How to Find Lawn Care Bids

Some people enjoy hours in the yard, mowing and raking, but many others prefer to have someone else do the basic maintenance. Of course, you want to find someone who does a good job, is dependable and is reasonable in price. Although you may still be able to find a kid down the street who wants to make a few bucks, chances are you will end up hiring a professional gardener. Finding one is easy, but finding one you want to keep can be more challenging.

Instructions

1. Ask friends and neighbors whom they use. You can judge the quality of work by how well kept your neighbors' yards are. Plus, you may be able to get a discount if a gardener comes for both homes on the same day because he won't have any additional drive time or fuel expense.

2. Estimate the time it takes to do the job. You should know how much time it takes to mow and rake your lawn and take care of the details that you will be asking the gardener to do. This is especially true if a gardener is on a "per hour" rate. If you are getting a rate that doesn't factor in time, consider the size of your yard when seeking bids and provide the gardener with square footage, trees and flower beds in the area.

3. Check with ads in local newspapers or online. You can find a long list of gardeners advertising services at http://www.Craigslist.org.

4. Call the gardeners you are interested in getting a bid from. Invite them to your home and ask them what it would cost to complete the job. Make sure to get rates based on once a month, twice a month or weekly services. You may get a discount the more often you use them. Also ask what is included with the rate and what the additional charges would be for things like hedge trimming and tree pruning.

5. Give the winning bid a trial period and review how well the gardener did the job. If the gardener won't do the job to your standards, there is no reason to pay him. Move on to the next bid; there are many people who would love the work.

References

• Lawn Care Directory
• Craigslist