Elm tree leaves turn yellow in autumnl and fall off in winter. I have several large elm trees not more than 20 feet from my building's foundation, and the only problem I've ever had is that about 10 years ago, the roots from one of those trees discovered my building's 6 inch main drain line, so I had to call a plumber to snake out that line to cut the roots. I was re-imbursed by the city, so I'm not out of pocket anything. However, I have a poured concrete foundation rather than a more susceptible stone foundation.