Lack Of Licensing And Insurance
Any landscaper who presents their papers for the bidding process must offer proof of their general liability insurance, workers compensation insurance, and state licensing.
Once they present these papers, you can use them to get more information on their safety records, professional affiliations and overall reputations with their employees.
Avoid taking on any liability by ensuring your landscaper offers the necessary insurance and is willing to offer safe working conditions.
Specific Areas Of Maintenance
An HOA, as you know, is a unique and complicated commercial property. And you determine key HOA landscape maintenance services based on areas that your service professional must maintain.
For instance, on some HOA properties, common areas are the focus, and individual yards are left to the care of homeowners. On other HOAs, the maintenance fees include grass trimming of individual front yards, as well as common or shared areas, while back and side yards are left to homeowners to manage themselves.
Your HOA landscape maintenance contract should outline which areas you want maintained and which ones you dont. A community map can help you easily outline these goals and clearly mark them so theres no confusion.
Do I Need A Landscape Maintenance Agreement
HOAs should create a thorough Landscape Maintenance Agreement before they work with a contractor on a large landscaping project, such as light installation, laying sod, etc. For regular lawn maintenance services, however, including lawn mowing and gutter cleaning, this is not typically required. If there are particular HOA guidelines that a lawn care provider needs to be aware of, you can leave a note for them or speak to them directly before completing the job.
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Can Hoas Collect On Fees For Lawn Care Violations
Its certainly possible to charge residents when they violate lawn care guidelines. However, the time investment that comes with monitoring yards / outdoor spaces and collecting on these fees can be intensive. We recommend handling lawn maintenance as part of the HOA agreement and including the cost for these services upfront in your monthly fees so that you dont get stuck in this position or end up handling costly damages to the building.
Winning The Hoa Landscape Maintenance Contract Review Process
You can never ask too many questions when youre reviewing your landscape maintenance contract. If youre getting to the point of signing and you are still unsure of some specifics, thats not a great position to be in. Dont be afraid to drill down and analyze bids so you feel confident when you make your final decision. This process should also be about building confidence in the service partnership you’re creating and building. That trust goes a long way in keeping the process smooth throughout the season. We understand it can be hard to find the right partner that truly empathizes with the unique challenges of your HOA. But the work must get done, and Turfscape wants to help you make the most informed and best decision for you.
Want to learn more about our HOA landscape maintenance services? Get started today with a free quote. Well review your options together so you can feel confident and make a great choice.
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Homeowners Association Landscaping Restrictions
Whether your homeowners association covers individual property landscaping or not, it likely has certain HOA landscaping rules that members must obey. HOA yard maintenance rules can vary from community to community, but they typically include the following:
- How high shrubs and bushes can be
- What kinds of trees, shrubs, and flowers you can plant
- What color of flowers or mulch you can use
- How often you mow the lawn, mulch the beds, water the lawn, and spray pesticides
- What garden ornaments you can display
- How high your fence can be
It is the HOA board or landscaping committees duty to keep homeowners informed of these rules. If there are any new rules or changes to existing ones, you must disseminate the information promptly. This is to avoid possible disputes and violations.
Communication channels you can use include email, text messages, an HOA website, social media, and newsletters. It is also a good idea to go over the new rules at meetings . Dedicate time to answer questions from homeowners, too.
Many homeowners might feel that such HOA lawn maintenance guidelines are too restrictive. While that may be so, the board or landscaping committee must explain to homeowners why these HOA landscaping guidelines exist in the first place. In many cases, it all comes down to uniformity or consistency.
Insert Testimonials And References
If you think the prospective customer would appreciate it, have a guide segment in your offer. When youve done work with someone else, and they were happy with it, see if theyll take calls from new clients looking for references. However, before you provide a list, get their approval first. If they say yes, add the reference as a regular extension on all the lawn work.
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Lack Of Project Specifics
Look out for contracts that are overly simplified with no specific language on the services available or time frames for delivery.
You need to know the services available and the frequency of each service performed for your HOA.
They also need to include services specific to your neighborhood for example, if you have a lot of trees, how often will they come to sweep away falling leaves or offer tree trimming and pruning services.
A good landscaper will address your concerns and go into detail over the things that matter most to you.
Additionally, look for a landscaper who anticipates problems related to the services they offer, such as drainage solutions when you experience flooding.
Things To Know Before Signing A New Hoa Maintenance Contract
Youre comparing bids from landscape maintenance companies so you can decide on a company to care for your homeowners association a pro who can act as a real partner, and who can give you a contract that fits into your budget. Maybe youve been burned before after hiring a landscaper that didnt do what was promised. Or, perhaps youre simply shopping your current vendor because you want to be sure youre getting the best service possible for your investment.
But how do you know if what the contract says is what the landscaper will actually do? Why is one contractors bid for HOA or condo association landscape maintenance much higher than another providers proposal? Arent they supposed to be performing the same work?
You dont want to make a mistake because theres a lot at stake.
Benefit: A goodcommercial landscape maintenance company will improve your HOA or COA property value and attract new residents who value an attractive place to live. A professional landscaper should be your single source for outdoor maintenance, from installing annuals to handling snow and ice removaland all of the green work you expect like mowing, edging, pruning and cleanups. This pro is your partner.
So, theres a lot at risk if you align with the wrong landscape company to care for your central Ohio HOA.
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How To Get Commercial Lawn Accounts And Landscaping Contracts
Landing a large commercial account is at the top of many landscapers wish lists.
But transitioning into the commercial landscaping market requires more than just buying larger mowers and trucks. You have to change the way you and your team manage projects to truly be successful.
Here are the dos and donts of bringing in commercial lawn accounts and landscaping contracts.
Possible 5 Year Contract With A 50 Unit Housing Association Need Advice
Not sure if this is the right place to post??
So Ive been doing lawn care and landscaping for a few years now and I started my own business last year. I have a newer zero turn riding lawn mower, two push mowers, two weed whips, one backpack blower, one handheld blower, various hedge trimmers and pruners, and various hand tools. .
Now with the real possibility of having this contract, Im pretty intimidated. At previous employers we had a team of 6 that would take roughly 5-7hrs to get an association like this done, but they had the stand on lawn mowers. Right now its only me and occasionally my partner who are able to provide services.
Im wanting yalls opinion if this is way too much for a small company like me, if its worth it to scale up a bit and buy one or two stand on mowers, if I would need to hire on another one or two employees, or if Id be able to manage the entire association with my self and the current equipment that I own.
And I also have no idea how to price a contract like this or all the details that go into this large of a contract. I regularly charge $80/hr for work which is roughly $40 for city lots which is a full service for them.
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Including Your Budget In The Rfp
This concept admittedly makes a lot of people uncomfortable. But its really important that your RFP includes your expected budget so that it can take price out of the equation as you shop your options.
Its not like avoiding the conversation is going to change any of these things. We are a company that believes in transparency and we find that many HOAs feel the same way. Playing a guessing game with costs only creates confusion.
Yes, you might sometimes get that random high bid or something that is way out of line, but for the most part, the whole point of the RFP is to have those bidding all come in on a level playing field.
With all that being said, you can see how its a big red flag when HOAs do not have an RFP or they tell us just give us your best price.
In fact, we often choose not to participate in that type of bidding process. We need to know your expectations or were only going to be set up to fail. If we were to enter into an arrangement blindly, we know that both of us will ultimately be dissatisfied. Our goal is always to create working relationships where we become a trusted partner.
How Professionals A Win Commercial Lawn Care Contract
In the corporate world, looks matter.
To win the big accounts, you must look like someone who can handle the big accounts:
- Do you have a professional website?
- Can your equipment do the job in time to make you money?
At Service Autopilot, we call that last one Job Costing.
Job Costing tells you how many labor hours it takes to do a job and how much you should charge to make a profit. Its key to making money in this industry.
If you dont know exactly how much it time it takes to maintain a property, you will lose money on your services.
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S For Finding Commercial Lawn Care Accounts
As you read above, landing a commercial lawn care contract requires a different set of selling skills. Here are seven ways to find commercial customers:
- You wont be dealing with a property owner in most cases, but youll be meeting with a property manager.
- Youll be dealing with lower profit margins, but youll have high contract dollar accounts.
- You can find your first commercial accounts by networking with your residential customers to see if they know of any property or asset managers.
- Do your due diligence: Go to properties, analyze problem areas, and share ideas for landscape enhancements. Dont rely on Google Earth or send a contract via email without first inspecting the property in person.
- You have a higher chance of meeting a property owner if you connect with locally owned businesses.
- The name of the game in commercial real estate is networking. So you get involved with community organizations, local networking meet-ups, connecting on LinkedIn, and attending Chamber of Commerce events.
- You may want to limit how much cold calling or emailing you do because of the lower return of investment. Instead, you want to build warm leads through relationships. Youll have more success in the end.
Grass Seed Demand Expected To Jump Following Wildfires
The Bureau of Land Management expects a strain on resources, including grass seed, once wildfires end in the West.
BOISE, Idaho Just as firefighting manpower and equipment have been pushed to the limit battling blazes that have burned more than a million acres in the West, the Bureau of Land Management expects the same strain on resources, including grass seed, once the flames are extinguished.
A group is preparing the bureau’s warehouse in Boise for an unprecedented demand for seeds that will restore life to the blackened lands. Natural resource specialist Cindy Fritz pictured at right pulling a sample of seed from a newly-arrived lot to test for seed purity and the presence of noxious weeds, at the BLM seed warehouse in Boise, Idaho, predicts shortages of people, tools and seeds. “We’ll have the same resource limitations this fall as we have on the lines right now,” she said.
Every spring, the warehouse stockpiles millions of pounds of seed from two dozen growers to support range rehabilitation throughout the Western Great Basin. Last year, more than 7 million pounds were used.
Located near the National Interagency Fire Center, the industrial-sized complex is filled with stacked pallets of seed bags. The air is heavy with the aroma of 62 varieties including sagebrush, bitterbrush, alfalfa and wheatgrass.
As of Aug. 18, 68,000 fires this year had burned 5.2 million acres, mostly in the West where the bureau manages the most federal lands.
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What You Need To Know About Property Managers
A discussion thread about landing commercial maintenance jobs on Lawnsite, a forum for lawn care and landscaping professionals, will give you a clearer picture of commercial bidding. The writer of the thread asked why he doesnt win any bids.
Other lawn and landscape business folks shared their wisdom. Heres a summary of those thoughts:
How Lawn Love Works For Hoas
If you manage several different properties, or the complex you own is massive, lawn upkeep can be intimidating. Lawn Love aims to create an easy, seamless experience for HOAs. From day to day emergencies, unhappy tenants, move-ins and move-outs, and paperwork, you probably have a million other things to do than worry about another burden like lawn care.
Using satellite mapping technology, we’re able to give quotes in two minutes or less. Our instant, personalized quotes are based on the size of your lawns, location, and requested services. Our proprietary quoting technology will generate a personalized blueprint of your property’s yard areas.
We measure all lawn areas, plant beds, sidewalks, and driveways. From there, we’ll send over a skilled, pre-screened and vetted lawn pro to work their magic, without you ever having to be there. Payment and scheduling are automated, and you can manage everything from the convenience of your phone or laptop. We don’t collect payment until two days after the service, in order to ensure complete satisfaction.
To get an instant quote, check out .
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Be Specificscope Ofwork Drives Pricing
Every detail matters and impacts pricing. We suggest making a list of every service your property requires to look great through the seasons. Bids should include all of these specifications so you arent left paying extra for services you need. For example, one contract could include regular maintenance but not specify whether that also includes sidewalk edging and bed weed maintenance.
Here is a list of services your HOA landscape maintenance contract will probably include in order for your property to look its best and stay healthy.
- Mowing, trimming, edging
How To Get Walmart Lawn Care Accounts
Has your lawn care business been growing over the years and you feel like you finally are at the point where you want to take on some commercial lawn care customers? Maybe you have even had your eyes on some of the big box stores in your area but werent sure how to go about bidding on their property maintenance. Well here is a discussion from the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum, where one business owner was interested in finding out more about the bid process and what was explained to him should really help get you headed in the right direction.
He wrote I would like to bid on a local Walmart lawn mowing account. Does anyone know how much insurance coverage they would require, like 100,000-1 million etc Also do they require you to have workmans comp? Or any other type of coverage that I might not know about?
The lawn care bid proposal has not come out yet but I wanted to get all my stuff together and up my insurance if I needed to. The only thing I was really concerned about was the amount of commercial liability insurance I needed. This will be the first commercial lawn care account that I will be bidding on, so I was not sure what the requirements were and how much to bid it for. I was thinking of offering a free mow to see how much time would be involved to perform the job but did not know if that was practical or not being that it is a bid.
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