Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2013 · 53 posts · 7 votes
Hello BP'ers,
I am an out of area investor with an SFR rental in the Redford area. What sort of rates are your paying for snow removal services? Are you paying on a monthly or seasonal basis? Which individuals or companies are you using for your snow removal service? Thank you for your advice.
Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
Hello @Paul Hector since no one is chiming in perhaps a good idea would be to contact a local realtor (and one who's investor friendly preferably). They may have direct insight since Detroit seems to be a punchline for some members here on the forums. Still, its your investment and its great you're doing your best to make sure you service your clients. Hope that's good advice for you.
What I highly recommend is try to network with other investors in your area and pool your properties together in an effort to reduce your maintenance expenses. I covered this in Podcast 48. It can really make a difference if you only have one property because chances are you'll be paying higher rates that you ought to.
Investor · Los Osos, CA · Member since 2013 · 78 posts · 25 votes
12y
I am paying $225 per season, which includes the driveway, sidewalk, and the walkway from the drive to the porch.
This is my first season with this company and so far they seem to be doing a good job, they work in Oakland County though so not sure if they would hit Redford.
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
12y
I'm not in the area, but I would check craiglist or your local classified ads and call up and get a few quotes.. I think it's a good practice for everything anyway!
Investor · Macomb, MI · Member since 2013 · 654 posts · 115 votes
12y
@Paul Hector , why are you providing snow removal? I could somewhat understand that in a higher rental income are but Redford?
I personally do not offer any yard maintenance. The lease and I explain that the tenant is responsible for yard maintenance. This includes snow removal. In fact I just had a tenant contact me about the sidewalk yesterday. I kindly reminded him that that is considered yard maintenance and to throw some salt on the ice.
What I have seen happen with someone (my wife's friends who rent in Royal Oak) is that the tenants (again my wife's friends) complain when the snow removal company isn't there IMMEDIATELY as if their property they are renting is the only one the company has to do. And they are getting a decent discount for rent.
They should be getting charged at least another $150 on top of what they are paying for the house they have. But they don't take that into consideration.
Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions which I greatly appreciate and value!
Actually, I just purchased the property and am now doing a few upgrades for the inspection prior to renting it out, so for the moment snow removal is my responsibility. Will of course ensure that this and other aspects like lawn cutting etc are included as tenant responsibilities in the rental agreement. Will also follow-up on @Akiva L. and @Darren Sager suggestions about pooling!
Along the lines of @Aaron Yates we do not offer snow removal for our SFHs, but we do provide snow removal for our MFHs. Snow removal services here tend to operate on a per-event pricing model (i.e. $40 to clear a drive/lot following a snow fall). There are some who offer a subscription (i.e. $350 for the season), but snow fall in recent years has been below average, so no one wants a subscription.
This year, the snow removal folks are smiling all the way to the bank! Winter came early and with force - 4' of snow before the end of December {half of which has been rained away in an uncharacteristic "tropical oasis" the past 2-weeks}.
Though SFHs are typically on their own, we did send our snow removal service around to our student houses to clear the drives and, in some cases, the roofs, before the students returned from the holidays.