DEAR ABBY: Last year, we renovated our house. We now have a south-facing roof that is ready for the installation of solar panels. Our utility company has an incentive program to lower the cost of the equipment, but it ends in six months.

The only thing holding us back is the next-door neighbors’ old, tall tree that shades our roof where the panels would go. The tree is cracked and has been coming down in sections over the last several years. Previous owners of the house had to repair their front windows and gutter after a large branch came crashing down in a storm.

The current owners are a young couple with a small baby. We have had occasional, friendly driveway conversations but don’t really know them. Would it be presumptuous to ask if they would be willing to let us pay to have their

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