Our first customer, back in 2008 was a Homeowners Association.
A lot of HOA boards expect their landscaping to look constant, bushes should always look the same, no weeds and prices to remain the same. We understand that. We have the ability to provide great service but rarely are we the low cost provider so we can provide the services that work for everyone.
The cost of many things have gone up and that affects many landscaping companies and what they charge their customers or how long they spend at customers properties at each visit.
Steve Jobs, Co founder of Apple Computers said “You can't look at the competition and say you're going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you're going to do it differently.”
Other landscaping companies may not bring up ideas that can reduce HOAs costs, reduce the noise their staff makes or how they can reduce their environmental impact. We look at our relationships differently. If we can make some changes it can often reduce customers costs, mean quieter visits and being more environmentally friendly.
Example: Hedge trimming bushes is common at many HOAs. Have you ever asked your landscapers to break out the annual cost of hedge trimming for each community and how much that cost has increased in 2021 and 2022? Multiply that number by the number of years hedge trimming has been going on. As costs rise; so will the cost of hedge trimming.
Tony Robins said "Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions."
We will gladly discuss cost savings and cost reduction strategies with managers and boards. Our hope is that when the time comes to go out to bid for landscaping contract that you ask On Time Landscaping to submit a bid.
A lot of the same plants and issues are at multi family properties so a lot of what this page says applies to that type of property as well.
Telephone: 702-348-8399
Email: matthew@ontimevegas.com
Robert Scoble, blogger and author
Have you ever asked landscapers to break out the annual cost of hedge trimming at your property? Multiply that number by the number of years hedge trimming has been going on. As costs rise; so does the cost of hedge trimming.
When bushes are hedge trimmed, the acceptable amount of growth between trimming is subjective and can make landscaping look unkept. Since each round of trimming has a cost it is sometimes difficult to balance looks and costs. Whos definition of an acceptable amount of growth is used? HOA manager, landscaper, a board member, resident, etc.
Consider how difficult and time consuming trimming and clean up becomes when cars are parked close by bushes. Sometimes people complain that debris gets blown on to their cars and clean up is not always done at a level we expect.
Many landscape maintenance contracts use phrases like "neat and trimmed", “pruned as necessary”, “performed as needed” when talking about hedge trimming. If we ask five people we would get five different answers on what this means. How much growth is an acceptable / unacceptable amount of growth. It could mean weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually. In order to know what costs are it is important that maintenance contracts specify how many hedge trimmings are "included" so everyone is on the same page.
It might be interesting to see how other landscapers would respond if you told them they need to hedge trim every week based on your definition of "neat and trim". How would they pay for extra trimmings? Directly charge? As addons? Reduce other services?
One of the major equipment manufactures put a gas use calculator on their website comparing their blowers gas use to others. The average gas use of six "brand name" blowers came out to just over one gallon of gas per hour per blower. We used the calculator for running a blower 30 hours a week. This equates to about 1560 gallons of gas a year. Now consider how many machines get used at properties you manage or own and multiply that by the number of years it has been going on.
In order to have customers landscaping look a certain way On Time Landscaping prefers to take a proactive approach to dealing with costs and it means that customers understand that other landscapers silence affect budgets and how landscaping looks.
Increasing wages, fuel, insurance and even groceries affect what is charged.
Per Nevada law; companies and each individual spraying for weed control need a special license through the Nevada Department of Agriculture. It is not included in any other license, not even a landscaping license!
Very few landscapers are licensed to do this in the Vegas valley. It is interesting that even staff needs to pass exams and be licensed.
Are your landscapers properly licensed and staffed?
On Time Landscaping is properly licensed.
A lot of landscape maintenance contracts call for checking irrigation systems for leaks once a month. If it is checked today and a leak starts tomorrow there can be a lot of wasted water; possibly costing the property hundreds or thousands of dollars.
There are devices that detect excess / not normal water usage. When the device detects this it sends us emails and texts. We then dispatch staff to assess the situation and possibly make repairs. This can save properties a lot of money in reduced water bills.
Napoleon Hill, Author
When people look at cars to buy they typically know what their budget is and will go to a place that has cars within that budget. If their budget is for a used Toyota Camry they probably wont go to a Rolls Royce dealership. It is similar with landscape maintenance. By providing landscapers with a detailed RFP and or a budget you will offer them the chance to provide you with a bid or suggestions that works for that specific property. Sharing "hot topics" for properties allows us to address them in our proposal.
According to the Virginia Cooperative Extension “…the value of… a landscape improvement increases over time since the growth and maturity of trees and shrubs enhance aesthetic appeal.”(Source) It is generally less expensive to plant smaller plants than larger ones so do not wait as the time will never be just right. Get the ball rolling so these plants have time to grow!
In Baltimore, a 10% increase in tree canopy corresponded to a 12% decrease in crime(source).
In Fulton County (Atlanta), Georgia, mature trees positively influenced home sale prices. Homes sold for nearly $105,000 more in neighborhoods with mature trees. (Source)
Limited tree trimming is "included" in many maintenance contracts. Many times up to a certain height. Many people do not know why a height is chosen. In many cases it is related to insurance policies. Many times maintenance contracts just include removing the lowest branches and is often times not enough to have healthy trees with good canopy structure. Healthy (and especially larger) trees provide many benefits to properties including financial so healthy trees are important. Have you noticed that a lot of times trees or branches come down when it is windy. This could possibly be minimized with proper a tree trimming program that includes the upper branches.
Like with hedge trimming if properties current landscapers have not brought items up like this; their silence has and will cost properties a significant amount of money at the risk of the trees health.
Telephone: 702-348-8399 Email: info@ontimevegas.com
Nevada contractors license c10 0070688
Bid limit $50,000.00
Nevada department of agriculture license 7143
PO Box 401531 Las Vegas, Nevada 89140