Buying a House With Big Trees? An Arborist's Pre-Purchase Checklist

The Gap in Your Home Inspection Nobody Warns You About

You hired a licensed home inspector. They checked the roof, the HVAC, the water heater, the foundation. You got a thirty-page report with photos. You feel prepared.

But did anyone look at the 80-foot silver maple that reaches over your bedroom? Or the ash tree standing 15 feet from the garage? Or the leaning oak by the driveway?

Probably not.

Standard home inspections in Ohio do not include a tree risk assessment. Trees are a separate technical discipline—most standards of practice explicitly exclude them. An ISA Certified Arborist trains specifically in tree structure, disease, species biology, and failure mechanics. A general home inspector does not.

The problem is that a single large hazardous tree can cost $3,000 to $15,000 to remove, and if it fails onto a structure before you discover it, your homeowner's insurance may not cover the damage if the hazard was pre-existing and neglected. You can inherit that liability the moment you get the keys.

Older Columbus neighborhoods—Worthington, Upper Arlington, Clintonville, Bexley, Grandview—have beautiful mature canopies full of 60- to 80-year-old trees. Some are structurally sound. Others are time bombs. Knowing the difference before you close is the whole point of this checklist.

Walk the Property Before Your Inspection Period Ends

Your inspection period is the window. Once you waive it or it expires, you own the problem. Walk the property yourself using this checklist, and if anything applies, request a written arborist assessment before you proceed.

You do not need to be an expert. You just need to know what to look for.

1. Map Every Large Tree Within Striking Distance

Identify every tree large enough to cause serious damage if it fell. Any tree with a trunk over 6 inches in diameter standing within its own height of the house, garage, driveway, fence, or utility line deserves a closer look. Walk a full circle, including neighboring lots—a tree rooted next door can still fall on your roof.

2. Check for Dead or Dying Trees

Dead trees are urgent. Check for:

• No leaves in growing season, or sparse, off-color foliage compared to neighboring trees of the same species
• Bark sloughing off in large sections, exposing bare wood
• Clusters of small dead branches throughout the crown ("flagging")

Ash trees deserve specific attention. The emerald ash borer has killed tens of millions of ash trees across Ohio, and Columbus is heavily affected. If you see an ash tree—opposite, compound leaves and diamond-furrowed gray bark—assume it has been compromised unless someone can document a recent treatment history. Dead ash becomes brittle and unpredictable faster than most species.

3. Look for Lean, Root Heave, and Soil Disturbance

A slight natural lean away from competition is normal. A lean toward a structure is not. Signs of root system problems:

• Raised or cracked soil at the base on the side opposite the lean—roots lifting as the tree tilts
• Soil disturbed in an arc around the base, indicating the root plate is rocking
• Recent soil disturbance from construction or utility work, which can sever roots and destabilize an otherwise healthy-looking tree

4. Examine the Trunk for Cracks, Cavities, and Fungal Conks

At the base and throughout the trunk, look for:

• Cracks or seams running vertically or spiraling around the trunk—signs of internal decay or past lightning damage
• Cavities where bark and wood have been lost, especially at branch unions
• Fungal conks—shelf-like mushroom growths on the bark or at the base. These are not cosmetic. Conks are the fruiting body of decay fungi that have been colonizing the wood for years. By the time conks appear, significant internal decay is almost always present.

A fungal conk on a large tree near your house is a red flag that warrants an immediate professional assessment. Do not wait until after closing.

5. Spot Species-Specific Problems

Some species carry known structural or pest issues worth flagging:

Callery pear (Bradford pear): Tight, included bark unions fail under wind or ice past age 15–20. A mature Bradford pear over a driveway is a predictable liability. Budget for eventual removal.

Over-mature silver maples: Popular in mid-century Columbus neighborhoods because they grow fast, and prone to deadwood, weak branch attachments, and trunk decay as they age. A 70-year-old silver maple with a 36-inch trunk needs an assessment.

Cottonwoods and Siberian elms: Short-lived and prone to brittle failures. Large specimens near structures deserve scrutiny.

6. Check Roots Near the Foundation, Sewer Lateral, and Driveway

Large trees planted too close to a house can create problems beyond falling hazards:

• Foundation: Surface roots from silver maples and willows can heave slabs and sidewalks. Deep tap-rooted species like oaks generally pose less risk, but soil type matters.
• Sewer lateral: The buried pipe to the city main is a common point of root intrusion with older clay tile lines. If large trees are near the probable line path, add a sewer scope to your inspection.
• Driveway: Lifted or cracked sections near large trees often mean surface roots that will keep lifting no matter how many times you patch the concrete.

7. Look for Past Bad Pruning — Especially Topping

Tree topping—cutting the main trunk or major limbs back to stubs—was once considered acceptable, and it still shows up on older Columbus properties. Topped trees develop weakly attached regrowth at the cut sites. Those branches grow quickly, get heavy, and attach to decayed wood. They fail.

Signs of past topping: - Multiple large, blunt-ended stubs at the same height in the crown - Dense clusters of fast-growing shoots at the tops of major limbs - Cavities or visible decay at old cut sites

A topped tree needs an assessment. Regrowth can sometimes be managed with corrective pruning, but it cannot be ignored.

8. Power-Line Conflicts

Where overhead lines exist, look for branches growing into or near them. AEP Ohio handles clearance pruning aggressively. A tree heavily entangled with lines may already have structural compromise from past utility cuts, or may be lopsided in a way that creates a separate hazard.

How to Use What You Find

If you spot multiple items during your walk-through, here is how to act:

During the inspection period: Request a written arborist assessment. An ISA Certified Arborist will rate the risk of each tree of concern and estimate recommended work. This typically costs $150–$350 and is worth every dollar as a negotiating document.

Use findings in negotiation: Tree removal and pruning estimates are legitimate negotiating points. A $4,000 removal plus $1,200 in pruning is $5,200 you can ask the seller to credit. Sellers are often motivated to deal rather than lose the transaction.

Budget for year one: Even if trees pass an initial assessment, plan for a professional pruning cycle in your first year. Addressing deferred maintenance before a storm is far cheaper than cleaning up after one.

Get a Pre-Purchase Tree Assessment in Columbus

Cedar & Oak Tree Co. provides written pre-purchase arborist assessments for home buyers throughout Columbus, Worthington, Upper Arlington, Clintonville, Dublin, Gahanna, and Westerville. We walk the property, document every tree of concern, and give you a written report you can use during the inspection period. We work on inspection-period timelines and can typically schedule within two to three business days.

Book your free quote or call (555) 234-9100.

Buying a house with big, mature trees is not a problem—it is often a genuine asset. The goal is knowing what you have before the transaction closes, not after.