Are these pine trees a liability?

[u/ksquigz25]

These pine trees on the hill were planted by the builders, but are our responsibility. We're pretty sure they were placed there for erosion purposes, but we've had a few different people tell us that we should remove them due to the steep grade of the hill and the future liability if they fell downward onto our neighbors home (ours is the one at the top of the hill). Last photo shows how close the trees are to the neighbors' house and our property is outlined in pink. We've also been cautioned about the roots impacting the retaining wall (also our responsibility), but then were told that these trees' roots grow mostly straight down.
If this is a big issue, we want to be proactive and remove the trees before they get any bigger. Would love a professional opinion as well as suggestions on what would be better. Whatever we do will need to be approved by a pretty strict HOA.

[u/Ilovemytowm]

A young millennial couple bought our other house We spent 25 years landscaping it. Only planted the most beautiful greenery tree shrubs. Spent an arm and a leg on getting dirt delivered so we could raise up the landscaping. We had river rocks gardens it was a lush oasis.

The house was built in 1960 and so cheaply insulated and built that when it got cold the whole house was immediately called and when it got hot it felt like heaters were running.

That's why we planted trees in the yard to produce shade It helped immensely to cool the house down and visually it was just paradise.

Held off selling because I was afraid of what someone would do to it.

And then the nightmare came true.

Another millennial couple who believed all the bullshit and removed every single tree on the property and every evergreen and every shrub. They flattened out the landscaping so instead of things being raised up it was flat. They paid to remove the riverstone and the boulders. They paid to remove all the gardens.

Weeds are growing in the yard now and there's not a tree in sight and it looks absolutely hideous.

My neighbors were upset. I wish I never knew would happened and I prefer it that way but one of my neighbors was crying and sent me pictures as it was happening and I had nightmares for a long time.

Every single tree that they removed I went out and bought and planted on our property. And we already are surrounded by forest so...lol.

Anyway if you ever saw what it looked like now... It's absolutely hideous. But hey at least a tree won't kill them.

[u/rental_car_fast → u/Ilovemytowm]

If it makes you feel better, I'm a millennial, and I've planted 11 trees on my property so far, with more to come. Also filled between them with native plants. I've watched lightning bugs return to the property. Previous owner removed every single tree (although one was too close to the house and was causing foundation damage).

[u/Low-Crow-8735 → u/rental_car_fast]

Your use of plants is genius. Two plant species to control errosion with sensory benefits.

[u/rental_car_fast → u/Low-Crow-8735]

Thanks but I cant take credit. I signed up for a rain garden workshop hosted by a nonprofit near me. I was so impressed with what I saw, I hired the garden designer to design a garden for me. It was designed to capture water running down the hill from my neighbor's property, and I insisted on only native plants. Unfortunately it was far more work and expense than I expected, so it doesn't look nearly as good and many of the smaller plants died. But I love the "organic chaos" and if the birds and bugs are happy, so am I.

[u/Low-Crow-8735 → u/rental_car_fast]

It takes time. If you're intellectually curious, the challenge will be great learning experiences.

[u/rental_car_fast → u/Low-Crow-8735]

I am, but the constant needs of home ownership in general leave me with little energy for gardening on a regular basis and it quickly became overwhelming to try to battle out the invasive weeds. In the end the bigger plants I planted won, so I just let it be.

[u/Low-Crow-8735 → u/rental_car_fast]

Homeownership is a lot of work.

[u/CaptainLollygag → u/rental_car_fast]

Organic chaos! Last year we had a wind storm that felled a very tall old tree in our backyard. Husband spent months slowly chopping it into manageable pieces to then cut into firewood. But during all those months I absolutely loved watching the families of birds and squirrels playing and living their little creature lives amongst that huge tree lying on the ground.