A reasonable price for season lawn mowing?

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I received an email from the guy that mowed for me last year. He said I could hire him for the season for $1000. That price includes weekly mowing, trimming, edging, and clearing of all debris from sidewalks, walkways, and driveway. He also went on to say he is starting next week, which seems really early to me. Te grass doen't really need mowing until about the second week in May. I also don't think it needs to be mowed EVERY week. I asked if I could hire him on an "as needed" basis. I am waiting a reply.
 

I think the as needed would be best unless he demands the 1000. Then you can look elsewhere. When I owned that house, I had a as needed guy who was very nice recommended by my good neighbor who of course moved away.

I'd prefer that than be locked into something.
 
debodun said:
I received an email from the guy that mowed for me last year. He said I could hire him for the season for $1000. That price includes weekly mowing, trimming, edging, and clearing of all debris from sidewalks, walkways, and driveway. He also went on to say he is starting next week, which seems really early to me. Te grass doen't really need mowing until about the second week in May. I also don't think it needs to be mowed EVERY week. I asked if I could hire him on an "as needed" basis. I am waiting a reply.
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In my area, the charge is determined by the size of the yard and how often they'll be mowing. This area has mowing for at least 6 months... April through September or early October so $1K sounds reasonable to me if it's weekly. My neighbor pays a service "by job" and I do believe they're taking advantage of her but she won't listen. Sometimes they're over there 5 days after they did it.

That said, there's really no way to know if they guy will show up weekly if you pre-pay, like @Gary O' said... so I'd keep a written record of when he shows up. We haven't mowed yet, but I heard two people in the neighborhood mowing this week already.
 
Gary O' said:
@debodun

If you pay him ahead, I can almost guarantee you won't get the service he describes

I never ever pay for services ahead of time

and.....get him to define 'season'...what month to what month
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Sensible advice, we have a husband & wife gardening team. No complaints, they are very good, it costs me fifty pounds a week. Now I know that's two and a half grand a year, but it's money well spent given the size of my front and rear gardens.

A number of times my gardeners have had to stand me up, not often, but had I paid up front, and failed to keep an attendance record, would I still be paying for the times they were absent?
 
debodun said:
I had a few times last year when he didn't show up when promised. His usual excuses were: I had to go and get a part for my mower, or I got tied up on a big job.
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Might legit, but
agreed services are just that
Define the days of service in that season
Keep a log
Settle up at the end of that season
Example;
$1000 for the season
10 service days ($100/day)
2 days missed
Settle up at $800
 
debodun said:
I had a few times last year when he didn't show up when promised. His usual excuses were: I had to go and get a part for my mower, or I got tied up on a big job.
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in the great scheme of things $20 a week is very cheap for a gardener... my neighbour who has a small front and back garden, pays Ā£80 every 2 weeks for hers.. I think it's too much.. but hey.... anyway, he's seeing you as a soft touch Deb.. an ''elderly lady'' on her own ..a walking money pit... he gets the grand upfront, you'll be lucky if he get there every month much less every week.. and then it's likely to be slapdash...

Like everyone else has said.. no, no Nanette...keep your money in your purse and look for someone who will accept payment for each individual job ..after they've completed it.
 
debodun said:
He replied to my question if he would do it on an "as needed" basis. He said if I chose that, it would be $100 for each visit. Last year his top price was $60 a job. I suppose his reason would be "increased operating expenses". I am shopping around for another business.
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Well he's picked on the wrong person if he thinks he's dealing with a fool....especially when it comes to money
 
debodun said:
He replied to my question if he would do it on an "as needed" basis. He said if I chose that, it would be $100 for each visit. Last year his top price was $60 a job. I suppose his reason would be "increased operating expenses". I am shopping around for another business.
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Our local service charges $50 to $60 a week... but that's just mowing, not other things lawns need. Unless you live on a multi-acre farm, I think your decision to shop around is a very good one, @debodun .
 
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debodun said:
From the estimates I'm getting, I could buy my own lawn mower, but I just don't have the stamina anymore. It was tough at the other house that had a lawn half the size.
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Have you ever hired anybody who youā€™ve been happy and satisfied with?

I donā€™t think you are taking into consideration the fact that since the pandemic, everything has gone up in price. Oil and gas have gone up in price but so have lawn mowers and their parts. Finding parts for some things are almost impossible to find .

You did admit that your current property is TWICE as big as your last property . Then you need to factor in the labour costs. The guy doing the work doesnā€™t want to get ripped off any less than you do which leaves you with either 2 choices. Do it yourself or hire someone to do it and complain about it
 
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debodun said:
He replied to my question if he would do it on an "as needed" basis. He said if I chose that, it would be $100 for each visit. Last year his top price was $60 a job. I suppose his reason would be "increased operating expenses". I am shopping around for another business.
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How big is your lot, Deb? Half acre? Less?

Our lot is than 1/4 acre and we pay our gardener $150/month year-round to keep the beds reasonably weed-free, lawns mowed, trimmed and edged, trees trimmed, bushes trimmed, debris removed, etc. He comes every Friday.

I also give him a $300 Christmas bonus because he's a good human who takes care of what's needed and then some, and it's difficult for people in labor businesses to make ends meet.

He's missed a few weeks this year when there's been rain every day. Under normal circumstances if it rains Friday he'll come Saturday or Monday. If it's still raining Monday he skips until Friday. No matter. Truth is, I pay him for results rather than by hours he spends getting those results. His job is to keep my landscaping healthy, well groomed and attractive, which he does.

My best advice: find someone you can pay monthly, keep your expectations reasonable, err on the side of generosity, and don't make the workers crazy by micromanaging them.

Lastly, bear in mind that landscaping businesses are exactly that. Businesses. It's how people earn their living and put food on their family's table. They're entitled to charge for their time, equipment, fuel and expertise.
 
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"As needed" in the spring season usually means one thorough cleanup-and-prep followed by weekly maintenance. You can ask them to keep the weekly maintenance limited to just mowing and edging, and they usually will do that for about $20 less per week, but then you should do the shrub and hedge trimming, tree pruning and weed-pulling.

For that, $300 to $400/mo is reasonable depending on the size of your yards.

In the summer, you really only need them every 2 weeks, but spring is when there's a lot of renewal and growth.
 
StarSong said:
I also give him a $300 Christmas bonus because he's a good human who takes care of what's needed and then some, and it's difficult for people in labor businesses to make ends meet.
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Thatā€™s very kind and generous of you.
Even people who get paid well like to know they are appreciated. Happy appreciated business people most often will go out of their way to make sure their customers are satisfied.
 
Sounds like a lot, but for a whole season, this could amount to 50 or more hours if there is a lot to do.. So $20 an hour, and there is equipment cost, transportation, and maintenance, so that actually would not be too bad a deal. But Donā€™t pay in advance!

The alternatives would be a land$caping company or hire a kid by the job. Or, buy a nice riding mower and hire someone every few weeks to take care of the details.
 
debodun said:
I received an email from the guy that mowed for me last year. He said I could hire him for the season for $1000. That price includes weekly mowing, trimming, edging, and clearing of all debris from sidewalks, walkways, and driveway. He also went on to say he is starting next week, which seems really early to me. Te grass doen't really need mowing until about the second week in May. I also don't think it needs to be mowed EVERY week. I asked if I could hire him on an "as needed" basis. I am waiting a reply.
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That averages to about $83.00 per month...a bit expensive. I agree with one of the other post, I would use him as needed. In the winter, there would not be too much lawn work to be done??
 
The man I have charges $25 but I give him $30 as he is worth it. He does most of the homes around here. He uses a riding mower at the side of the house as that area is about 2500 sq ft. and just a regular mower for the patch out front. He trims along the paved beds, makes sure every blade of grass is swept up if it hits the neighbors drive. Even spot weeds.
 
I recently turned 80 and still do my own. It's a double lot so I do a section and take a break and do another and so on. I enjoy the workout up to a point like when it gets hot and humid in the summer. I'm prepared to pay someone eventually when I get older and that day will be coming.
 
debodun said:
From the estimates I'm getting, I could buy my own lawn mower, but I just don't have the stamina anymore. It was tough at the other house that had a lawn half the size.
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I use a black & decker corded mower that I've had for several decades and can push it along with one hand but use both of them. Plus I appreciate the extra exercise. This is the lightest and the easiest to use type of mower.
 
..as you can see, my elderly neighbour does his still... Petrol Mower


IMG-0998.jpg
 
My property is a bit over an acre. This year I'll pay $62/mow which will also include edging and trimming. I've used this same company for about five years. They do a good job and their rates are the best in the area.
 

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