Hi all- looking for opinions on whether or not I should hire out for lawn care and snow removal on my properties or buy a truck and do it myself... let me explain my situation. I currently do not own a truck but would really like a beater truck to have for random things and project ect... As of right now, I own 2 Multi-Family properties and my gf is closing on another (3 total). Our plan is to keep acquiring more and build a portfolio. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I should mow and do the snow removal on all 3 properties or hire out. Albeit, 2 of the properties are within 5 miles of each of each other and the 3rd is 25 mins away. None of them have extensively big yards or driveways and realistically would take 20 mins to mow and less to plow. Couple things to think about: I currently work 40 hours a week.... would you really want to spend your weekends and week nights taking care of this? Opportunity cost of looking at other deals/ enjoying life. You Could write off the landscaping/snow removal. In my area the cost of mowing every other week would be roughly 50-60 bucks per month per house. Snow removal is anywhere from 35-50 a driveway. I live in New England so there could be snow twice a week or once a month. Can you really justify paying someone to do the work when you live close, are you just being lazy? Lastly and thank you for bearing with me, I have plans on purchasing a truck regardless..... so it's not whether or not to buy a truck or not... it's at what point do you hire out and build a good system/network or take care of yourself?

@Michael Doherty the disadvantage of doing it yourself is that you cannot expense your time, with the exception being your girlfriends property. You can bill her for lawn and snow removal at fair market rate (and then you claim it as income). I am not sure you will be able to claim much of a write off on the truck. With only owning two duplex, it will be difficult to justify the full expense to the IRS. That means you would claim mileage. You could expense the plow blade, lawn mower or snow blower if it was used exclusively. Still the big component here is time, which is lost. Personally, I hire all low-value work. Low value work is anything that bills at low hourly rates like lawn, snow, junk hauling, cleaning, etc. If I do work at rentals, I stick to high value like plumbing, electrical or tile flooring. I know some people do the opposite, but it comes down to how you value your time. Are you a lawn mower or an investor? I mowed lawns when I was 10 years old, so for me this is an easy one.

@Michael Doherty , what's going to provide you with the best return on investment of your time: Cutting grass and shoveling snow or networking and lining up your next deal? A no-brainer really.

I enjoy mowing my apt building community yards. Mowing co's don't pull weeds, trim bushes or branches or look after other things while they're there anyway. I put my podcasts on and enjoy spending time outside. Plus, my boys learn the value of a dollar and good work ethic. We'll usually do it together. Kids learn nothing about real life when m&d hire everything out. #livin in your basement

@Michael Doherty Nope. The van with a trailer hitch and a utility trailer is much more practical than a pickup. @Thomas S. is dead right here, and a number of DIY landlords here have talked this out repeatedly. The van gives you locking capacity, storage and weather protection for your tools, and gas-sipping mileage. The utility trailer is lower to the ground and significantly outperforms the truck when it comes to lawn care, hauling, dump runs, and any sort of furniture/appliance hauling. You can also fit more helpers in the van. I was forced to give up my 2001 Honda Odyssey for a 2015 RAV4 with 45,000 miles on it. The Odyssey outperformed the RAV4, especially in the neighborhoods I used it in. If I had to do it again I would probably go with Thomas's Caravan because it can take sheet goods in the back -- the Odyssey couldn't and the RAV4 can't. We mitigate this to a certain point by keeping a moving blanket, a tarp, and ratcheting load straps in with the spare tire compartment, but I'd like the capability to simply load those sheet goods into the back of a minivan instead of strapping them to a roof rack, especially in my rainy area.

Hire it out. Between your time, the additional cost of a 4WD to plow and the additional maintiance/ repair costs it is not worth it to do the snow yourself. Grass cutting is a separate issue and up to you as to whether you want to spend the time. It is a much different issue since it is not time sensitive. My advice is to buy a van not a truck. Much more practical for a landlord. Consider something like a Dodge Caravan that will hold a full size sheet of 4 X 8. A van and a utility trailer will out perform a truck hands down. Truck is obviously more manly.

@Michael Doherty I plowed and mowed my own properties for years. I also picked up a bunch of other plow accounts as a "side hustle" since I was out there anyways. My guess is that since you have FTE you won't be picking up extra accounts. I eventually gave up the plowing first and hung on to the mowing. Mowing forced me to check on my properties and kept me in better tune with them, plus I had flexibility on when I mowed. You don't have that luxury when it snows. You have to deal with it when it happens not "I'll just wait until the weekend" like mowing. Plowing is really a burden when you want to go away for a weekend but can't because there's snow in the forecast or the snow is falling an inch and hour and your stuck at your day job for another 7 hours. At this point I hire out everything and make much better use of my time.

@Jim K. Nailed it. I have used a van for 30 years and would not have anything else for my house flipping business. Additionally you could go for a hydraulic dump trailer. I am presently building a hydraulic dump trailer for myself and should have done that 30 years ago as well.

Do lawn-care/snow removal myself or hire out?

Bill F.

Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes

7y

Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:

@Bill F. Plowing does suck , Yes it can tie you down , Up for 20 hours straight eating snickers bars and drinking coffee . But when you are self employed its no big deal . Even if I worked for someone , I would tell them when it snows , I am plowing . The money is too good to pass up . ( but it was easier on the body in my 30's vs my late 50's and one of my drivers is only good for about 5 hours , my father is 84 and cant wait for snow )

I agree 100% that you can make great money, particularly for someone like you, a self employed contractor. I know lots of guys in the industry, particularity dirt guys, framers, form guys, the ones whose jobs stop when it snows, up in the North East who make a killing. They are having a great season.

I think in OP's situation, he'll have all the inconveniences of plowing, cost of a decent blade, the hours, the wear and tear on his truck, with none of the pay off since he can't bill for all his time and still have the 9-5 gig.

I also think people underestimate that you don't just hop in a truck and boom, you can plow. You do need to learn from someone or have some background running equipment to have a sense of how to move the snow so you are efficient with your time and don't ruin people's property.

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Matthew Paul

Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes

7y

@Bill F. Thats pretty much it . I get my trucks with plows on them cheap from the guys who think they will get rich plowing .

1 Reply

Dennis M.

Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes

7y

A full size utility van is the ultimate landlording vehicle . I own a Chevy Avalanche for landlording and it works very well but I have two young boys to haul too . The downside is the short bed and it’s probably too nice for my tenants to see . The last thing you want is the tenants to see you as being wealthy or well off ! That thinking can mean more special requests and later rent ! Not having the time in your case sounds like maybe a bit of a cop out .i self manage several apartments and average 700 hours overtime at my w2 job and I’m 41yrs old . 40 hours a week isn’t much in a week bro , geez you still have 128 hours left in the week to find “ deals” and “ opportunities “ if your that much of a real estate tycoon

Do lawn-care/snow removal myself or hire out?

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