Question for those who pay for lawn service

I've got an idea brewing for some summer income and I would appreciate some input from the hive.

If you hire a lawn service to care for your yard, I want to know approximately: how big is your yard, what services do you have done, how often, and what do you pay? I know someone who is interested in partnering with me, he's got the equipment but no time. I've got lots of time but not enough equipment. I do plan to contact local yard services to see if I can guage the local market, but I am interested to see how it compares with other areas.

In reply to EastCoastMojo:

I don't pay for lawncare, as my lawn is big enough that I can't afford to do that, but I did used to work in that field. I assume you are trying to get an idea of how much to charge? If so, you need to find people locally in which to ask that question. Prices vary dramatically area to area.

Yep. I also want to get a feel for what services are the most requested, and the general frequency of service.

I just broke down and started paying a couple of years back. It was either that or buy a new mower, and honestly I HATE yardwork anyway, so it was an easy decision. We have 10 acres, they mow 4-5, but only weed eat about 2. I have them come every two weeks and they charge $100 a pop. I feel like that's a good deal.

I've paid to have my yard done twice and it was $35-$40. 1/2 acre and it included mowing, weedeating, and blowing clippings off the hard surfaces. It took 2 guys 45 minutes, it takes me 1.5 to 2.5 hours.

My parents pay $75 or $100, don't know if it is every week or every 2 weeks. Entire lot is .36 acres, with 9-11 trees to mow around. It used to take me about 1-1.5 hours to mow, weed-whack, and blow the clippings, and that was with a commercial mower

When my tractor threw a piston a few years ago I had a guy come for the rest of the season. It was $45 a pop for the one acre I maintain. Cut, trimmed and leaf-blowed. He charged $160 for fall clean-up.

I replaced him with child/slave labor, a $400 Honda mulching mower, $120 trimmer, $140 leaf blower. It's been a few years now and the savings is immense on a 20+ week season.

I was paying a lawn service a few years ago when I had hand surgery. It was about $75 a week for an acre of grass. I've been mowing lawns since I was eight years old and it didn't bother me a bit to have someone else do it for a while.

Had the old house mowed by a local guy for about $35 per weekly mowing & trimming. Was a 1/3 acre yard with some annoying sections to mow properly. Got started doing it when I had to be out of town a lot on business and just kept it up since I really don't like yard work. The new house has at least the same size yard but is also a lot easier terrain-wise to mow, and I can do it in about 45 minutes so it's worth saving the $150/month to me.

.6 acre of property total. About 1/2 of that is covered by house or concrete.
$40 per visit which includes cut, BAG, weedeater and blow off of everything else.
There are few things I hate as much a cutting grass, largely due to allergies.
It is one of my little personal luxuries!

As mentioned, lots of variation in "local" prices.
I think you need a compadre.
Have that friend call end get a few estimates on getting his lawn cut from your competitors.
This will give you insight into what they charge for that exact job.

My lot is 9,000 sqft with a large pool and a single story, 2,100 sqft house. I pay $100 per month for a basic weekly mow-n-go. I’m in California so I suspect I’m paying well below market value for the service.

Derick with Freese's Lawn Care here, in our area, we set our prices at $60 an hour for any time equipment is running. My lawn takes a little more than 30 minutes with pro gear, and would be a $35 each week, or $45 bi-weekly lawn. More bi-weekly because it takes longer to cut tall Bahiagrass once it's had time to become more cane-like than grass-like.

Do you already have equipment? A minimalist setup is a mower, preferably a rider or commercial walk behind, a weed eater, an edger, and a blower. A spare weed eater is really nice to have, because if you run out of twine, you can grab the other machine and continue until you have some down time to fill.

For what it's worth, those 40V Ryobi leaf blowers are as good as an entry level gas blower. Once the tech gets to where it needs to be, he's abandoning gas powered hand-held equipment. Mind=blown.

Anyway, size it up with how fast you're currently performing said task, hash it out in your head, and out pops an estimate.

FWIW, I still hate doing my own yard.

In reply to Derick Freese:

Heh heh, what's that old saying, the painter's house always needs painting?

Thanks for the info gang, and please keep it coming, this helps me a lot!

Feel free to PM a pro anytime!

The last time my mower crapped out the wife called someone. I have about an acre that is a hilly, rocky mess that would take me about 2 hours. For $60 a guy comes every week or so depending on how fast it grows. He cuts edges and blows in about 45 min with a helper.

In reply to Derrick Freese: Thanks! I will take you up on that once I get my E36 M3 together a bit more.

Business partner and I need to sit down and discuss the particulars. I have a lot of questions about insurance, liability, and tax stuff. This is all new to me, so my mind is racing.

When it comes time to buy equipment, buy a trailer that you can also haul cars on!

1.25 Acre, probably half of it is grass. $60 to mow, weedeat, and blow. Weekly during the summer and/or heavy rain. Every other week spring and fall.

I use child labor. Cost me about $5 per mowing + my own equipment. 1/4 acre.

Its really amazing that despite a slow economy landscaping companies continue to grow and profit.

I guess I really don't care too much about my lawn and don't mind it being a bit long. If I'm lazy, it can wait.

Hence why if I had a landscape service I think we'd specialized in doing plant maintenance and upkeep as well. Fiance loves planting and pruning.

About 10 years ago I used to pay. There were a few houses on my street owned by little old ladies. We all have fairly small yards (my entire lot is about 40'x100'). One guy would cut all of their yards at once and he added mine for an extra $10. There was nothing like coming home to a freshly cut lawn. That was awesome...

Unfortunately, something happened to him and his replacement wanted $20, which was more than I could afford/justify at the time (I'd happily pay that now...). Then all of the little old ladies moved away (one died in the house) and the new house owners are younger and cut their own grass.

Anyway, the original guy made it work because he was cutting a number of small yards, close to each other all at the same time. He could do all 4 yards in under two hours including trimming.

2 houses. I don't know the lot size. I pay $55 (total) for mow, edge, and blow every 2 weeks from March to Nov.

Keep your jobs close together! You do not earn money for 'windshield' time.

I only charge $50 for 3/4 acre, mow, trim, and blow. But I only have two (2) lawns in my sub-division. I just pile my blower and trimmer on the mower and drive a few houses down the street. Started the side business to pay for my commercial mower. Now it's easy extra income.

I just wrote a big post but deleted it. The fact that you are sharp and have run your own business is the biggest factor.

What type of yards would you be typically doing? All residential? What services would you provide? Mowing, weed eating, blowing, fert and chemicals, shrub trimming, leaf raking (fall), tree pruning, planting, aeration, seeding,...? Do you need to remove the debris or can you dump it on property?

Since you are doing just "summer" you're best off with hourly. It also avoids screwing up a contractual bid since that takes a good bit of experience. A professional's hourly is going to be higher than yours as they are very fast. I'll stop here.