Relative to its size, the yard is chock full of problems. The tree looks like a silver maple. A trashy, short lived tree. If it's not, it still doesn't look good. The walk is trashed. The grading is not good. I would advise to make a completely clean slate and create what you want. Even though small, it could be adorable. Where are you located? Is this a duplex and the yard is split? How come you get more yard than the neighbor?

Despite the valid comments above, that maple will single handily keep your yard fairly dry through the growing season. Large trees like that work really well to consume excess moisture in poorly drained areas. You won't know what you're missing until it's gone.

Random thoughts:

Concrete, blah. I got some concrete 100 feet from the nearest tree that's cracked. Concrete = Cracks. Do I see settling issues where the soil under the concrete has given way and its tilting towards the tree? That is a bigger deal than them roots will ever be.

Now the tree WILL someday need removed. All large trees in small spaces will. If its a Silver Maple, sooner than later. I'd just search for evidence of decline before panicking. There are some branches to the left side which appear to have fallen off. Expect some of that.

If you need to do much soil work to help with drainage, that may set the tree back and hasten its decline. That little puddle by your back steps you could fill and if I'm seeing correctly on my lap top it just doesn't look like a significant portion of ground around the tree that you'd be disturbing much of the root mass.

If your AC and insulation are modern the shade isn't THAT big of a deal when you're inside.

For some reference I have removed two large silver maples from my property and am trying to get my neighbor to remove one with trunk rot very close to his home. BUT, I miss mine. They have small flowers but flower early enough its noticeable. I find the leaf shape and bark pleasing. Plus the fall yellow of mine were natural and consistent. BUT, their bases were rotting pretty badly presumably from years of riding mower bumps. If I had it to do over I'd of nurtured a seedling along someplace in the yard. Maybe I'll do that this year.

Is there any rot or damage on that trunk or on them branches?

Any branches failing to leaf out?

If any of them branches fell would they contact anything more important than a fence?

Once again, I'm on a laptop who knows how far away. I'd say get to know your place before making drastic decisions which are expensive and can't be undone. Get your neighbor's history of the area. Maybe collect an on sight opinion from a LICENSED arborist or two (not the unemployed/uninsured fellow with a chainsaw).

I suspect you will have a difficult time with any kind of paver and a big tree. I think it’s likely the pavers will move due to root activity. If you keep the tree, I would probably get the drainage issue fixed and then explore a low deck. That way you can be above the roots, have the patio area and the tree will still get water. You can do your veggie garden in containers on the deck.

could we see a pic of the whole tree ...

i think you ought to plan on getting rid of it ... now.. in a few years.. whatever ... no tree hugging.. it has to eventually go ....

it looks like it was topped on the left.. at the fence line ... the neighbor probably insisted.. or paid for it.. who knows ...

i cant tell if the reddish tinge on the right side of the trunk is an issue or just a camera trick ... another pic.. or just your observation ... could be totally normal ????

parking a car on the root zone of the tree.. could cause issues.. in tree time... maybe in a decade or so.. soil compaction in the near root zone will cause issues ... but again.. that would be in tree time .. which is counted in decades ...

sounds like you are new to the house.. you might take this summer to observe.. and then come to a plan ... no real hurry.. that tree time again ... standing water in spring.. shouldnt surprise anyone ... lets see what happens the rest of the year ...

perhaps by fall .. you will have a better handle on actual fact ... which will lead you to what need be done ...

ken

Having a yard drainage issue myself, I would caution against just willy nilly filling depressions...it just moves the problem somewhere else on your yard or into a neighbour's yard. Any grading corrections to improve drainage should be done to shift ponding away from areas that are in use to one of these...storm sewer, drainage ditch, natural drainage topography, or ponding on vacant land (with permission of the owners).

In our situation, 3 backyards in a natural bowl with no drainage outlet. Spring melt and heavy rains cause ponding and the neighbour thought it would be a good idea to fill in the depression until I pointed out that it just moves the problem elsewhere...in this case, the ponding would be pushed up to the house foundations before it was high enough to flow out to the front yards. He decided against it.

Adding a few more photos here. I think it’s pretty clear that the environmentalist in me needs to let go of the idea of keeping this tree. I’ve confirmed it’s a silver maple. It goes through phone and internet lines, with the ends hanging over the roof and neighbors’ yards, so probably a liability as well. It also sounds like I’ll need to deal with grading at the same time or I’m going to make my drainage issues much worse. Tried to plant recently and wound up hitting a lot of roots within a few feet of the foundation...

I would get a consultation with a certified tree specialist. S/he would be able to tell you if the tree has aged-out, is sick and suffering, whatever.... It does look quite precarious. In an ice storm (do you live in a place with ice storms?), half of it could come crashing down.

I hate to see trees go, too, so I can empathize with how difficult this decision might be. However, I think it's very likely an arborist will settle things (with thumbs down for the poor tree) in about 5 seconds.

A smaller tree for the small lot and all the wires would be better. And fix grade, too.