I was inspecting a home last week, where a very large tree had fallen the day before from the yard of the house I was inspecting (which was vacant), and had crushed the neighbors fence, and a large portion of the tree was now taking up the neighbors back yard.
During the inspection, he came over and asked the realtor who was responsible for the tree removal, and damage to the fence. She politely told him that he would have to contact his own insurance company, and that they would most likely pay the claim. The neighbor said that was fine, but who was going to pay his deductible? The realtor said that he would most likely have to be responsible for his own deductible, which started a heated discussion between the realtor and the neighbor. (I made myself scarce).
I know that usually when a tree falls, that both insurance companies have some responsibility for paying for the portions damaged on each property. But in a case like this, where the house is being sold, did the realtor have the right response to the neighbor? Or was there a better way to handle this? Now, the new home owner will have an angry neighbor right from the start. I think I would have maybe tried to work something out with the neighbor to take care of his deductible....what do you think?
Recipe for disaster: multi-trunk tree with a large hollowed out area in the middle; a tree likely to fall soon.
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