Should i quote this as a comercial property?

[cruzgardening]

hey guys so yesterday i was doing a landscape job in the rich area of LA its called Los Feliz when an older gentleman came over and asked if i could quote his property to my surprise his property is the size of a full block, now have you guys maintained anything like this if so would you guys quote them as a comercial property or should i stick to my residential formula? i did not have anything to measure the lawn strips but it was a large area(pictures are bellow) he also wants us to weed on the sdie of the hill and go into the house and do some maintenance what are your thoughts? i already have a number but i want to know if im within range thanks.

Attached Images

	Mansion quote.jpg (240.5 KB, 47 views)
	side view.jpg (305.8 KB, 41 views)
	other homes side.jpg (257.2 KB, 37 views)
	mow strip.jpg (249.4 KB, 33 views)

[cruzgardening]

Lawn care business tips

almost forgot this homes are a total of 13k sq ft thanks guys

[Fisher]

I'd bid it a residential. What kind of difference would you have residential vs. commercial? City blocks regardless of how they are arranged are usually under 5 acres 220,000 square feet. It looks as though the area to be maintained is relatively small, though you have more edges than open area. Simply a high maintenance itemized residential bid would work for me.

Looking to do improvements as far as additions to the beds or just deal with what's there?

[Steve]

i did not have anything to measure the lawn strips but it was a large area

Have you thought about getting a surveyors wheel to help in such situations?

How would your commercial vs residential bidding process differ on such a home?

What are some of your concerns with this job?

[Emar]

Originally Posted by cruzgardening

hey guys so yesterday i was doing a landscape job in the rich area of LA its called Los Feliz when an older gentleman came over and asked if i could quote his property to my surprise his property is the size of a full block, now have you guys maintained anything like this if so would you guys quote them as a comercial property or should i stick to my residential formula? i did not have anything to measure the lawn strips but it was a large area(pictures are bellow) he also wants us to weed on the sdie of the hill and go into the house and do some maintenance what are your thoughts?

i already have a number but i want to know if im within range thanks.

What does he want only cut trim blow??? Hill remove weed, new soil, new sod?

[cruzgardening]

Originally Posted by Steve

Have you thought about getting a surveyors wheel to help in such situations?

How would your commercial vs residential bidding process differ on such a home?

What are some of your concerns with this job?

just got myself a wheel haha it makes measuring way easier!

my commercial bidding is different i charge the commercial properties $75/hr where i charge $30/hr for my residential accounts
the guy wants plants to be potted throughout the year and he wants the lawn to be cut, trimming and weeding, weeds need to be removed on the hill side and that would take longer the reason i charged him as a commercial was because his property was 15,000 sqft each home which is about 5 times the size of a regular home and it would take me 3 hrs more then any regular home each time i come and it would be a crew of 3.

[Fisher]

Originally Posted by cruzgardening

just got myself a wheel haha it makes measuring way easier!

my commercial bidding is different i charge the commercial properties $75/hr where i charge $30/hr for my residential accounts
........ i charged him as a commercial was because his property was 15,000 sqft each home which is about 5 times the size of a regular home and it would take me 3 hrs more then any regular home each time i come and it would be a crew of 3.

I have had customers tell me to ignore their house when bidding their yard work usually when they are large (and possibly the person can't truly afford the house or the landscaping that comes with it). My response is usually: I'm here to work on your landscape and/or lawn, the house and drive really has no influence on that. Really the more house, concrete and other structures that are on the property the less lawn there is to care for, and landscaping is landscaping.

If it wasn't for the right to accept, reject and issue bids however one wants I would fear a lawsuit for price gouging in some areas where by the above reasoning I would possibly charge one of my better residential accounts $750 for the same work done across the street that was performed for $300 with the only difference being the larger house.

A labor hour is a labor hour isn't it? Commercial or residential my labor rates are basically the same. My variances usually are figured in for billing methods, (taking 60 days before getting paid for work in some cases), liability obstacles like vehicles, people and traffic, and then the way that they want the work done in the contract.

So, you could have two guys on one commercial job for an hour for $150, and three on a residential for one and a half hours for $135.

[Steve]

I would possibly charge one of my better residential accounts $750 for the same work done across the street that was performed for $300 with the only difference being the larger house.

So you do feel it is a variable to consider when bidding? If the house looks more expensive and the homeowner seems to be more well off, the price for the job should reflect that?

my commercial bidding is different i charge the commercial properties $75/hr where i charge $30/hr for my residential accounts

Why do you feel you charge a different rate?

[Fisher]

Originally Posted by Steve

So you do feel it is a variable to consider when bidding? If the house looks more expensive and the homeowner seems to be more well off, the price for the job should reflect that?

Just to be straight I wouldn't charge more labor wise based on perception of wealth or how nice and big the house is. The $750/$300 comparison was an example based on the listed labor rates above and not ours.

Big house, little house, gas station, or school grounds.... doesn't matter much as landscape is landscape, grass is grass and an hour is well it's an hour. None of these are impacted by the square footage of a building.

I do not charge more if someone seems they can pay more for labor cost. However, I do seem to lower cost some times to help someone out that seems to really appreciate the help/work but may be struggling to afford what they would like done.

I do charge more to those that like to stand over our shoulders as we work.

[stevef1201]

I work on the gulf coast of Florida. I charge 50 dollars per hour for a 2 man crew. I don't care how big the yard, how expensive the neighbor hood, or what type of property. The "Rich" get the same price as everyone else. The good part of this is I get some really good yards, Big, Open, and previously well maintained. I do not get the 'cheep' lawns where the person dosenot want to pay for quality work.

My advice is set your price per hour, do your best to figure out howmany hours the job will take and then offer the bid. If it is reasonable, and similar to what they were paying before, you'll get the job. And you wont get the sh-tty yards that you dont really want and cost you more in maintenance then they are worth