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Im afraid it’s going to fall one to many times and seriously hurt her I mean, please if anyone is willing or able to help with getting them taken down we be forever thankful .

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add your location here, or look on websites like Facebook neighborhood groups / Nextdoor.com ive found helpful people in the community these ways
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Reply to ChelsC
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If a tree fell on her roof and damaged it, this is a homeowner's insurance claim she can make. Typically insurance won't pay for anything if it didn't directly damage her home or car. She needs to call her agent to find out what her deductible is and get started on the roof repair.

My friend just moved out of her 100-yr old farmhouse because the willows and oaks are so old they just keep creating debris and damage. She's also 74, but she got tired of dealing with it since it's an ongoing problem on her property.
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Beatty Sep 16, 2024
Geaton, your friend of similar age had a similar tree problem.
She choose her course of action.

The 74 yr old lady in the question can also choose her course of action, right?

It's not stated who the OP is (relation? neighbour?) or why they are involved.
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It is just not realistic to expect contractors who risk their very lives to even get paid will come running for free just because someone is cash poor, old, or both. A lot of tree guys don’t own a home, even.

If the elder has children, it may be worth it to pay given that the house is their inheritance.

If there are not, this person could sell as is and move into a maintence free place.
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Reply to PeggySue2020
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Geaton777 Sep 15, 2024
PeggySue, so true about the tree trimmers. I'm helping a single man in his mid-40s who was a subcontract tree trimmer. Three weeks ago he fell 30 feet out of a tree, shattering both legs and breaking his back. No insurance. Cash-basis life. Lived in a second-story walk-up apartment. He finally had his last leg surgery on Friday and now he'll be in rehab for who knows how long. No income for the foreseeable future. Tree trimming is inherently dangerous work so I would not have just any old person coming onto my property to do anything unless they were insured or my liability insurance could withstand an accident.
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You can check with your local churches, if they offer some type of home assistance. They may not have money but often they will do some physical stuff for the elderly. Many of the men and teen boys from my church bond over doing "man work" for those in need.
Also, check your local senior advocates and dept. on aging for any hints on who you can request assistance from.
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Reply to Cashew
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PeggySue2020 Sep 15, 2024
This is not work for Boy Scouts any more than wiring a whole house is. It requires licenses and liability insurance.
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Reach out to Habitat for Humanity. They do roof repairs and replacements in my area.
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Bonnie, I’m with Geaton. If an insurance claim is warranted I would definitely suggest she explore that first. Her insurance company will refer her to a preferred roofing company and tree service, perhaps even arrange the whole process for her.

If she does decide to go that route make sure she keeps all the receipts and paperwork. She may be required to disclose resolution of any homeowner insurance claims if she does eventually sell.
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Reply to Peasuep
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PeggySue,
Many people who are contractors and licensed go to churches and volunteer their services. It isn't the boy scouts.
The churches KNOW the legal requirements and they also know what they can and cannot do.
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Karsten Sep 16, 2024
that is the only way to do it, if a licensed, bonded tree contractor donated their time, but with the risks so high, that is a lot to ask

If it was just the labor of doing the work, sure, but that is just the tip of iceberg for tree removal. Liability issues are huge and expensive.
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Bonnie1950, contact your local Area Agency on Aging for resources that may be available to help this elder remove the trees. If they are touching any power or phone lines, the city or those utilities need to be contacted.

If the trees are of a "desirable" specie, you can make a post on Nextdoor.com or craigslist.org that they can keep the wood if they do the removal. Here in MN people will often help remove trees that are good for firewood.
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Reply to Geaton777
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Forgive my ignorance, but why does this woman not call a tree service company to do this job for her if trees "are steadily falling on her house"?? If she cannot afford to maintain her home properly, she needs to sell it as is and move into a senior apartment that requires no maintenance.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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Karsten Sep 16, 2024
even to sell, lenders may require that tree removal is done first, perhaps with a loan that can be paid back after house is sold

Very few lenders would lend money to buy a house in this position.

I guess those buy ugly houses people could as they take on that risk
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I'm wondering if you are this worried about your neighbor, maybe you should call APS. There maybe a lot of mold in her house.

If the outside is this bad I'd worry about the living conditions on the inside.
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Anxietynacy Sep 16, 2024
Just to add, my mom kept getting vertigo. I kept smelling mold, everyone in my family brushed it off told me I was crazy, there is no mold!!! They told me.

Haha, found the mold when an addition ceiling fell in. There's the mold , that my family insisted I was crazy for saying, there is mold in the house.

Been fixed for 2 years and no vertigo!!

Mold can really make people sick.
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as others have intimated, tree removal is a dangerous issue with many risks. It is not like getting a gang from the local church to come paint your house on a weekend, though nothing is risk free

Many years ago, some buddies of mine who were trying to earn money for a mission trip undertook a job of removing a big limb, though they had no business doing so. One of the guys had his hand smashed to nothing when a cut branch pinched back on it.

Years of litigation followed, and while the friend did get some money, it took a long time and his hand is still bad.

So this is not a job for a neighborhood group, it is a job for a licensed, bonded, tree removal service. If good hearted souls wanted to contribute to the cost of that thats one thing, but not to do the work. SO MANY things can go wrong both in terms of human safety, structural damage, and all the consequential litigation.
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Isthisrealyreal Sep 28, 2024
Oh man, that is a gut wrenching accident for your buddy. One bad hand makes life a different struggle then we can imagine.
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Bonnie1950, welcome to the forum. If that 74 lady lived in my area, to cut down 8 trees large enough to fall on her house, it probably would cost her $20,000. A large bucket truck, plus a grinder machine would be needed along with employees that know how to cut down a tree, they climb up the tree (wearing protective gear, special grab belts, and special climber shoes) and start from the top.


These worker know how to drop a tree so it doesn't damage the house, nor the neighbors house, trees, fence, gardens or vehicles. The company is licensed, bonded, insured, with workman's comp.


I hire a nationwide tree service for my trees who comes out every 2-3 years to trim off branches that have become no longer tree-worthy. And to make sure when the wind gets strong that the wind can blow through the tree instead of against them causing the tree to fall.
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Reply to freqflyer
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That sounds like an extremely large number of trees to need removal around a house unless the house is extremely large also. Some of the trees may be fine if the branches are trimmed (and trimmed regularly in the future). I suggest first getting a bid from 2-3 tree-trimming companies whom you ask to prioritize the work that is needed to be safe in the house and yard. You may well find that the work does not all need to be done immediately, so that the most dangerous trees will be addressed right away.
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JoAnn29 Sep 28, 2024
My neighbor found out that it was cheaper in the longrun to have her trees cut down. Having them trimmed every year would not have been cheap. These were silver maples and are known to topple over because roots are above ground.
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Bonnie1950, I am also concerned if the woman in question still has homeowner's insurance on her house. If she had contacted her insurance company to help pay for damages on her roof prior, and the trees are still falling, I wouldn't be surprised if the insurance company had cancelled her insurance. The trees are the homeowner's responsibility to keep trimmed on a regular basis.
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