
have to just accept it?

I don't think soooooo!

An illegal encroachment doesn't get to stay there just because they knew
about
it when they bought, unless local laws say different.

Now your argument WOULD hold water if you were talking about a
pre-existing
problem not covered by private law issues - the classic one being people
that
move in next to an airport and then complain about the noise from
over-flights.
HELLO - did you buy at night during an airline strike......

first off, there is no illegal encroachment here. If I were to put a
structure partially on their side, that's quite a different thing, since a
structure doesn't take 30 years to grow. The laws regarding trees are quite
different from those regarding other types of encroachments I'm sure.

In article , TheKeith wrote:


I find that being nice to neighbors makes it all the more likely that they
will try to take advantage of you.


Hmmm... That tells us a lot about attitudes. Quite the opposite has
been true in my experience. Our neighbors -- on all sides -- are a
Godsend; they watch our dogs when we go on vacation, they get our
mail, they watch for tresspassers, they taught us how to celebrate
Passover even though we are Methodists, they let us borrow their
car when we have a breakdown, they drive us to the airport, etc. etc.
etc.

And, of course, we buy their goddam Girl Scout cookies, and get their
mail, and drive them to the airport, and send them Hannukah cards on
the wrong dates, and mow their lawns when they are sick, and help
their kids get jobs, etc. etc. etc.

Of course they take advantage of us, and we take advantage of
them. That's what friends do -- they just call them favors.



Lastly, the part about whether the neighbor would need a fence is his
decision.
Fences and walls are part of property joining in all part of this world.
Only
in America and mostly in suburbs is the subject of a fence a social and
cultural issue. Some HOA's and many suburban towns have ordinances
fences.
The fence is often the structure that makes a good partnership with
neighbors.


Heh, that's particularly true if you have pets. When we put in our
fence, our neighbors had already put up two of the four sides. All
we had to do was complete it and add the wire.


billo

On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 10:57:56 -0400, "TheKeith" wrote:


"CpRensCoNY" wrote in message

You are writing on
a garden line so you should know or try to know a bit more about the
silver
maple. If you follow the postings it is clear that you are the catalyst
of the
trouble.

And from what do you base this on? If things were left up to me, I would
just leave well-enough alone. Besides, my folks had no idea how big that
tree was eventually going to get and that it would encroach on their side.

If "well-enough" were leaving the tree undisturbed, of *course* you'd
have been in favor. Your original post mentioned a "monster tree" and
now you say your parents had no clue when they planted it. Heaven
knows, this happens to everyone. See the thread on mint! Big old trees
aren't automatically real estate bonuses. This one, from your photos,
doesn't exactly seem situated in a place where you gratefully recline
in its shade on a summer afternoon. You can save yourself a whole heap
of grief by going to the neighbor, suggesting you both share the cost
of removing the tree (haggle like crazy about who's responsible for
drilling out the stump), and getting on with your life. IMHO.

In misc.legal TheKeith wrote:
snip
My grandfather was a real estate attorney and some years before he died
looked up some law regarding trees and discovered something called "air
rights" or something like that, which basically provided that the branches
of a tree, as long as it doesn't physically touch a neighbors property may
not be cut by that neighbor even if it is "over" their property. I was
wondering if there are any comparable laws regarding the tree trunk itself
and its major roots, which obviously run well under my neighbors property?
Help would be greatly appreciated -- thanks.

Nolo press has an excellent book on Neighbor law. You should be able to
find it in your local library. http://www.nolo.com It covers your topic
pretty well. I don't have a copy on hand or I'd tell you what it says.

TheKeith wrote:

My grandfather was a real estate attorney and some years before he died
looked up some law regarding trees and discovered something called "air
rights" or something like that, which basically provided that the branches
of a tree, as long as it doesn't physically touch a neighbors property may
not be cut by that neighbor even if it is "over" their property. I was
wondering if there are any comparable laws regarding the tree trunk itself
and its major roots, which obviously run well under my neighbors property?
Help would be greatly appreciated -- thanks.

In most states you own your property including the overhead space and
can remove any part of neighbor's plants that intrude on your property.
If that weren't the case, the such building as the empire state building
could be prevented from being built by moving some humungus tree on an
adjoining property. The flip side is that it is the neighbor's
responsibility to take care of any plant that extends over his property.

--
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Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
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