With all the liability issues there are today and issues with who ownes what it is usually just easier to say no.
I completely agree. 100 percent.
The following probably doesn't apply to most of us here because we are the ones with the chainsaws and the need for wood. More so a general thought I have though.........
I've seen ads online and ads posted places over the years where people say free wood all you have to do is come drop the tree and take the wood.
In theory this sounds great for the homeowner probably because the prices to have it removed by an insured professional were too expensive.
The problem is if the helpful guy down the street comes over and gets injured while cutting your tree down in exchange for free wood , that person can turn around and sue you. And if you think they won't , wait until they get $50k in hospital and emergency room bills for a serious accident.
Then there are those where a tree really should be dismantled from the top down or weight taken off a side before dropping it safely which requires a man lift , bucket, or climbing it etc, but the guy down the road feels he can safely drop it. Perhaps he can, perhaps he can't. Just make sure , as a property owner, your homeowners insurance is up to date, cause the guy down the road probably is not covered for liability in tree work.
I know what some people are thinking which is well if its an easy tree to drop why not ? Heck we all want free wood. This may seem like no problem for the cutter after all they may get free wood, but still the property owner is at risk if the person doing the cutting gets hurt on their property .
Just food for thought.
That said if you can get free wood from right of way clearing , and it's legal and safe to do so, why not free wood is still the best wood ! Plus it's obviously less dangerous getting left over logs than dropping a tree for the neighbor.