Underwrite lawn care?

Question

I've started paying more attention to lawn care when working up rental numbers. It doesn't seem like much monthly, but across several properties it adds up.
For those with single-family rentals, do you handle lawn care or leave it to the tenants?

Rosina Persaud · Answer

Nathan, underwrite it. On a single-family rental, the lawn is not a tenant preference, it is a maintenance and inspection issue. In Jackson, a yard gets out of hand fast in summer, and on a Section 8 house that can turn into a failed inspection and a delayed lease-up. I would keep it on the owner side, with a vendor tested in small paid steps before handing them a route. Get a real quote for that lot, for the full season, not a national average. Then add it to the rent math and to the turnover walk: if the yard is not kept, the house does not look rent-ready, and vacancy costs more than the mowing. If you push it to the tenant, write it in the lease, check it at inspection, and have a backup vendor ready. Who is cutting it now, and how often does it actually get done?

Matthew Tregoning · Answer

Whichever arrangement you choose, I'd decide who takes over the day the tenant leaves. From the rental-management side, I'd put the first vacant-property visit on the turnover schedule, with mowing, gates and irrigation checked before showings begin. Also ask the vendor how rain delays are rescheduled and how completion is confirmed. A lawn-care budget doesn't do much if nobody knows that this week's visit was missed.

Harrison C. · Answer

Nathan, we rent our houses by the bedroom, so for us it was never a question: nobody owns the yard when five people share it, and a chore everyone shares is a chore nobody does. The owner pays a lawn service on a set schedule and it goes in the numbers like the water bill.

On a single family with one household it can go either way, and Rosina's point about underwriting it holds even if the tenant mows. What I would look at:

Can they actually do it? A tenant with no mower, no shed and no trimmer will not keep a half acre. If the lease says the tenant mows, either leave the equipment or rent to people who have it.

Split the jobs. Mowing and edging can sit with the tenant. Leaves, shrubs, tree limbs and anything seasonal stay with the owner, because those are the ones that get skipped and turn into a city notice or a turnover bill.

Write the standard down. "Tenant maintains the lawn" means nothing in an argument. Say how often in the growing season and what happens if it slips: you send your service and the visit is billed to the tenant.

Budget it by the season, not as a monthly average. The cost is all in the growing months, so a flat number spread across twelve months hides how much it is when the grass is actually growing.

Alim Abrahim · Answer

100% cosign - the tenant looks at the rent, asks if lawn service is included, and sees themselves NOT fooling around on the weekends with mowers, edgers, blowers, and sweat, so there's an intrisic value to them, and you maintain control over the condition of your property.

Ametria Chaney · Answer

Hi Nathan, good catch, because lawn care is exactly the kind of small line item that quietly eats cash flow across several properties. I underwrite it on every single-family rental either way, because someone is paying for it.

Having the owner cover it is usually worth it: the yard stays presentable, you avoid lease violations with the city, and the property shows better at turnover. If you leave it to the tenant, put it clearly in the lease, including how often it needs to be cut and what happens if it is not, and check on it at inspections.

Either way, price it from a real quote for that lot size and the number of cuts in your season, not a round number, and if the deal still works with it in, you have a real number.

Jaycee Greene · Answer

Hey @Nathan Shelby! Most investors that I know hire someone to do the lawn care, but it all depends on the number of units the investor owns, how far from the unit(s) they live, and how much time they have personally to commit to cutting the grass. If they have a day job, they usually don't want to cut "other people's grass". There are some that let the tenants cut the grass (usually with someone discount on rent), but using a lawncare company provides a more consistent and professional result. I'd suggest going to a local REI meeting (if there is one) and I'm sure someone can give you referrals.

Underwrite lawn care?

Underwrite lawn care?

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