( it is long, you might want to sit down and have a cuppa)

High winds, rain, and compromised trees make for an unhappy day for most property owners regardless of whether it is a single-family home or an apartment complex. If you have called a professional arborist to assess a concern, I speak from experience and more importantly from a risk mitigation standpoint of addressing a problem before failure and eventually collapse occurs.

Some barriers to having tree work done:

1. Can it wait?

Anything can wait until it no longer can wait...gravity now becomes the master of where things fall.

2. It is too expensive!

Tree work runs the gambit of modest to expensive due to knowledge, skilled labor, and equipment, but it pales in cost compared to the 15-tonne object laying on your house, a power line, and usually a neighbors house.

3. I am on a fixed/limited income.

If you require HAZZARD REMOVAL...not a management/beautification decision and certainly not a tree in the neighbor's yard that is annoying you, call or text me, money is not everything. A caveat, if you rent, please understand that the landlord owns the house and property and they are a for-profit business...you cannot make those decisions, only the landlord can. There are some exceptions to this and for the sake of brevity, I shall not digress.

4. I think you are making this problem out to be more than what it is!

Regrettably, some salesmanship involves the use of best/worst-case scenarios as well as the best alternative to no alternative continuum to convince a customer of a course of action ranging from doing nothing to resolving the issue. If I talk to you about a tree problem, understand that I am concerned about the tree first and then the second and third-order of effect relating to the problem. Yes, you are my customer and I will certainly listen to your concerns but know that safety is the issue and I will always err on the side of caution to work towards a proper solution with your input.

5. I don't know what to do and I need to think about it?

Yes, think about it and research it while you have the luxury of time...however if the problem is glaring, make a timely decision and do not waffle.

6. Who should I hire?

The best suggestion is to use a professional arborist that possesses the knowledge, experience, and equipment to do the work. All too often, folks think that a salesman is the face of the company, while they are the first impression, the actual company is what shows up to do the job and ultimately they leave the permanent impression that the customer relates to other potential customers also known as family/ neighbors/ friends/ others requesting information on social media. I am the salesman and I am the one who is doing the job so there is no excuse for leaving any doubt of whether the end product met the customer's intent.

7. I will do it myself once you tell me what the problem is.

Many folks can do the lion's share of the work and I certainly encourage them to do so since a customer may have the means to do so. With this suggestion in mind, now is not the time to go watch a YouTube video and convince yourself that you can now drop a 70,000-pound tree in your back yard that has a mix of power lines, cables, and whatever else...call a professional and have this part done for you.