The Forbidden Fruit is Thy Neighbor’s Tree

Do you have a neighbor that’s a nuisance? Many do, yet they may be unaware. We’re talking about nuisance trees. Say your neighbor’s tree has limbs over your fence, or the neighboring tree’s roots are damaging your driveway. What can you do about it?

The good news is you do have rights—but they’re limited. You can’t just walk on over to your neighbor’s property and start cutting the offending tree down, or roots back, as that could be trespassing. But California Civil Code 3346 does consider the encroachment of branches or roots onto your property to be a nuisance. You are allowed to trim the tree or roots from a neighboring property that are encroaching onto your land so long as that tree is not destroyed or permanently damaged. If your actions destroy your neighbors’ tree, or even cause substantial damage so that the tree’s value is impacted, you can be held liable for treble damages (three times the actual amount).

picking an Apple Tree

What about the fruit from your neighbor’s tree? This time of year your neighbor’s tree could be bursting with peaches, pears, lemons, and limes—almost falling off of the trees. Almost, being the operative word. If your neighbor has a fruit tree that overhangs your property, the fruit on the tree belongs to that of your neighbor, even if it’s on your side of the fence. Any fruit that has fallen from your neighbor’s tree onto your property is considered the fruits of your labor for picking them up. In other words, they’re all yours.

Case Law regarding trees.

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax, insurance, or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 25 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California.  They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

California to Offer $3,000 Subsidy for Earthquake Retrofitting

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re living near a major earthquake fault. Now if you’re unsure if you live near an active fault, this web site . Temblor, co-founded by Ross Stein from the USGS, is very useful for determining the proximity to, and estimating the damage from, an earthquake near your home.

We don’t have to go into graphic details about what could happen to your home and those who may reside within in the event of a significant earthquake, but here’s a good image from the California Earthquake Authority as to what damage can be done to homes with older unbraced foundations.

Sure one can purchase earthquake insurance, but that only helps to rebuild after the devastation of an earthquake has occurred. What earthquake retrofitting is designed for is to help prevent damage to your home, property or lives during or after an earthquake.

We did a blog post not long ago about the benefits of an automatic gas shut off valve. This article has to do with the program California is offering of up to $3,000 of a subsidy towards retrofitting your home’s foundation to help withstand an earthquake under a program entitled Earthquake Brace and Bolt, or EBB.

Limitations apply, for example Belmont didn’t even make the cut this year for retrofits, while San Carlos, Foster City, San Mateo and Redwood City along with a whole host of other cities nearby did. This is a link to a complete list of towns covered by the program this year. 

Additionally, this is not for homes with a slab foundation, or homes built after 1979, and there are other restrictions such as the height of your home’s cripple wall, so follow this link to get some more details from their short video.

The window for registration is open now and closes fast:

2019 EBB Program ZIP Codes – Registration Period will Open October 9 – November 13, 2018

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California.  They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario

 

 

70 State Parks Slated to Close in California

The What:

Governor Jerry Brown announced today the closing of 70 State parks in California. Ba-stateparks08__0502926571_part6

Voters had a chance to save the parks back in November when proposition 21 was on the state ballot.

It would have imposed an $18 vehicle registration fee to provide a windfall of cash for ailing parks. The measure would have provided for $500 million a year as a new permanent funding source for parks, protected from the year-to-year roller coaster of the state’s general fund.

But voters gave the measure a strong thumbs-down.

It failed 58 to 42 percent, winning in only 10 of California’s 58 counties, nearly all of them in the Bay Area.

The Where:

So what parks will be closing?

  • Anderson Marsh SHP
  • Annadel SP
  • Antelope Valley Indian Museum
  • Austin Creek SRA
  • Bale Grist Mill SHP
  • Benbow Lake SRA
  • Benicia Capitol SHP
  • Benicia SRA
  • Bidwell Mansion SHP
  • Bothe-Napa Valley SP
  • Brannan Island SRA
  • California Mining & Mineral Museum
  • Candlestick Point SRA
  • Castle Crags SP
  • Castle Rock SP
  • China Camp SP
  • Colusa-Sacramento River SRA
  • Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP
  • Fort Humboldt SHP
  • Fort Tejon SHP
  • Garrapata SP
  • George J. Hatfield SRA
  • Governor’s Mansion SHP
  • Gray Whale Cove SB
  • Greenwood  SB
  • Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP
  • Hendy Woods SP
  • Henry W. Coe SP
  • Jack London SHP
  • Jug Handle SNR
  • Leland Stanford Mansion SHP
  • Limekiln SP
  • Los Encinos SHP
  • Malakoff Diggins SHP
  • Manchester SP
  • McConnell SRA
  • McGrath SB
  • Mono Lake Tufa SNR
  • Morro Strand SB
  • Moss Landing SB
  • Olompali SHP
  • Palomar Mountain SP
  • Petaluma Adobe SHP
  • Picacho SRA
  • Pio Pico SHP
  • Plumas-Eureka SP
  • Point Cabrillo Light Station
  • Portola Redwoods SP
  • Providence Mountains SRA
  • Railtown 1897 SHP
  • Russian Gulch SP
  • Saddleback Butte SP
  • Salton Sea SRA
  • Samuel P. Taylor SP
  • San Pasqual Battlefield SHP
  • Santa Cruz Mission SHP
  • Santa Susana Pass SHP
  • Shasta SHP
  • South Yuba River SP
  • Standish-Hickey SRA
  • Sugarloaf Ridge SP
  • Tomales Bay SP
  • Tule Elk SNR
  • Turlock Lake SRA
  • Twin Lakes SB
  • Weaverville Joss House SHP
  • Westport-Union Landing SB
  • William B. Ide Adobe SHP
  • Woodson Bridge SRA
  • Zmudowski SB

The When:

Expect the closures to begin in September, with all 70 closings completed by July 2012.

Garbage Strike Hits Belmont and San Carlos

What's that wafting about in Belmont? The rumblings sure aren’t from the Allied Garbage trucks but rather disgruntled garbage workers.Trash

If you live in Belmont you must have heard, if you haven't smelled it yet, that the garbage strike has left San Carlos and Belmont’s waste removal program canned for the time being. Apparently the garbage workers decided to strike when contract negotiation broke down with Allied Waste–while it’s actually the truck drivers who joined their co-worked in a showing of solidarity that stalled the pick-ups.

The only thing worse than the stench of garbage sitting on the curb for days is the foul way it was handled by the Allied Waste management.

Wednesday night at 11:05 we received two phone calls, courtesy of Allied Waste, telling us our garbage would be picked up on Friday. Couldn’t they have waited until morning? Pick-up would be for two more days. Another wasted opportunity to demonstrate customer service.

So if you’ve got the blues thinking your neighborhood is going downhill with trash littering the street take heart, Allied promises to dump their current strategy and resume pick-ups soon.

 

 

 

The Streets Around Us-Sharon Road

EXCERPTED FROM OUR MORGAN REPORT NEWSLETTER:

In our last newsletter issue we mentioned how some of Belmont’s streets got their names and we were coxed to include some more in this edition. We also included a teaser about Belmont’s first and only golf course so we’ll dispense with that first. Unfortunately for golf fans, the course is not some well kept secret—in fact it has been gone for years.

Around 1925 the team of Lyon, Monroe and Miller had a grand scheme to create an 18 hole golf course adjacent a tony club house complete with swimming yank, tennis and handball courts and a children;s wading pool that would be the envy of the Peninsula.

The clubhouse would be called Belle Monte, and cost $65,000 to complete. An innovative tactic was employed to attract would-be buyers and included free bus rides from San Francisco where prospective buyers were plied with beer and induced to buy a lot. Membership for the club cost $100 but was included with every home sale on the very streets that bore their names.

Around 1929 the Belle Monti project fell on financial hard times and an attempt to salvage the operation was launched by opening the club to the public. But in 1929 the stock market crash forced members to either drop out or move away and the corporation went bankrupt. The “Hillcrest” golf course was eventually subdivided into lots for the WWII returning veterans and today we find only remnants of a bye-gone era with street names such as Fairway and a few stately homes (now on Belmont’s historic registry) which lay on what was once the perimeter of the golf course.

On the topic of streets, did you know Senator William Sharon was a U.S. Senator from Nevada, who has a small street, Sharon Road, named after himself in Belmont? Find out why Belmont had a lake named after him too in our next issue or visit our web site at local Belmont blog at BeautifulMountinBlog.org and find out what happened to the old club house before it became what is now the Congregational Church of Belmont.

Drew and Christine Morgan are experienced REALTORS and NOTARY PUBLIC located in Belmont, CA where the own an operate MORGANHOMES, Inc.. They have been assisting buyers and sellers in their community for over 30 years. Drew and Christine have received the coveted Diamond award and ranked among the top 50 agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California by RE/MAX. To contact them, please call (650) 508.1441 or email info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook and on Twitter.

This article provides educational information and is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be considered real estate, tax, insurance, or legal advice, and it cannot replace advice tailored to your specific situation. It’s always best to seek guidance from a professional who is familiar with your scenario.

BROKER | MANAGER | NOTARY