If you want to cut it down, cut it off at ground level and immediately paint the stump with some kind of brush/tree herbicide with 2,4-D in it. If it resprouts, girdle the new shoot and again paint the 2,4-D containing herbicide on it. Always use chemicals wisely and follow label directions. That stuff will kill other trees/shrubs if you get it on them. On the other hand, if you trim them up, they make a dandy tree in far west Texas where other trees won't make it. I don't think 9-10 feet from the foundation is close enough to hurt. I've had them closer than that.

To clarify some things about our ideas to buy on Isle of Palms - while we're going to hold off on buying, and may not ever buy on the island itself, the area around it seems to be exactly what we're looking for our retirement years. The island is less than 13 miles to downtown Charleston, and only 20 miles to the Charleston Int'l airport. Even closer than Charleston is Mount Pleasant, about 4 miles away (across the Inter-coastal waterway and a marsh), which has plenty of shopping, restaurants, medical care including a decent hospital. In addition to wanting to live close to the ocean, we want to live near good medical care (this is most important), shopping (I'm not going to stop doing DIY projects on any home I live in until my body gives out - it's my hobby), airports, etc. I love the beach - every vacation we can we go to a beach - we've visited many of the east coast beaches over the years - I never get tired of it. My husband loves salt water fishing. We have a boat that he takes onto the Chesapeake Bay all the time to fish, and we go tubing on the Potomac River with our grown kids and grand kids (who are still very little). We've planned on retiring to as close to the (right) beach as possible for at least 20 years and I think it's safe to say that we're not going to change our mind about that between now and when we actually retire. And I definitely don't want to ever live someplace rural again - did that as child and have family still there - definitely not for me. Even if we were young I don't want to live in a place where there aren't plenty of doctors, including all types of specialists, and I don't want to live someplace, where if one of us was in the hospital, the other would have to drive over an hour back and forth. I'm honestly surprised at how many people I know who retire who don't care about that aspect at all. So - given what we know we want/need, we've been considering all the areas close to the Atlantic between Wilmington NC and Jacksonville FL. A few years ago we visited every place that even seemed to come close to what we want. But when we were looking before our income and savings were a fair amount less than they are now, and housing costs and interest rates were higher, so it limited where we would be able to afford to buy, so we didn't consider some of the areas we could afford now. And this is a retirement place we're talking about - being able to vacation in it before retirement is a bonus. We could wait until we retire to buy, but as I said in the original post, I don't want to miss an opportunity to buy while the prices are low AND the interest rates are low. But I do think we need to slow down and take our time - visit and stay there during different seasons, including the heavy tourist season, and make sure that it's what we want. We may find that living on an island/beach itself is not that great and that we should go back to what we always considered to be our only option - living on the mainland, but close to the beach. People seem to think that prices will be low for a while - I don't want to buy and then see prices drop even lower - and that interest rates will be low for a while too. So I realize that there is no rush - but I still don't want to kick myself years from now for missing any "deals of the century". I know this was long - sorry about that - but I think my first post gave the impression that the whole idea of buying at/near a beach, and this one in particular, was hurried and not thought out. While rushing into it right now is undoubtedly a bad idea, I don't think the concept of buying a home sometime soon for retirement in a few years, if the prices and interest rates are really low now, is a bad idea.

So I have bought property a few times in cities I was planning on moving to in the future. When I have done this it is because I wanted specific needs addressed and I wanted the extra time to look for the perfect property. So rather than trying to find an acceptable property in an acceptable location near your desired city, spend the time looking for a desirable property in or near your desired city. Time and patience are incredible benefits in real estate and not many people have them. If you are getting a loan start by talking to your banker and explaining your plans. The money will really be the determining factor in your plan. Then talk to a realtor, personally I would find one who is established and is OK with the idea of keeping an eye out for a special property for you, rather than an intensive active search. Finding tenants is difficult but doable, find a property management company and plan on losing a little bit of money on the deal. Remember when it comes to tenants the nicer the house, the bigger the heartbreak when you get it back. Small, cute and functional often rent better than large and upgraded. There is significant risk involved with your plan. That is OK but you need to make sure you are getting sufficient benefit for that risk, so only proceed when you find a special property that can reward you.

Raee, the Chicago area has been working to address these issues here in our city. Just last night, I saw an area college that was opening its now-empty dorms for hospital staff and first responders so they don't have to commute home to their families. The last I heard, the city is also working to make hotel rooms available to the homeless. I'm particularly worried about domestic abuse victims, and children who are cooped up with parents who may not have healthy coping skills during these stressful times.