Tree to cut down

O

Oldoak

Location
Northwest
Hello,
I am currently moving into a new house and in thr process of buying it.
We recived the property form and it states tree to be removed notification recived. I have queried this and waiting for a response.
Don't mind paying to get it sorted if that is the case, but just out of interest who would normally pay for this me or the current owner?
 
Who said it needs to be removed? (do you want it removed?)

If it does need to be removed, I'd ask them to do it...just like you would ask them to repair a non-working electrical outlet, a leaky faucet, etc... All part of the price negotiation, right? Ultimately, like @ThatsNotMaple said, better question for the realtor than arborists.
 
I've had clients engage me as part of their due diligence before making an offer on a property, to do an evaluation of trees on the site. The report is then used so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase the property and in their negotiations with the seller.
 
cerviarborist said:
I've had clients engage me as part of their due diligence before making an offer on a property, to do an evaluation of trees on the site. The report is then used so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase the property and in their negotiations with the seller.
Click to expand...
That only makes sense. I have talked to a couple of realtors offering to help with that. I think they see it as one more hurdle to closing the deal, so they aren't interested. Some people specifically look for houses that have trees.

I chuckle a little that people will walk out on a closing because the seller won't hire an electrician to take care of $300 worth of changes...but the that will cost $3000 to deal with is ignored.

On the flip side, I had an agent call me last week asking about a tree at a place they are trying to sell. It is pretty close to the house and a few buyers have expressed concern. I determined it to be a low risk tree. I told the agent, "you need to decide if the house will be more or less valuable than the cost to deal with the tree. If I were buying the house, I'd pay more because it is there...but I understand others would pay less (or not buy)" But will they pay $3000 more because the current owner paid $3000 to remove the tree???".
 
cerviarborist said:
I've had clients engage me as part of their due diligence before making an offer on a property, to do an evaluation of trees on the site. The report is then used so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase the property and in their negotiations with the seller.
Click to expand...
Thanks Richard for translating my post into comprehensible verbiage!

I have tried to get tree inspections built into home inspections in NC every time, but have utterly failed; tilting at windmills.
 
ATH said:
That only makes sense. I have talked to a couple of realtors offering to help with that. I think they see it as one more hurdle to closing the deal, so they aren't interested. Some people specifically look for houses that have trees.

I chuckle a little that people will walk out on a closing because the seller won't hire an electrician to take care of $300 worth of changes...but the that will cost $3000 to deal with is ignored.

On the flip side, I had an agent call me last week asking about a tree at a place they are trying to sell. It is pretty close to the house and a few buyers have expressed concern. I determined it to be a low risk tree. I told the agent, "you need to decide if the house will be more or less valuable than the cost to deal with the tree. If I were buying the house, I'd pay more because it is there...but I understand others would pay less (or not buy)" But will they pay $3000 more because the current owner paid $3000 to remove the tree???".
Click to expand...
There might have been an opportunity here to up-sell the value of an evaluation report, which the seller could have incorporated into their selling documents. Also a great way to be brought to the attention of the potential/eventual prospects and buyer of the home.
 
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The more you charge for a report, the more likely the client will value the information. My fee to visit a site and evaluate a tree isn't cheap, but my clients typically aren't shopping for the low bidder. My fee to write a report is typically 3x what I charge just for a site visit, but I write my reports with an assumption and mind-set that I may have to defend my opinion. If I think a report may add value to my clients situation, I explain that value addition to them, so that they can make an informed decision about engaging the report, as well as the site visit.

On the other hand, if they're not going to especially benefit from a report, I suggest that they only engage me for the scope of visiting the site, collecting data and giving a summary verbally at the end of the visit, and keep the rest of their money to put toward mitigation efforts.
 
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Good plan. In most cases, a report needs clear specifications to be useful. Vague 'recommendations' are often misleading.
Offering a summary is a good low-priced option. I like to shoot video and Air Drop it to them (with disclaimers), sometimes with pics illustrated. Red marks show cut locations.
 
When clients are paying my consulting fee, they generally are there with a note pad and pencil, taking copious notes, as opposed to when I'm the only one on the site with skin in the game.
 
I think most of my clients take notes simply as an additional way to manipulate the data they're receiving verbally from me, so as to better remember it. When I take notes I rarely refer back to notes, as once I've gone through the process of actually writing down the data...it's internalized and imprinted. Specifications come into play after the client has had the benefit of reviewing the germane points of an assessment/evaluation visit and the time to reach an informed conclusion and decision as to how they want to manage their trees going forward.
 
That's one way to do it. But why postpone stating clearly the mitigation options? How can the client decide how to manage the tree, if we don't specify the potential actions to manage the tree?

I often failed to communicate the germane points without communicating specifications, and labored over reports. Now that specs are part of almost every report, writing reports is easier and faster--less waffling! Clients can truly reach a decision that is much better informed than without. It's assuming a lot to expect people to perfectly internalize and imprint info after writing it down. You have a rare gift, if indeed you can!

If you come to NC I'll show you this tree--specs can be very easy to write; 35 words or less!
The 2 largest tree companies in the US condemned the tree based on fake formulas and dogmatic ignorance about pruning. One of them (Guess Who!) writes on almost every report:

“No amount of pruning can reduce this tree’s risk to an acceptable level.”

This boilerplate BS would not be possible if specs were communicated. Maybe that's why we're taught to postpone that task, and also why Mitigation Options comprise about 1% of the TRAQ form.

Smoke-and-Mirrors manipulative marketing is fundamentally dishonest, and it pollutes our industry. Specifying our work, for clients and for employees, is the best way to meet our fiduciary duties, and makes life a lot easier!
 

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