No problem. Thanks for clarifying. I'd still like to know who was requesting the landscaping that was clearly done between the times pictured. I would have followed that trail as I expect that is the one that implemented the removal of the tree.

That tree is *so close* to the neighbour's fence. I think suezbell and lindsey are right, the neighbour paid the landscaper to cut it down. It may have blocked his light, dropped sticky plums, leaves, sap on his deck or yard, attracted wasps etc. so he grabbed the opportunity to have it removed, thinking "the new owners won't even notice." That explanation would also jibe with the landscaper's explanation that he didn't think the location was good. No landscaper would spend 6 seconds thinking about the location of a tree or cutting down if he wasn't paid. But the neighbour probably pointed out all the negatives of the location, cajoled him saying heck what's the harm, they won't miss what they don't know, and then made it worth his while. Voila, the accommodating landscaper has money in his pocket, the neighbour is happy, and no one expected you'd know the difference.

I think you should go after the landscaper. He has already admitted doing it on his own initiative so he should be responsible for restitution. (Plus he's the only one who presumably gained financially so it makes sense for him to pay to replace the tree). I don't see how the broker is at fault trying to maintain the property before the closing. Who could predict that a landscaper would do something like that?

So did we find out who done it? Are we sure it was the landscaper alone, paid by the broker, but there's no proof they were in cahoots with either the neighbor or the previous owner yet? I thought the Realtor is suppose to make sure the property they are selling is true til closing they get plenty of commission and money upfront while the property is in their hands to show and promote until closing.

following again

Bunny, please delete your incredibly rude post.

Gill, I believe that is exactly what happened. Now that we see the location, I would bet money that the neighbor wanted that tree gone, and got it done.

@Mon I have to correct you about 'Realtors getting money up front'. No, we don't get any money until the end. The money is paid at closing or shortly thereafter, but not upfront.

How in the heck is telling people not to skip the walk thru on the LARGEST PURCHASE of their life rude?
And blaming the neighbor isnt?
How about this... broker tells tree guy to maintain the yard. Tree is too close to the house, diseased, whatever. So he removes it. Are you thinking Dac climbed over that palm and inspected the plum tree? Heck, she didnt even look behind the master bedroom door.
This is just a newbie home owner who made a mistake. Jeez.

This has neighbors written all over it. Too bad now you are stuck with them.

@Bunny calling names is rude. Using gender derogatory terminology is rude. Swearing in mixed company is rude.

I flagged your first post, as I'm sure others did also. Clearly the moderators of this forum agree that your post was out of line, as it is no longer up.

following

following

Ooh! I'm curious what the now-deleted post said about me. Doesn't sound like it was too flattering though.

We are 'newbies' if having a second home makes us so. By that logic though, my parents -who have lived in the same house for nearly 30 years- are also newbs since that was their second home. (What I'm getting at is people don't usually purchase too many houses in their lifetime.)

To have noticed the window issue would have been difficult ahead of time before heavy rain, since to see that corner of the window (it's oddly shaped and with the way the door opens) you'd have to basically shove your head into a small corner and turn right.

The landscaper did not say the tree was diseased - if they are healthy enough to fruit they are *extremely* unlikely to die of natural causes within the next thirty days. And saying 'tree was dying, we cut it down' is a more reasonable reason than saying 'didn't like where it was, even though it wasn't my house'. I agree with many fellow commentators who are suspicious of our neighbors (who we have yet to meet BTW).

And while I am short at five feet tall and might have needed to do some climbing to get a good look at the tree, my husband (who I've previously mentioned was thrilled at the tree) is 6'4" and merely had to lean in to get a good look at it. Not to mention there is a corner around the side of the ponytail palm which gave us a close-up look at the beaut.

The comment was just more or less your garden variety misogyny. No pun intended.

following.... waiting to hear outcomes ;)

We sold our house after building it & being there for 26 years, I left all the manuals & made a point to showing them all to the new home owners.. Off the south side of our deck we had a large Emerald Queen Maple & a Silver Lace Maple; we advised the new owners to live with the trees for awhile, as the closer one to the deck- emerald queen- provides a fair amount of shade & it would be smoking hot if they removed the tree. Have not been back to see if they took our advice yet, as we moved to a different location... If we go back I would like to stop by & visit some of our former neighbours.

Following

A gardener of all people knows not to go cutting down trees at random, they take forever to grow, and that's pretty hard work to chop down such a big tree unless instructed to, normally it's a basic weeding/trimming unless it's a total makeover which includes stump removal and new design including new plantings.

following.

Using the before and after photos it becomes possible to see the tree that got cut down was in fact a loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=loquat+tree&FORM=HDRSC2

and not a Japanese plum (Prunus salicina). Any valuation that may occur should be for a loquat and not a plum.

Keep us updated! Very interesting thread.

Hi Dar C,

Sorry about the tree. I hope you can get it replaced without major headaches.

I am concerned about the Sago tree as it could be a serious problem for pets and young children, even for some adults that get pierced by one of its needles. Here is the discussion I found on Houzz while researching palm trees: [Sago Palm Toxic To Humans[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/sago-palm-toxic-to-humans-dsvw-vd~2087977)

I am with those who say that there is no way a gardener would take it under their own advisement to remove a tree of that size. They would've been responsible for replacing the fence and any damage to the house when doing so!

Hi folks, I finally spoke directly with the old landscaper!
He said he wasn’t paid extra for taking down the tree, that he was hired to clean up the yard, no one told him what to get rid of or what to keep, and that the tree was stifling the sago palms. I asked if he was paid extra for the tree removal and he said no, that he wasn’t even paid that much to begin with.
I’m just shaking my head at the whole thing. Will relay all this to our agent so he can help us sort through this on Monday. Oy.

:(

I'm really glad that you have found out the truth. I always thought the landscaper would be the one to ask. He sounds like my gardener, who occasionally surprises me. It sounds to me that he is a one-man operation who generally mows lawns and does some pruning here and there.

At least, you no longer have to wonder about the neighbors.

I still think that you should hold the seller responsible. You didn't hire the landscaper, weren't responsible for what was done, and whether or not he made an independent decision... a bizarre one too... shouldnt be your problem. It is the seller's problem.

For what it's worth, I was wandering through a nice garden center the other day (not a big box type store) and found they had about several different loquats. So now you get to do research and actually can pick a variety that suits you! They are pretty fast-growing and you'll have fruit soon. They're really nice trees to have around. I'ma big fan.

To be fair to the gardener, these trees are often considered trash trees, probably even more so from people who have to clean yards. They often grow from seed and one that close to the house might have been a volunteer. So don't be too hard on the guy. Sounds like an honest mistake.

I have had landscapers rip up perennials, plant roses in disgusting rocky clay fill, mulch up the trunk of trees...I realized I would rather have an imperfect yard than have to constantly clean up messes I paid someone to make...

It will be interesting if the sellers can even be held responsible for this, this long after closing. OP may have accepted this unknowingly at closing by not having any kind of walkthrough prior to closing.

Today, we had a locust tree cut down in the front yard (delicate root systems and this one would do major damage to the house if it went down in a storm).

Cost: $700.00, and the project took up much of the day.

My point? Who will pay the bill? Of course, I will because I authorized the removal.

Who paid for the removal of your tree? Of course, the seller paid the bill.

No landscaper is going to cut down a tree, or for that matter do anything, with the possibility he/she won’t get paid (or sued).

Landscaper didn’t like where the tree was? B.S.

Paper trail…..

The gardener didn't do anything more than take a chainsaw to the trunk and haul the tree away. He didn't dig up the roots. He probably thought he was doing you a favor. Maybe he was just on a roll.

Life happens. You can ask the seller to pay for a replacement loquat, but at some point, you might just have to let this go.

I still don't understand who paid for this landscaper and when was the work done?

Oh wow.

Initiative is not always a good thing.

Is this the situation:

Thursday

"You emailed the broker and are waiting for the ten day period we gave them to give us restitution to be up before we file a complaint and seek legal advice. "

Has not been 10 days, still waiting.

In the meanwhile,

" You spoke directly with the old landscaper.He said he wasn’t paid extra for taking down the tree, that he was hired to clean up the yard, no one told him what to get rid of or what to keep, and that the tree was stifling the sago palms. I asked if he was paid extra for the tree removal and he said no, that he wasn’t even paid that much to begin with."

So, 1st wait to see if you get a response from broker. If they compensate you great.

If not, well...

The landscaper is responsible to the seller. The seller is responsible to you.

The seller is in a bad situation due to the landscaper, too.

The landscaper may have had an agreement with previous owner to do whatever he thought was necessary to maintain the yard. So, the landscaper was doing what he thought was the right thing to do to help sell home to new owners.

Hopefully the landscaper will pay the seller or you.

In regards to this tree, it seems everyone had the right intentions.

I would let this go & enjoy a new beginning.

Technically you could go after seller, then seller goes after landscaper, but I don't think a tree is worth that.

Plant a new tree to remember your 1st year as a homeowner. As it grows, it will bring you joy.

Treat others the way you want to be treated is the path to peace.

I would think that if I was a landscaper and no one told me what to keep or what to get rid of that generally means to keep everything and get rid of nothing, no?

Everyone makes mistakes...

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/loquat-tree-problems-40575.html

Doesn't sound like a tree I would want. I suspect the landscaper thought he was doing the right thing, and maybe he actually did you a favor. I'd let it go and get a more appropriate tree.

Well whatever you do find a better place for your new tree. For some reason people/landscapers love to crowd the foundation with trees that end up needing removal in 5 years. Fruit trees need space and shouldn't be crowded by other plants.

I will add that loquats are delicious! But loquat trees get massive...

They are very popular where I live, and for very good reason. Pretty, evergreen, delicious, and the seeds are really fun.

I would just get another tree and put it in a different spot, where it won't be so near to your house or to the fence. I don't think that was a good place for the original tree to be planted, anyway, especially if the tree would have grown significantly larger. Maybe get a dwarf or semi dwarf, and keep it pruned so it doesn't get too big. Big fruit trees are not a great choice, because you cannot easily harvest the fruit. Big fruit trees drop all the fruit you can't get to and having to deal with dropping, rotting, fruit is just a big mess. I really think you should just let this go. I don't think it's worth getting upset over either this tree or what sounds like an honest mistake.

We are still waiting for our agent's broker to reach out to the listing agent's broker, but my husband is adamant we pursue things, which I am on board with.

ANOTHER thing we just realized today: I had a fella from a floor care company come by to give me an estimate to polish the 'marble' floors we *thought* we had. But they're not marble, of course (we're discovering the old owners were very cheap and have taken to call the look they were going for 'fauxtalian'). They're travertine. And the 'wood' they also advertised is actually some sort of tile; we can see the repeat pattern in the grain.

What have we gotten ourselves into?!

Sounds like you should have spent a little more time checking things out?

Some travertine costs more than some marble. Some wood look tile costs more than some wood installations. Sometimes both these materials,travertine and tile, are a smarter choice,not necessarily a cheaper one. Depends on various factors. What you seem to have gotten yourselves into is a big old case of buyer's remorse.

ps- You did see this house before buying it? I can't imagine not recognizing tile vs. wood.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?"

Home ownership. I really think you should relax and enjoy your new home. None of the issues you are currently concerned about is a serious issue. I understand that everything is not exactly how you wanted it to be, but...

It does sound like you should have spent a bit more time checking things out. Wood look tile really doesn't look (or sound) like hardwood, so, I don't think it's a case of them trying to fool potential buyers or anything and travertine really doesn't look like marble. I'm sure your home is beautiful, though. There's nothing wrong with wood look tile or travertine and these materials can cost quite a bit, so I wouldn't categorize them as inherently cheap or somehow lacking. They can be lower maintenance than marble or hardwood and can actually be better choices in many situations.

Be really glad you aren't finding out that there's something like an electrical or plumbing problem that was not apparent in your inspections, or something else that would be really expensive. It could be a lot worse. It really could.

I think you should enjoy your new home. If there are things you don't like about how it is now, just change them over time. Stuff like that is just part of owning a home, imo.

Fwiw, I've never bought a house and planned to keep the flooring or the landscaping.

Travertine is an ancient and timeless buulding material. Just chill.

Don't worry, there will be other things you'll discover that will probably be worse than a tree missing or fauxtalian tiles.

You did have an inspection done by someone that was crazy-detailed, potentially even decided to climb up to check the roof? The one we used was on the roof, under sinks, looking in the attic spaces, the garage, every window for leaks, checking for radon and sneaky rodents, I didn't even know there were so many things to check before he came and checked it all then handed us a VERY long and detailed report. He knew what he was doing and made sure to tell us the whole truth even the sticky sink popup drain assembly that was no big deal to replace, up to the roof that needed to be replaced before winter came and we got the seller to lower the price because of that (roofing companies are crazy busy during early fall and early spring here in Omaha) but without our inspector getting himself up that ladder and onto the roof we wouldn't have known to negotiate replacement costs.

You might want to consider the cost of a loquat tree vs. a lawyer. And, you walked through the property, presumably saw the flooring, and bought the house. It's not worth going to court over that one either.

Enjoy your home. Over time, you will make it your own.

I really don't think a real estate agent would allow the listing to say "wood floors" if they were tile. Maybe it said "wood look" and you presumed wood. As stated above walking on tile and wood are totally different.

Buy a new tree and plant it where it will thrive.

If it was a half glass...

1 person would think

"Look! It's still half full of water!

I'm so thankful :) "

OR

Another one would say,

"Look! It's half empty!

I'm so disappointed & frustrated." :(

Perspectives can make us miserable or happy.

The only thing we can truly control is ourselves & therefore our perspectives.

Just plant a new fruit tree-a brand new family tree! I ordered 6-7 bare root fruit trees online this spring to add on to my small orchard, it's easy to do, and not expensive ($30-40 each), and you should have fruits in 1-2 years since you're in a warmer zone.