Landscaping
Overview
Full landscaping jobs are beyond the scope of this text, but I do want to touch on some of the most common landscaping tasks and associated costs applicable when renovating a low-to mid-level house.
They include:
· Lawn maintenance
· Trim bushes
· Install sod
· Build retaining wall
· Heavy equipment work
Inspection Tips
When deciding whether to do landscaping at your property-and how much to do-consider the two reasons for doing any work:
1. Getting good listing photographs.
2. Making a good first impression on prospective buyers.
When you put the work in this context, it should help you identify the focus of your landscaping efforts.
The first thing I like to do is to determine what angles will be used to photograph the exterior of the property, and then have my designer or photographer make a recommendation on how landscaping efforts will improve the planned photography-for example, pruning back trees and bushes that obstruct the view of
the property from the photographic angles or that will cause the photographs to be unbalanced or awkward.
Next, I will drive to the property, approaching from each street position that potential buyers will approach from, and see what aspects of the landscaping tend to stick out in a negative way. Perhaps there’s a big bush that obstructs the view of the house from the street? Or maybe there’s a big bare spot on the lawn directly next to the driveway. Are branches overhanging the house that might lead a buyer to be concerned about future roof damage or a squirrel invasion?
Too many investors will either spend not enough money on landscaping or they’ll spend too much money. Remember, the goal of landscaping is good pictures and a good first impression; anything less than that is not enough, and anything more than that is probably wasted money.
Life Expectancy
N/A
Scope of Work (SOW) Tasks
Here are the most common landscaping tasks you’ll likely undertake as a rehabber:
Lawn Maintenance
To ensure the safety of my contractors, I will generally have my landscaper cut the lawn at the beginning of every job. Long grass can hide tools, nails, and other sharp objects, and when contractors are working around the exterior of the house, I want them to be safe.
Additionally, many of the distressed houses I purchase have very little curb appeal when we buy them, so cutting the lawn and sprucing up the yard will quickly make the house look presentable again. This will make your neighbors happy (as well as the homeowners’ association, if you have one), and will also draw the attention of passerby, which will be good for your resale prospects.
Trim Bushes
When I do my first lawn cutting, I’ll also have the landscaper trim all the bushes. The most important trimming is of the bushes around the house. Bushes that touch the siding on the house make it very difficult for our exterior painters and siding
installers to do their jobs, not to mention that bushes rubbing up against the siding will cause more wear and tear to the siding, shortening its lifespan.
While the landscaper is trimming the bushes around the house, I’ll have him trim the bushes on the rest of the property as well, again adding to the curb appeal and appeasing the neighbors who may have been staring at a dump for months or years before you bought the property.
Trim Trees
There are three instances when I’ll trim trees:
· When they overhang or touch the roof.
· When they obstruct the driveway or walkways.
· When they obstruct a clear view of the house.
Any branches that are touching the roof are causing damage to the shingles; any branches that are overhanging the roof are dropping leaves and debris that fill gutters and decrease the lifespan of the shingles.
Tree limbs that obstruct driveways or walkways are dangerous, and the last thing you want on your project is a lawsuit. I will cut all tree limbs to a minimum of 8’ off the ground, so there is no danger of someone running into one, either with their car or body.
When the view of a house is obstructed by a tree or limbs, it makes it very difficult to get a good exterior picture of the house, which is essential for your listing when you’re trying to sell. Additionally, if you’re going to spend lots of money making your house look good, you want people to be able to see it!
Remove Tree
If I have a dead or dying tree on my property, or if I have a tree that is situated in a precarious position-either risking falling on my house or a neighbor’s house- I’ll cut it down as soon as the project starts. I know of several investors who have had trees fall on their properties, and while insurance may cover the cost, the stress and added work is just not worth taking the risk.
Install Sod
When it’s necessary to tear up grass either for repairs, grading, or a redesign of a yard, it can take a long time for that grass to return. Selling a house with an ugly dirt yard can be difficult, and installing sod is a cost-effective alternative.
If you’ll be tearing up your yard during a renovation, I recommend doing the tearing up early in the project, as that will give your grass some time to grow back and you may be able to avoid the expense of laying sod.
Build Retaining Wall
There are many different materials that can be used to build a retaining wall, including concrete blocks, wooden railroad ties, stone, or poured concrete. Each has its advantages and drawbacks. If you need a retaining wall on your property, it’s likely that other houses in the neighborhood have them as well; look at the types of materials they use and try to use something with a similar look and feel to ensure that your house doesn’t stick out in a negative way.
Heavy Equipment Work
Sometimes I’ll need to bring in my landscaping company that does heavy equipment work. They can do tasks such as digging and excavation when I want to open up a piece of land, build retaining walls, or dig trenches for drainage.
Cost Guidelines
Here are some general cost guidelines for the landscaping tasks above:
Lawn Maintenance
$30-$60 per 1/4 acre
I will generally tell my landscaper to visit each of my properties every few weeks during the warmer months and cut the lawn when needed. I trust him to do the work when it needs to be done and not do work if it doesn’t need to be done. For the repeat business on multiple houses, he will generally provide a reasonable price and great service.
There are many factors that will influence the cost of a particular job, including the terrain, steep grades or slopes, or excessively tall grass, but I’ve found that this price range is pretty consistent across many properties.
Trim Bushes
$30-$60
This is the cost to trim all the bushes for a typical yard that is a bit overgrown and in need of sprucing up. This includes cutting all bushes away from the house so that they’re not touching the siding, trimming other bushes around the property, and trimming the low-hanging branches on trees around the property.
Trim Tree
$100-$250 per 30’-60’ tree
The actual cost will depend on the location of the tree, the height of the tree, what is under the tree, and whether any special equipment is needed.
Remove Tree
$100-$1,500
The actual cost will depend on the location of the tree, the height of the tree, the type of tree and the clearance around the tree. For a 30’ tree not obstructed by power lines or a house, expect to pay $250-$350
Also expect to pay extra if you want the stump ground or removed. This will typically run $50-$75.
Install Sod
$1-$2 per square foot
If you plan to do the installation yourself, expect to pay $.30-$.50 per square foot for the materials alone.
Larger areas will tend to lower in price, while smaller installations will have a higher per square foot cost.
Build Retaining Wall
Concrete block: $30-$50 per square foot of wall.
Wood: $20-$40 per square foot of wall.
Stone: $30-$50 per square foot of wall.
Poured concrete: $30-$50 per square foot of wall.
While you can have a landscaping company build your retaining walls, they will likely charge a good bit more than a company specializing in heavy equipment (though they may be one and the same). If you need intricate detail in your wall, or if there is a complex installation, your prices can quickly escalate.
Also keep in mind that while many taller retaining walls (over 6’) have historically been built with wood or wood railroad ties, local codes in most places today will require these taller walls to be built with block or concrete. Always check your local building codes before building any structural walls, including retaining walls.
Heavy Equipment Work
$1,000-$2,000 per day
Many heavy equipment companies are willing to provide most of their basic equipment plus two or three workers on a daily basis for somewhere in this price range.
Determining Your Local Prices
You’ll likely use three different contractors for your landscaping needs:
· Small lawn maintenance company for cutting and trimming bushes.
· Tree service for trimming and removing trees.
· Heavy equipment company for work such as grading or excavating.
While you can call around and ask for general prices (and you’ll probably get them), heavy landscaping work is always going to be a custom job, and the actual prices will vary depending on the specific work needing to be done. Also remember that weather conditions and time of year may have a significant effect on any exterior renovation costs.
How to Pay For the Job
For small jobs, I’ll generally pay when the work is completed. For larger jobs, I’ll generally pay part upfront (especially when materials are needed) and the rest when the work I complete.
