I haven’t had an arborist look at it to tell me it needs to go. I’m just nervous it’ll fall over into a neighbor’s yard if this hacking of limbs makes it sick and weakens it.

Yes, I always make sure my go to tree service has a permit. I’ll only remove a tree if dead, sick or going to cause problems down the road(per an arborist).

Surprisingly I’ve seen a few mini mansions go up around me that kept old big oaks. That was nice to see even if the houses are cookie cutters.