1/2 acre property quote ????

[SCAPEASAURUSREX]

I just went to go give an estimate on a 1/2 acre property. ? I'm not sure what to tell them ?? Never bid on anything that big before.. I figure it will take between one hour and an hour and a half to do by myself ? I had heard that an acre is $100 for just cutting, So I figured like $50.oo But someone else said that it may be more like $75ish ??? any feedback from you new jerseyers would be appreciated, dont' want to scub out on this one, I want to make sure I am in line. Thanks ...

[RV_Landscaping]

1/2 acre? Hmmm, what size mower you using? I'm assuming bigger than 21" (?) But maybe not....
I have a couple full acre lawns (including tree etc. 'bout 1/3-1/2 acre of grass)---even with my 22" i can do it under an hour... Anyway, with bigger mower its less...But, its not more than $40 for me...Then again its Ohio....I would think you can proly get away with charging more out there(?) Dunno....But it depends on the mower size and how much grass v. woods v. edging etc.

[SCAPEASAURUSREX]

by half acre prop , I mean total , incl. all beds, house, pool, driveway etc,,, I figured an hour to an hour and a half to cut trim , edge and blow.... One man... using 42" and 48" machines... ???

Thanks RV_ Thats a starting point, I guess I'm not too far off, But how do you do a half acre of grass with a 22" in under an hour ?? Thats insane ?? 22" rocket ship maybe ?? LOL..... The average prop by me is like 5K to 75oo sq ft ( all inclusive ) and I spend approx half hour to 45 min per prop not incl. drive time.... maybe I need to start drinking coffee... lots of it ? LOL.. Thanks again....

[RV_Landscaping]

Originally posted by SCAPEASAURUSREX
by half acre prop , I mean total , incl. all beds, house, pool, driveway etc,,, I figured an hour to an hour and a half to cut trim , edge and blow.... One man... using 42" and 48" machines... ???

Thanks RV_ Thats a starting point, I guess I'm not too far off, But how do you do a half acre of grass with a 22" in under an hour ?? Thats insane ?? 22" rocket ship maybe ?? LOL..... The average prop by me is like 5K to 75oo sq ft ( all inclusive ) and I spend approx half hour to 45 min per prop not incl. drive time.... maybe I need to start drinking coffee... lots of it ? LOL.. Thanks again....

uhh, yeah, well...by the time i do trimming and blowing off driveway, cleaning up etc. add another 15 minutes or so.... yeah, well... i generally work from the base cut and then extras...beds etc. I'd say your $50 is a good number...but, i really don't know...depends on neighborhood....extra trimming and all that stuff....so, i dunno...but for 1/2 acre i'm generally starting somewhere around $35...sometimes $40...and add for extra time etc.

[Doc Pete]

I'm in north jersey in the high rent area;). A 1/2 acre (100x200) take me 1/2 hour to mow, trim, blow the walks and driveway. I get $35. I could get $40, which is the rate in my area, but I figure clearing $60 with loading is good enough. Also, some of those that are charging $40 take almost 45 minutes to do what I do in 30.
Pete

[Runner]

That's about the going rate here, too. I don't fall into that "what are you cutting with" thing. That makes no difference. If the philosophy of that is, the longer it takes you, the more you should charge, then I have a nice Lazer I'm willing to sell, or maybe trade even up for a nice pushmower. Because with this principle, I can get more pay per account with a pushmower.

[Soupy]

I agree with Runner. You can not charge more then the next guy just because it takes you longer. Shoot Runner, forget the push mower, I would be out there cutting lawns with hand clippers :D

Soupy

[Premo Services]

[Soupy] I agree with Runner. You can not charge more then the next guy just because it takes you longer. Runner, forget the push mower, I would be out there cutting lawns with hand clippers

I also agree with times and prices.

Runner, forget the push mower, I would be out there cutting lawns with hand clippers

I actually saw this the other day. I was driving through a subd. to get to a job, and noticed two middle aged wemon. One of them was using a hand hedge sheers and trying to cut the high grass, while the other was raking up the cuttings.:eek:
I stopped and asked if they would be interested in a bid for lawn cutting and one of them smiles and says that they don`t like mowers, and this is the way they do it . OK, sounds good to me have a good day....... The front was at least 6-7 inches and the back was about a foot tall in spots. I guess they hadn`t made it to the back yet. I wish I had my camera with me for a shot of that.:D

[PAPS]

I would get minimum 55.00 to cut a half an acre... but more towards 65-70 ish.

[RV_Landscaping]

Originally posted by Soupy
I agree with Runner. You can not charge more then the next guy just because it takes you longer. Shoot Runner, forget the push mower, I would be out there cutting lawns with hand clippers :D

Soupy

Right...But you do have to take time into consideration before bidding on any job.... I was just using the push mower as an example... I want to get every job done as quick as possible because then i get more for the minimum fee....and i can do more jobs....But if I know a job will take me 2 hours, i'm not gonna charge the guy for 1hour worth of work....ya know? :-) Time isn't the only consideration...but it certainly is one (for me, at least).

[Soupy]

The only consideration is what the going rate is in your area. I understand that it's hard to determine the going rate sometimes. But after a few bids you will get the hang of it. Start out bidding at a reasonable price. Then start adjusting your prices by the # of bids you get hired for. If you are getting every bid then raise your price. If you are not getting any of them lower the price. But never do it lower then what you want out of it, becasue you will end up hateing your job.

Now some of you newbies are going to say. Well, what's a reasonable price. Call a few LCO in your area and ask. Just explain that you are fairly new to the business and want to make sure your not undercutting everyone. If they say take a hike, learn for yourself. Then start calling and pretending to be a potential customer.

Chris, You are heading in the right direction by asking. If you think that the prices you have been told are correct then try going for $60 or $65. Then learn from there.

Soupy

[kbcjlc]

I charge 1.50 per 1,000 sq. ft If it is about half arce. I usually will charge around 33.00 to 40.00. That is for mowing, trimming and blowing in middle class area. I have a 54 inches to mow.

It depends on who the customers are... If they are in rich area, I generally charge 1.75 per 1,000 sq ft, if you are in poor area, then have to reduce to 1.25 per 1,000 sq ft.. If in middle class area, 1.50 per 1,000 sq ft.

All my customers are pricing different. I go by SQ FT. Some one go by pricinig yard.

Keith Cook

[Scraper]

Originally posted by kbcjlc


It depends on who the customers are... If they are in rich area, I generally charge 1.75 per 1,000 sq ft, if you are in poor area, then have to reduce to 1.25 per 1,000 sq ft.. If in middle class area, 1.50 per 1,000 sq ft.

Keith Cook

So you are profiling, are you?

[Mid Rivers]

$35, cut, trim and blow, 30 minutes (never more than 45) in and out.

[kbcjlc]

Originally posted by Scraper


So you are profiling, are you?


Do you mean by measurement/size of the lawn or by the job itself?

I use measurement to count how many feets then load all info into computer using software....I keep all my cusotmer's files on computer....

Keith

[Scraper]

Neither...I mean by charging the rich more. Usually it works out that way as they have more, but everyone's the same in my book.

[SCAPEASAURUSREX]

Thanks everybody, Great replies, have been a great help, I am going to think a few minutes then call it in and see what happens, if I dont get it I know it was too high, if I do get it I know it was too low, .. It's a new area for me , so If I get my foot in the door I'll be happy.. Thanks again for all the input..