If you are only talking about 10-15 dead pines that are not very big. I think I would get my chain saw and head South.

I think that's what I'm going to do. Maybe take a couple of guys from the mountain help me out and pay them extra plus give them Per Diem.

I was at Cape San Blas last week. Over 2hrs away from the beach, you started to see the destruction. All this time later and you can tell there just isn't the man power to get things done in a quick fashion. Hell even the gas station of the main drag at Port St Joe, is operating out of a freaking travel container...a travel container. That's how hard labor is to come by down there right now. I have no doubt, someone in the construction business, could make a killing down there right now and for the foreseeable future...YEARS

I had 9 trees cut down last year at my place in Guntersville and various others trimmed up to about 70ft or so. This was between two houses and the trees were from small to large in size. My total bill was like $1800 to have them cut and have all the trimmings, trunks etc hauled off. 4K for the pine trees seems reasonable, but the 8K is a complete scam

The $4000 guy sounded pretty legit, especially since he was going to dig all the stumps and level the lot.

How much time do you have before they have to be moved? If it is going to be a few weeks and we can line up some more lots in the area we can probably get them, cut, loaded, stumps, all gone. Right now we are trying to finish up a Taco Bell site that has been a real bitch.

After looking at some more pics in my email that some friends sent me, I think it's even less trees than I first estimated. So I'm going to just go down there and have a look for myself, before I commit to anything. I'll probably throw some boots gloves and my Husqvarna in the truck.

I need to find out from the city if I need the lot "cleared" or if I just need to have the trees cut down and hauled to the street.

The thing about the guy wanting $4k is that he is basically going to clear the lot. This might actually increase the property value, since in order to build anything, the lot has to be totally cleared off and either fill hauled in to raise the elevation to l"base flood elevation" +1.5 feet. Some people are going an elevated slab.

I'll know more once I travel down there.

I guess I'll be the prick, you own a lot in Mexico beach and from the readings of this post I'm getting the felling you have not laid eyes on said property since the hurricane. If so why? I thinking I would know what trees/size because I own the lot.

Anyhow good luck finding someone or be careful.

its a vacant lot?

Right now FEMA is still involved with helping local agencies fund 75 percent of the cleanup, but at some point that will be cut off. I'm sure the city is trying to get as much handled before FEMA leaves as possible.
It's illegal for them to get on your property to get the trees, which is why they need you to bring to the street.

You can be a prick if you want...

But to answer your question:

1. We bought the property about 5 years ago when the prices were still depressed as an investment. With the intention to eventually build a small beach cottage on it. So far that has worked out well, seeing as we were going to wait until we finished the cabin and then save up money for the beach house and pay cash for it as well. It's a good thing we waited. It's worked out good, because the property has just about tripled in price in 5 years.

2. We have seen the property plenty of times. We stop by there every time we are in Mexico Beach on vacation. However we are usually too focused on hanging out at the beach, eating good seafood, drinking beer and tequila and having "condo sex" to sit on Arizona Drive counting pine trees and measuring each one.

3. The reason we haven't looked at the property since the hurricane is that: A. We have been busy working on the cabin. B. There's hardly any place to stay down there. C. We wanted to stay the hell out of everyone's way trying to put their lives back together.

In other words, we knew the lot was going to be there when we decided to build, so the size or the amount of the trees have never been an issue until post Michael.

We always knew in the back of our minds that we were going to have to clear the lot and build it up in order to build. Before the hurricane we always knew that one day we would address that through a contractor. All the contractors we talked to prior to the hurricane about building the beach house told us that the lot clearing and hauling in fill to build up the elevation at was included in the package price, so we never worried about it until we got the letter from the City.

PM sent, Irish...