Mortgage offer but with condition re Tree

Fisa002

Hi.
So I have a mortgage offer by Nationwide on a property.
The house I want to purchase has a 100year old lovely sycamore tree next to it approx 5m away (I think but not sure). It’s located as part of a shared access.
The tree has a TPO (tree preservation order) on it.
When house inspection was carried out I didn’t notice any obvious issues. The house is built in 2002 and had an extension on the side in 2012 and a tree survey was done by current owner. Vendor says tree maintenance is shared between vendor and neighbour and only needed pruning once in 2012 ( I presume when extension was built)

However, in my homebuyers report, the surveyor mentioned a risk of overhanging branches over the property and this may cause a risk in future.

Nationwide have stated the following as part of one of the conditions of the offer

‘on suspected shrinkable subsoil, there is a potential risk of damage to buildings or services caused by trees/vegetation nearby. Although no damage was seen, you must obtain specialist advice from a registered arboriculturalist prior to legal commitment to purchase and implement any recommendations made to ensure that your buildings insurance policy remains unaffected’

My solicitor has advised me that the lender wants a tree surgeon report for which I have booked tomorrow.

My questions are
1- should I be worried about the condition the lender has imposed ?
2- And how can I tell if building insurance will be affected as when I put the address in comparison websites and answer the question about tree proximaty I still get fairly decent quotes.
3- what if the tree surgeon recommends remedial work being carried out. Who pays for this? Vendor, myself or council?
It’s got me a Little worried as I love the house and tbh the tree adds so much character to the estate it’s situated in.
Has anyone else had any issues and should I be worried? Sorry for the long post but want to put all the information out there.
Appreciate the advice.

Davesnave

If there is currently no flag against the property, your buildings insurance would only be affected if you made a claim in the future. It's likely you can avoid this by periodic maintenance, and as the tree was mature when the house was built in 2002, it's even possible that an allowance as made in foundation work because of its existence.

You should find details of the planning permission on-line at your council's web site.

If the tree surgeon recommends work, it's for you and the seller to negotiate over the cost of that. The vendor may realise that this issue could arise again if you back out, which should help there.

From a legal perspective, you really need to know on whose land the tree stands and what formal arrangement is in place for sharing maintenance costs. The council will not be liable for anything, unless it's their land.

Finally, from a practical POV, to my mind, there are no 'lovely' sycamore trees. They are of very limited wildlife value, drop seeds everywhere, cast deep shade and harbour aphids, which drop sticky secretions on anything underneath, like cars and garden furniture. Like all deciduous trees, they also drop leaves, and theirs are large! In short, they're a lot of work.

At this time of year shade will not be very apparent, so look carefully for tell-tale signs, such as greening of roof tiles, patio slabs etc. The last thing you want is to find out that the tree and house are both fine structurally, but your garden, available sunshine and the amount of light indoors is not how you imagined for 6 months of the year.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Make sure you get your report from a registered arboriculturist not just any old tree surgeon. [/FONT]

Fisa002

Davesnave wrote: »

If there is currently no flag against the property, your buildings insurance would only be affected if you made a claim in the future. It's likely you can avoid this by periodic maintenance, and as the tree was mature when the house was built in 2002, it's even possible that an allowance as made in foundation work because of its existence.

You should find details of the planning permission on-line at your council's web site.

If the tree surgeon recommends work, it's for you and the seller to negotiate over the cost of that. The vendor may realise that this issue could arise again if you back out, which should help there.

From a legal perspective, you really need to know on whose land the tree stands and what formal arrangement is in place for sharing maintenance costs. The council will not be liable for anything, unless it's their land.

Finally, from a practical POV, to my mind, there are no 'lovely' sycamore trees. They are of very limited wildlife value, drop seeds everywhere, cast deep shade and harbour aphids, which drop sticky secretions on anything underneath, like cars and garden furniture. Like all deciduous trees, they also drop leaves, and theirs are large! In short, they're a lot of work.

At this time of year shade will not be very apparent, so look carefully for tell-tale signs, such as greening of roof tiles, patio slabs etc. The last thing you want is to find out that the tree and house are both fine structurally, but your garden, available sunshine and the amount of light indoors is not how you imagined for 6 months of the year.

Many thanks for the reply. Puts me at ease regarding the house insurance. It’s only the terms that the lender imposed for me worried.

I didn’t realise that a sycamore tree could come with so many potential issues. It’s a lovely tree in the fact that it adds character to the estate and looks beautiful.

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Make sure you get your report from a registered arboriculturist not just any old tree surgeon. [/FONT]

Yes he’s a registered and insured arboriculturist and said the report will guarantee to meet lender requirements.

It’s all an added expense. My boy worry would be if he recommends maintenance work etc then I guess we get into discussions with vendor. And your right in the above to say that this is an issue likely to crop up again.