If Neighbor's Tree Blocks View, What Can Be Done?

Q: Are there any guidelines for topping or cutting trees that block views and are on Seattle city property? Also, what can be done when a neighbor's tree blocks your view?

A: Jerry Clark, Seattle city arborist, says the city is at work on a regulation regarding the pruning of trees for view corridors. He expects it to take effect next year. In the meantime, Clark says the city does not permit trees on the public right-of-way or in parks to be topped. "It not only looks ugly, but it causes the tree to grow unnaturally and actually causes it to grow more," he says. The one exception is for trees that have been topped before and now need remedial pruning to manage potentially hazardous regrowth.

Anyone who decides to take the matter - or the saw - in hand and prune city trees without the necessary permit will face a fine of $500 to $5,000.

As for trees on private property, Clark says "there is no state law or city ordinance that mandates that trees must be kept at certain heights to keep views from being blocked. The exception is some neighborhoods with covenants that have language specifically to that effect."

Your best bet, he says, is to work cooperatively with the neighbors who own view-obscuring trees to see if there's a compromise.

His office will send you information on how to prune trees correctly. Call 684-7649.

Q: We own a 45-year-old, 1,000-square-foot home in a very good West Seattle neighborhood. We'd like to add a second story, but we're concerned about recouping our investment if we sell. Where can we go to find out?

A: We checked out Remodeling magazine's 1996 Cost Versus Value Report (printed in the October 1995 issue; available in larger libraries). It examined, by city and region, the average cost and resale value of a dozen popular remodeling projects including kitchen remodels, a bathroom addition, window replacement and adding a family room.

Remodeling's two-story addition was actually for a 24-by-16-foot two-story wing that added a family room, bedroom and bath. Average cost in Seattle: $52,704. Resale value: $63,649, or 121 percent of the construction cost. This was far above the West Coast average, which has owners recouping 89 percent of their costs.

To get a line on what specific features will maximize the value of your addition, interview local real estate agents. They'll tell you what buyers like - and what they don't.

Q: I've made an offer on a home that's an estate sale (actually the owners are alive, though incapacitated, so their children are selling). I'm concerned because my agent says I won't get a seller's property-disclosure form because state law says estate sales are exempt from having to complete one. Also, my agent says that because this is an estate sale the owner has no responsibility for decommissioning the home's old oil tank. Is all this true?

A: Real estate attorney John Demco says that according to state statute, disclosure doesn't have to be provided in estate sales where the owner has died. However, there is no exemption if the owner is alive but incapacitated. Demco says the family member handling the sale must fill out a disclosure, unless you waive that right. Of course it's possible that that person knows little about the property's condition, in which case all you'll get is a form that admits this.

As for who pays to decommission the oil tank, Demco says "that's always subject to negotiation." Your offer should have been made subject to an inspection that told you whether the tank was properly decommissioned and if there's any soil contamination, and gives you the right to nix the deal if the results aren't satisfactory to you. Another tack in that case would be to try to negotiate with the seller, but if that person won't, there's nothing you can do to force otherwise.

Home Forum answers readers' questions every Sunday in the Home/Real Estate section. Send your questions to Home Forum, Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, or call 464-8510 to leave questions on Home Forum's recorded line. The e-mail address is erho-new@seatimes.com

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