Questions and answers about home and property.

Mortgage protection: At the end of this month I will be paying off my mortgage approximately eight years early. When I took the mortgage out 12 years ago I also took out a mortgage protection policy which I am keen to continue as life cover for myself (I don't have any other life insurance).

My lender has so far not been able to tell me what is involved in terms of transferring the policy, medicals, paperwork etc.

Mortgage protection cover is generally regarded as the cheapest form of life cover but it is very specific. It is not designed to be purely life insurance but rather it is intended to pay off your mortgage if you die. However, if borrowers pay off their mortgage early they may have two options - the more usual is to cancel the mortgage protection policy, the other option is to keep the policy and pay premiums until the original end date.

By continuing to pay the premiums, any remaining benefits would be paid to your dependents if you died before the policy ended. In this way the policy would function as a very limited form of life cover. However, you don't say whether your mortgage protection policy was bought from your lender - most lenders offer to arrange mortgage protection cover for you when you apply for a mortgage. (House buyers are under no obligation to go with the insurer suggested by the lender - indeed, it usually pays to shop around.)

If the cover was taken out through your lender, the lender will automatically close off the policy when you clear your mortgage so your idea of continuing it as a form of life insurance will not be possible.

The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) has a free and very informative booklet on life insurance which you will almost certainly find helpful. Contact 1890 777 777.

Cherry cutbacks: Our neighbour planted a cherry tree in his front garden some years ago which is now very large and coming into our garden. We extended to the side and now that the tree is in bloom the branches are causing an obstruction in our now narrower side passage.

I have suggested to my neighbour that he trims it back but he says that doing so would seriously alter the look of the tree and refuses.

If the branches are causing you problems and are clearly on your side of the fence - definitely jutting into your property - you are within your rights to trim such branches back. It is true that cherry blossoms have a very particular, often rounded and very pleasing shape and it could look seriously lopsided if you had to really go at it.

You could say to your neighbour that you are going to have to take matters into your own hands and cut the tree back but that maybe, to ensure that the tree is cut back in a sympathetic manner, a professional tree surgeon could be called in (and paid for by your neighbour). It might be a diplomatic solution to a problem that can start out as a niggling minor matter but can quickly escalate into extreme unpleasantness - something best avoided between near neighbours.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.