Landscaper has business in residential neighborhood with HOA
diddlydoo
13 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (12)
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
13 years agodiddlydoo
13 years agoRelated Discussions
How has the economy affected your landscape business/
Comments (8)I'm from the pro end - landscape maintenance. To echo what LG said - I'm a one woman show and work out of my house/van with no loans on equipment, vehicles and no payrolling of staff which makes this recession easier to cope with. I also deal with materials on a cash and carry basis and this is how I have my accounts setup with vendors rather then pay later. I drive around in an old green conversion van - I took all the seats out and put load shocks on it a few years ago to accomodate all the equipment and ammendments I tote around (after my pickup truck was totalled by an uninsured driver who did a hit and run). It is mechanically sound with no rust so it looks respectable when I pull up to a client's house. It was cheaper then purchasing an actual cargo van or another pickup truck. Sometimes when I'm driving around I can't help but wonder what the bank note is on some of these large landscape maintenance trucks - just the diesel to run them must be huge. And then because the cab is big you have to justify the cost by filling it up with about 4 - 5 guys. When you have a lot of overhead you have to have the larger jobs or lots of little jobs to survive right now! My business went up about 10 percent last year - but my bread and butter has always been maintenance and garden installations are gravy. We've also always lived very frugally (I can be found quite a bit over on GW's money saving forum - :)) I also try to stay diversified as much as possible - I will do anything from taking care of gravesites to garden coaching, plans for DIYers like gardengal, holiday decorating, winter pruning, general yard maintenance and some hardscaping with natural stone. I have some longterm clients that have been loyal, I get referrels through word of mouth, Angie's List and always keeping a stack of business cards ready to hand to people at trade shows, on jobsites, in conversation. I don't have a website yet - but I'm working on it right now as another marketing tool. I also try to get a feel for what everyone else is charging and be in the middle - it gives me more room to negotiate without cutting my own throat. My biggest competition has been the immigrant mow and go guys - they'll try and undercut me so I try to stay around their price point or just above and stress quality, horticultural knowledge, the English language, and great customer service and reliability. Also when conducting sales calls I carry around a huge portfolio filled with mouth watering progression photos of gardens I've installed, renovated and/or maintained throughout the years. If I can get in the door that's usually what seals the deal - a picture's worth a thousand words which is important because I don't unfortunately do lawns or plow snow which are my two greatest weaknesses compared to the competition....See MoreOur Neighborhood has a Problem!
Comments (10)I don't have a gun myself, but I might invest in some mace to protect my family if I had this issue. Does mace or pepper spray work on dogs? I would think so. We had a dog loose in our neighborhood for a long time, several months. He was friendly, at least, but he was quite the escape artist, untrusting and smart as anything. He escaped from my fence once after weeks of trying to get his trust, then he would not come back. It took months to get him caught. Animal control was of very little help as they couldn't/ wouldn't do anything unless the dog was contained. However, at some point someone hired a trapper to humanely trap the dog. It was a nice dog and ready to be a good pet, but it was a big yellow lab and way too thin, everyone was worried for its health. It was sad, it would act so interested in being around people, then so scared to get too close. Funny, too, b/c the whole neighborhood was rallied around this dog. ;o) It was expensive to get a trapper, but we took up a collection to cover it for the sake of the dog as well as kids and other pets. We had a happy ending. Once the dog was finally caught and "vetted" LOL a local family did adopt it and now "Duke" is a legend. ;o) Anyway. My point was if AC is not much help and you are concerned for safety, look into a humane trapper to help and take up a collection to pay for it (or if you have a HOA ask them to cover it)....See MoreCul de sac house that has a fairly busy street on one side
Comments (24)If the home is priced less than the interior neighbors, then it's probably priced according to it's "defects" and if you had to sell, you'd also price it less than it's interior neighbors. If they are asking the same for it as the comps with a better location, then you have some negotiating power in it's location defects. Personally, it sounds lovely. Backing up to a large maintained garden is a big plus. All of the viewing pleasure with none of the work! And any of the children that would frequent the spot won't be of the noisy run around shrieking type that a park might have. A brick wall with foliage is usually a pretty good sound barrier except right at rush hour, so make sure to visit the home at the times you would actually be outside enjoying the yard, as well as rush hour to see if the noise migrates into the home's interior. If the noise is a mostly non issue, then negotiate hard, and you will probably love living in such a spot for many years....See MoreNeighborhood crime - what does your neighborhood do to prevent it?
Comments (44)I've still been wondering about this and decided to search for the terms and read them carefully. You can find the Member Agreement without going through the membership process. Here are a couple of things I found that will keep me from joining. "Nextdoor may offer similar accounts to businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations. These accounts do not have access to neighborhood discussions or to messages between neighbor members. You can make choices about receiving messages from organizations at (link omitted). Nextdoor provides organizational members with some aggregated statistics about neighborhood activity and size." AKA unwanted advertising. "Preferences. By default, we subscribe you to messages both for your neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods. You can customize your neighborhood subscriptions at (link omitted)." What I don't like about this is that other neighborhoods will be subscribed to MY neighborhood, and after seeing the huge area assigned to my neighborhood, I can only imagine the number of people then subscribed. Might as well just put the whole town in and be done with it. "Content. You retain all ownership rights to the text, photos, video and other content you submit to Nextdoor (collectively, your “Content”). You give us permission, in the form of a nonexclusive worldwide license, to use, copy, and publish your Content as described in our privacy policy." So I own the rights to my photos but nextdoor.com can do anything they want with those photos, including publishing them as their own. No thanks. From the included Privacy Policy: "Verification as a Resident Of Your Neighborhood. Nextdoor requires members to verify their status as real-world residential neighbors.....by...(1) having a neighbor who already has a verified account....confirm your address, (2) (2) submitting your name and street address (and email address....and then providing us (or a third-party service provider directly) with additional authenticating information....such as a unique code....(or)....we may allow you to use a credit card number or the last four digits of your social security number. .... To help with verification, we may share or confirm your verification information with our service providers. ... We may retain your verification-related information for a reasonable period of time (further down it says 'as long as necessary') even if you do not complete all verification steps." "Facebook Connect. If you register for Nextdoor using your Facebook account, we automatically request your email address and publicly available information, including your account ID, name and gender as well as public information about your Facebook friends. If you revisit Nextdoor while logged into Facebook, we’ll automatically log you into your Nextdoor account. If you don’t register for Nextdoor using Facebook but later attempt to log into Nextdoor using your Facebook credentials, we’ll connect your Facebook and Nextdoor accounts and request the information from Facebook as if you were newly registering. ... If you register or log in via Facebook, we may give you the option to invite your Facebook friends to Nextdoor. Those friends will see some information about you along with your invitation." Great. So every friend, even those I really don't know, on my Facebook page will see my neighborhood if not my exact address. There is a lot about collecting information and sharing it with 3rd parties, their expanding corporate family, and even google. This maybe the scariest part of their privacy policy: "Export of Data (Non-U.S. Residents). By using the Services, you authorize Nextdoor to use your information in the United States and other countries where Nextdoor operates. Please be aware that the privacy protections and the rights of authorities to access your personal information in some of these countries may not be equivalent to those in your country."...See MoreEmbothrium
13 years agodiddlydoo
13 years agolaag
13 years agolaag
13 years agogonativegal
13 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years agoNewjerseypinelands
10 years agoenjay2014
9 years ago
Related Stories
COMMUNITY15 Ways to Make Your Neighborhood Better
Does your community lack ... well, a sense of community? Here's how to strengthen that neighborly spirit
Full StoryCOMMUNITYWant a Cleaner, Safer Neighborhood? Show You Care
Our behavior strongly influences others, says a new study. Show neighbors you care about your street and watch them follow suit
Full StoryECLECTIC HOMESHouzz Tour: A Storybook House for the Neighborhood
This charming family home incorporates Tudor-style elements, eclectic details and smart planning
Full StoryCOMMUNITYNeighborhood Walkability: Get the Score
Hoofing it around is way easier when everything is near your house — and one tool tells you how walkable an area is before you move
Full StoryHOLIDAYSGet in the Mardi Gras Spirit With This New Orleans Neighborhood Tour
Wreaths, beads, masks and swaths of green, purple and gold add a festive Carnival splash to The Big Easy
Full StoryCRAFTSMAN DESIGNHouzz Tour: Thoughtful Renovation Suits Home's Craftsman Neighborhood
A reconfigured floor plan opens up the downstairs in this Atlanta house, while a new second story adds a private oasis
Full StoryDESIGN PRACTICEContracting Practice: Marketing Your Business
To keep those projects rolling in, combine old-school techniques with the latest in high-tech networking
Full StoryBOOKSLouis Kahn's Modern Residential Masterpieces Get Coverage at Last
See 9 of the celebrated architect's lesser-known projects, U.S. homes, in a new book filled with photos and details
Full StoryINSIDE HOUZZHow’s Your Business Doing? A Houzz Survey Shows a Positive Outlook
Revenues grew for 70 percent of home design professionals last year, and many are expecting continued growth
Full StoryHOME TECHThe Inevitable Future of Drones Around Your Home
As Google joins the push for airborne deliveries, it seems only a matter of time before neighborhoods are buzzing with drones. Is that OK?
Full Story
diddlydooOriginal Author