Anyone ever paid to gain access??

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PCTREE

PCTREE

Treehouser
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Nov 3, 2007
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Charlottesville VA
OK this is a first for me. Have a horrible job, huge poplar got hit by lightening and has massive dead leads, trunk is 5+ feet, absolutely no access from my customers lot . Only access we could get would just about squeeze the wheel loader in so plan was to make 1000 trips up and down a steep ass hill with everything.

I have done work for another neighbor who doesn't get on well with the guy Im doing the tree for. Yesterday I decided to heck with it and knocked on his door and told him I would give him $2000 if I could cut an 8' swath across the back corner of his lot and use his driveway... We will have to cut down a nice azalea and some random bushes. I showed him the tree and explained how much safer it will be for my climbers not to be under the huge deadwood. He considered for a day and reluctantly agreed.:)

Now I just really hope I can get in as it is super tight, otherwise I just pissed away $2K:|:

Will get pictures tomorrow
 
Can you dig and replant some of the nicer bushes? Or even better, sell them and recover your costs.
 
Have often used a neighbour's property for crane picks, but never paid. On one job where the neighbour's were at each other's throats, it sure would have helped if there was the possibility, but the neighbour was such a dick, yelling at me for walking a few feet into the vacant lot that he owned next door to where we cut, that I'd have felt better punching him out than giving him anything. He stood out there on his porch all day just waiting for the opportunity to yell at someone. I tend to think that paying sets a bad precedent, but I guess if it's the only way that works, it is worth considering.
 
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I bid the job so the money comes out of my profit but it will save me at least 2 days and will make the job SO much safer
 
I try to offer my client the two price options depending on what access they can arrange, I feel that the customer (motivated by the cheaper price option) will have a better chance at securing the access than myself. Hope it works out for you.
 
I have offered work in exchange for access but not money ... Guess it is about the same.
Might have to do some trading again here soon. I really need a ramp at the end of a neighbours driveway to a job and he seemed friendly enough. Was going to let me use his side of the line for access anyway. If so, we will make more money on the job. I might offer to remove or move some logs for him or mill them just to have good equipment access from removing material off three large trees.
Let us know how your deal works out Paul.
 
I would have the guy sign something that was some sort of a waiver for damages(plants, swath of cutting, whatever) and hold you harmless against any kind of future claim or anything. Not saying the neighbour would but some people would get a sniff of that 2k and maybe think there was more pennies from heaven to be found.
 
Wonder what the guy you're doing the tree for thought about his neighbour that he doesn't get along with, making money on the job. If the guy making the two grand would then go out and buy a case of beer for the other guy, maybe they could be friends. Sit out on the patio, drink beer, and talk about the tree. All that other stuff was just bullshit. Paul, you'll need a peace sign on your rig.
 
I've had a similar situation with less money involved but I told my client to offer a couple hundred bucks for the access. It was worth a grand discount. Saving 2 days wages and being able to do more jobs is well worth $2k
 
Chris E said:
I try to offer my client the two price options depending on what access they can arrange, I feel that the customer (motivated by the cheaper price option) will have a better chance at securing the access than myself. Hope it works out for you.
Click to expand...

+1
 
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OK so access worked great for us. Job was just NUTZ. Im working for a guy who is obviously very wealthy and very old. I get on with 2 of his neighbors but the 3rd is a jerk. My client wanted chips left on site so he could use them around his expansive plantings, or should I say his mexicans can use them. Anyways where we had agreed upon to blow the chips was along his back property line. Neighbor came out and through a fit because literally a couple of chips had blown onto his property, The area in question was a wood chip trail:? We had to move the shoot and blew them around some small poplars which will die. This same neighbor has told me numerous times that we don't need a crane we should just rope it down like the guys did his tree..... My customer was unavailable by phone or knocking on the door the whole time. He finally came out at about 2pm and asked why we were leaving wood chips and not hauling them off like everybody else?? I informed him he had instructed us to leave them but he had forgot, didn't argue the point , he's old... Other neighbor who's house the tree was also over came by and brought us drinks and was super happy. Crazy day, Im fried but tree is down to a 40' stick
 
Congrats, PCTREE.

I've had days like that. Neighbor came home after work and began mowing his yard, making it very difficult to communicate with each other. Mowing done....now he breaks out the weedeater. Oh boy......so I bought a few comm helmets after that job.

One day we were called in by the city to do some tree work. Limbs of a city tree hanging over the brand new roof on a house. They couldn't call me in BEFORE the new roof was put on....nope. Doesn't work that way, I guess.

Tree work is a blast, ain't it?

Joel
 
Paying for access is normal in Los Angeles. I don't mind. It's never my money. I don't do deal making for free either. We charge for that time.

We had a client offer a neighbor (through me ) $50,000 to cut down his Mexican fan palm. I told the neighbor and he said "cool offer, but honesty I don't need $50,000."

I was like "daaaaaaaang"

That was 2 years ago. The palm still stands.


love
nick
 
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