First HOA bid

H&H said:

we have 2 HOAs, one we did last year and new one we got at the end of last summer and got snow removal in winter 22, mow/edge/blow. One is 42 houses and the newer one in 31 houses.
You may have to jump through a few paperwork hoops in terms of ins/ workman’s comp etc provided on your employees. They may require an equipment roster too. And there may be a lot of language about employee behavior and dress code, We already wear button down short sleeve shirts w a company logo and khakis so that I think was a seller for them,
I believe at least one of the HOAs had scruffy/dirty young guys scalping the crap out of the place, if you pay attention to the line of questioning during the sales meeting….for us it seemed like they were not only dissatisfied with quality, but also it seems like they were concerned about image and language by the crew.
Snow removal contracts were awesome for both…no ploughing, just BP blow, snow thrower, a little hand chubbling up by the porch. We made 1500 in less that 3 hours every time…just 2 guys with 2 28 inch snow throwers.

We were not the cheapest on either bid….the one lady actually showed us the prices they had received from everyone ( without the business name attached). We were second highest out of 6 bids.
The smaller HOA was leery of setting a number of weeks to the contract. This is northern Indiana near Lake Michigan….I have 5 inches of snow on the ground today that wasn’t there less than a week ago.
So we sold them on 24 mows at 55 a lot, and they could option another 6 mows at the same price at the end of 24 mows….one woman kept pressing the start and stop point- I just told them to schedule for march 20th to start…if they needed more they are covered. This was just shadow boxing…we would make sure they got mowed regardless and would not have priced them all cart after the contract. We just had to make it so she would shut up and they signed,

I didn’t really tell you how to bid it….but just be aware that there’s a lot of intangibles/ extraneous issues surrounding HOAs. It’s worked out well for us so far ( knocks on wood)…and it is really awesome to park the truck on one place and just keep hopping from yard to yard.
And don’t be afraid to sell with pride, if you sell with a Walmart mentality you’re going to be rewarded with Walmart compensation.

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trishaj said:

Hi there,
We are a newer lawn care company. We received our first HOA request and I'm struggling with what to charge. This is the clients request.

Requesting a bid on lawn care including fertilizer applications, fall clean up and snow removal for homes from 7301 S Tivoli Place south to 2400 Trevi Place. Includes 4 villas and 14 twin units. Please break down into a per unit cost because 5 units are not yet sold but will be included as sod is laid.

The HOA itself isn't huge. Only 2 of the townhomes have a privacy fence. We'd probably go there with 4 crewmen for time effectiveness. Any input? I don't want to send a bid and it be rejected immediately due to high pricing! Thanks

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