Neighbour's tree

[ryanne]

We are first time buyers, and have seen most houses within budget in our area since we first started looking in June. We hav found that the nice ones get snapped up very quickly.

We viewed a house earlier today which only went live on Friday (shown around by the vendor) which is perfect, and we would like to see again with the intention of putting in an offer.

The only issue is that there are 2 very high evergreen trees in the back garden on the neighbours side about halfway down which are bowing the fence. ( the fence is the neighbour's responsibility). I asked the vendor if there were any issues with the tree and she said none.
Just after some suggestions /points to keep in mind for our second viewing, and if we proceed with offer and buy. I have watched enough 'neighbours from hell' to know that issues with trees do happen, and really we're all for a quiet life and don't want any issues.

Any advice appreciated.

How big is the back garden? I guess main things are roots (is the garden shallow?) and overshadowing. Would be worth seeing if you can have a look at different time of day to first viewing how big a difference they make in terms of shading - particularly in winter are you going to have shade all day? Which direction does garden face? Also worth looking at who owns the fences if they are damaged/get more damaged.

Thanks for replying. The pic is not great but the only one of the garden. You can just about see the tree on the right hand side. The fence is owned by the neighbours and is not in a terrible state but defiantly bowing inwards.
It's a SW facing garden so not massively worried about shading, more maintenance of the tree and fence.

You're legally allowed to trim any overhanging parts, which might help. But they are very tall and grow quickly those trees.

Most councils stipulate a max height for leylandi - so look up your local area cc and get it agreed as part of any exchange contract that it is cut to conform.

I'm not keen on these big conifer trees in small gardens and personally wouldn't choose to buy a house with one that was not in my control on the boundary - but if the house is perfect in every other way, that something you will have to weigh up for yourself. The issue is, that however tall and ungainly it gets, however much crap it sheds and however much light it blocks, all you can do is cut it back on your side (if it was your own tree, you could cut it down (assuming no tree preservation order).
You can see how the grass has suffered in the area below the trees. It will suck a lot of moisture out of your lawn and tree roots may stick up on the surface. At least the SW aspect will mean that you won't lose too much sun until the late afternoon, but it will cast a big column of dense shade across your garden in the evenings.
Presumably if their tree damages their own fence, there will be no liability for you to make or pay for any necessary repairs.

Also, mention it now to the seller/agent before offering. If they really want a sale they'll maybe not care about upsetting the neighbour and will ask them to cut it back.

Looks the fence panels below the tree have recently been replaced - they’re a different colour to the rest of the fence. I imagine they will need to be regularly replaced. If you want the tree owner to do this you’d probably have to make them aware each time the fence was compromised as they may not be able to see the damage the tree is causing. This would put me off.

This would put me off too. They are very large and will only get larger. Yes, you can have them cut back to the boundary, but then they will look really ugly with a mass of brown and sawn ends. On the plus side, such drastic action might kill them, but your neighbours may never talk to you again.
Also, on such a big tree, you would probably need a tree surgeon to do the job properly.
We have got large deciduous trees at the bottom of our garden, but next door. They suck all the water out of the area, making the beds in that area like a desert, and because of their size I have to get a professional in from time to time to deal with the overhanging growth.

You can cut them back to your boundary but what about the ones at the back, there is one overhanging the shed, would you ask for all of them to be trimmed back. You could ask neighbours to see if they would cut it back and tell them about the fence but I don't think there is any ,as that says you must have a fence.

Hell, its enormous!

You can cut it back to your boundary but will have to regularly pay for a tree surgeon to do it for you as it’s so big. That’s about all you can do. The bigger it gets the more problems it will cause. You can see it’s already damaged the fence and the lawn. You may find it difficult to sell the house in future. This would put me off I’m afraid.

For a first house is lovely and not at all overlooked . I would be grateful the trees are there. If they decided to cut them down you would potentially be rather overlooked so bear that in mind too . I imagine they like them for their privacy as well as yours though .
Yes you can cut down what's on your side and a few fence panels won't cost much if it's a lovely house then go for it !

Afraid it would put me off. It clearly does affect their garden because you can see a brown patch underneath it.
You could go and chat to the neighbours directly, it might genuinely never have bothered the vendors but it would bother me. You might be pleasantly surprised.

We saw a house with a similar scenario and it turned out the tree had some kind of special protection and couldn't be chopped down.

I would have a chat with the neighbours to test the water. They may well be prepared to tolerate the inconvenience and have it reduced or removed if it bothers you enough to pay the bill.

please talk to neighbours - present owners may say its all fine but trees can cause problems with house. estate agents & seller want to sell property so they are not neutral & they could eb dishonest - but I would remind them - via your solicitor - that if there is any problem about this with any of your neighbours they must tell you now - because if they have had disagreement with neighbours & they don't declare it you will sue (even if you don't) talk to neighbours concerned. the back of the garden looks like a hedge this has to be trimmed by owner www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/07/gardens-leylandii

Thanks everyone for the comments. The house sold really quickly (yesterday) so didn't even get a chance for a second viewing! Tree Obviously didn't cause too much concern for those particular buyers.
Definitely food for thought when looking at further houses. Many thanks.

If you see this, do be aware that those trees have huge roots which can grow into the drainage system and cause damage, also to house foundations, for future reference.

I think it's for the best. Trees so huge can cause problems and the neighbour could promise anything then not keep their word.

Also do bear in mind that if you cut a leylandii back, you will be looking at the ugliest set of branches in the world! A sort of semi nude lop sided tree. I think you have dodged a bullet there. If it was encroaching on the garden of that house, it would be a continual problem and the grass wouldn’t grow under it. There’s something better out there for you. Good luck.

Leylandis are the work of the devil! They just grow so bloody fast and people let them get out of hand. They need trimmed annually once they're at the desired height. I'd never plant any, unless I really hated my neighbours 😄