Willow Tree - will it cause property damage

[treeissue]

Hello,

It's a Sunday so haven't been able to call a tree expert but I'm wondering if anyone has experience of purchasing a property that has/had a willow tree (or any other kind of tree that is known for having very large sprawling roots).

Has it caused problems? Were they easy (and cheap) to rectify? Or not?

I'm in the process of buying a place that has a willow tree about 6 metres away. Thanks!

Willow trees suck a huge amount of water out of the ground , that’s why you see lots of them by river banks . They also grow fast, if I had one that close to my house I’d chop it down as the roots could become a problem ( drains ) You can always plant another more suitable one in its place.

I'd be bit concerned about this. I bought a house with a lime tree in the garden and ended up having to have it removed as it was causing subsidence. Huge pain in the arse, LA helpfully TPO'd the tree making the process even more prolonged despite boreholes showing the roots encroaching on the house. I will always be grateful to my insurers who paid an absolute fortune in tree consultants' fees to successfully pursue removal of the tree.

No nearby trees is one of my criteria for house purchase now.

We bought a property which had a willow similar distance. The property had subsidence which we had to correct. We had the tree cut down over a couple of years, the reason it wasn't done all in one go was because that in its self would have caused problems to the property. Definitely get a tree surgeon report, and probably a full structural survey on property as well. Everything is fine now 10 years later.

council website may show tree preservation orders, but usually you need to ask the tree officer.
A conservation Area means all trees automatically protected

Meant to add we are in an area where we have to get permission to cut trees down, we submitted our application with the tree surgeons report and structural survey. The tree officer paid a visit and the removal of the tree was approved.

A difficult one, as PPs have said they do use a lot of water and can cause subsidence. But, removing trees can also cause Heave when the ground dries out and disturb the foundations of buildings.
Our previous house was surrounded by beautiful trees, but they did cause some problems when we were selling. TPOs had to be researched, the house foundations were built to accommodate the 200year old trees, we had regular tree surgeon inspections to satisfy our Insurance company.
Fortunately the purchasers loved the trees as much as we did. But I’d think twice about buying a house with TPOs again.

Thanks all that's really helpful. We've only had a homebuyers report done which I'm just reading through and it says:

“...there is a mature tree which is within influencing distance of the property. It is recommended that an arboriculturist is appointed on a regular basis to pollard the tree to prevent roots from having an impact on the structure of the house. We assume the structure of the house has been designed in accordance with guidance for trees in close proximity to buildings and it is recommended your solicitor enquires further as to the type of foundations provided.”

So we are going to do these two things. But it's helpful to know what others have been through. It's easy to minimise things when you just really want to move into your new home ASAP!

We have one about the same distance from our house, no issues so far. I actually love it because in summer it provides privacy and a small area of much needed shade in our garden. I think the neighbours (it is on side) are talking about getting it removed, I'll be sad to see it go!