Lawncare workers deal with absentee landlords
12 posts across 2 communities in the last 30 days; 92% from r/lawncare.
“This is my first post here:) For some background, I’ve been mowing this property for the last 3 seasons. This winter, a new owner bought the property and they continued our service. Since then, they have done quite a bit of work to the property, including burying downspouts…”
“The last few years have been rough for low effort lawncare enthusiasts like myself. I don't have an irrigation system and I hate mowing when it's blistering out. With my odd work schedule sometimes lawncare gets neglected. But luckily it's just grass. It'll keep growing and…”
“Hi All, I'm a homeowner that has lived here for about 4 years. The yard has been unfortunately a bit neglected as I am still figuring out the best way to maintain it. After discovering this sub, I am debating just nuking and starting over. Overall the yard is decently large…”
Multiple posts describe lawncare professionals encountering homeowners who prioritize rental income over yard maintenance, leading to neglected properties and ongoing work for the service providers. This highlights a disconnect between property ownership and upkeep responsibilities.
SOURCES (49)
“Hi All, I'm a homeowner that has lived here for about 4 years. The yard has been unfortunately a bit neglected as I am still figuring out the best way to maintain it. After discovering this sub, I am debating just nuking and starting over.…”
“Maybe ask landlord if he’s planning on doing the yard? If you want to take care of the yard and he’s not gonna do it, maybe ask him to pay for the stuff and you can work it. If I was in your situation that’s what I would do, I like doing yard work and being active, so I wouldn’t mind. Heck maybe even some of the labor off rent (probably wishful thinking 😂) [re: Landlord removed pool and filed with Sand. Advice please NE Texas]”
Thank you! Did it all by hand, felt hopeless when I started
“Hello!! My partner and I bought a house in March and the yard is... alright. We have been running around all summer and while it has gotten mowed regularly enough it hasn't gotten any tlc to really elevate it. Honestly, we don't have the time (yet) to become CRAZY yard people, but I would like to get us off on the right foot. My dad was always a "weed and feed" in the fall kinda guy, and I have been reading more and more about overseeing. My weekend plan right now is to mow it”
“Now the closer you get to Denver there are water restrictions. My area there aren’t any so I got lucky. And my place is a rental. I just wanted a nice front yard.”
“This is my first post here:) For some background, I’ve been mowing this property for the last 3 seasons. This winter, a new owner bought the property and they continued our service. Since then, they have done quite a bit of work to the property, including burying downspouts across the entire yard. Unfortunately, they hired a pretty terrible contractor, and the yard is now extremely rough. It’s honestly pretty painful to mow and definitely puts a beating on the equipment. I’m considering dropping”
“Buffalo ny. Bro doesn’t edge, he makes moats. He doesn’t allow anyone walk on his lawn either.He has signs to stay off the lawn, and the lawn looks like shit . submitted by /u/sauceboss2769 [link] [comments]”
Rake the dead spots and clean up what you rake. Put down some seed. Water
“The last few years have been rough for low effort lawncare enthusiasts like myself. I don't have an irrigation system and I hate mowing when it's blistering out. With my odd work schedule sometimes lawncare gets neglected. But luckily it's just grass. It'll keep growing and it'll be here next year, too”
“They don't like herbicide there, and 9 month no raining, my take is nuke what you have and use blanket to seed, it is really windy, seed in rainy season,”
“And you haven't apprenticed for 2 years at a lawn company or an ag operation? How do you plan on becoming licensed?”
“Not to mention… mowing wayyyy too short for the summer. Gotta let those bitches breathe”
“Definitely alienating their landscapers. Dropped a guy last week because he would just not stfu and let me work.... Every. Single. Tine.”
“As someone who aerates and overseeds for a company if you can’t water there is ZERO reason to waste the money overseeding. I’ll 100% aerate and overseed a bone dry yard and charge you(I’ve been bitched at for telling people they need to water, so honestly I’ll just do it one way or another) but if you can’t keep soil moist enough for a few days so it can be aerated then the seed won’t germinate anyway.”
Just another mow day. submitted by /u/Diligent-Rip3230 [link] [comments]
“SE MICHIGAN - My backyard butts up against the back of my neighbors. They struggle with it because of odd work hours, older age and probably lack of care. Also, keeps cutting it so damn low 😅.I know its low reward high risk helping them out and not wanting to spend a ton but I'd like to not stare at this and prevent the weed encroachment. Their backyard is south facing and I think gets hammered with sun all day. I was thinking of doing the following: - aerarate - spread some topsoil/compost”
“What do you mean by 'strata'? Typically in the US at least, the apartment complex will maintain the yards. This looks like OP is hired by the management to maintain the yards.”
Water it a bunch. Throw some seed down and rake it in a little. Water more
“The bigger surprise is that he can pay for it thru 16 hrs of mowing lawns a month...”
“Nice job! Just curious if this is sustainable like does the grass grow enough for the next months rent.”
“he has no reason to show you anything.. It’s a side gig.Weather it’s true or not that’s a different story.Hes not bitching.”
“Doing what it takes to get life handled, good for you! Are you doing other property maintenance while the grass doesn't grow? Like leaf or snow removal?”
“it is instead of praising or learning from OP they belittle and criticize. I notice this sub is the worse for that.”
“About 4 hours per week pays most of the bill. submitted by /u/Potential_Trifle8917 [link] [comments]”
“Yeah, looks like he's got a good start of a thatch base but not like he was pulling up shag carpet. Depending on their last aeration, running a rental unit over it a few times could be a good middle ground.”
“Overseeded last Friday with Twin City Blue Envy. KBG obviously needs more time to germinate. Concern though is th existing grass is getting tall with all the sun and watering. I'm going out of town for a few days and will have someone watering while I'm out. Question is: do I take a bit off the top of the existing grass with the mower? I know you're not supposed to do this but it's getting tall and I'm concerned. It's about 2 to 2.25 inches at the moment. submitted”
“Just moved in to this place in May and the lawn was a mess. Fell down the lawn care rabbit hole and here I am 😂 I just sprayed down some roundup tonight and I’m planning on tilling, adding topsoil, and seeding early next week (got some blue shadow coming in from Twin City Seed Co). I have my sprinklers set up and ready to go and I’m going to pick up some starter fertilizer/pre-emergent for when I seed. Am I cooked or will I still have enough time for germination/maturation? Any other advice/rec”
“Howdy, I'm also in the Boise area. Sorry to hear about the shitty yard, most likely means you're probably dealing with someone who bought a house to near immediately rent it out and don't care about anything else then to squeeze profit. I'm currently living next to that and that yard is hell. You don't need sod, just like someone else mentioned if you want to fill in some spots get a bag of Scotts EZ seed. Make sure to water even more often once you have it down though, we”