Unfortunately, tree removal is very rarely free and you’ll almost always have to pay to have trees removed from your residential or commercial property. This includes cases in which the tree may offer some timber value; the costs associated with removing a single tree will almost always eclipse the tree’s timber value.
However, in some cases, trees growing in public easements or near sidewalks are considered city property and therefore the city’s responsibility. And at other times, the electric company may offer to remove a tree for free, if it is likely to fall on power lines.