Solved Buying house, is this tree cause for concern?

The problem is if your neighbours sell up and the new owners are like some of the people who live around me and let their garden grow wild. I suppose you could always dig down your side of the fence and chop off any roots you find - as long as you return them to the other side of the fence!

 

A totally useless bit of information coming through:

In Finland, traditionally a Birch tree is planted when you build your first home. It's the "home tree" that symbolises putting your roots down, and has plenty of uses. The sap is very sweet and even nowadays sold as a health syrup, the bark (birch bark has a distinct word to it in Finnish, "tuohi") burns bright and hot so was widely used for illumination and as superior kindling. It is also used to make drinking cups and the wood was considered the best roofing material.

The young branches made brooms and whisks, and of course the all important "vihta", a bunch of young branches used for whipping the dirt out of one's skin in sauna. Many people nowadays harvest and freeze vihtas for winter, and they are even sold commercially as frozen goods.

And finally, birch logs burn slowly and with high heat so have always been cherished as the best firewood there is.

So, a great tree to have next to your home if you are inclined to Finnish traditions. (I have one in a pot next to my back door, kindly donated by the wind and gently nurtured and called "bonsai" as it's clearly stunted in the pot )

Obviously, returning to the original post, the tree being on the neighbour's side it probably will not tick the Finn Mythology boxes.

In general, birch trees are lovely and offer a good source of leaf mould, as well as managing water levels well in case the house is at risk of seasonal flooding. On the flip side, raking the leaves and pulling out the seedlings is a chore, and nothing really grows well under a birch tree.