{"id":727,"date":"2018-09-30T05:21:29","date_gmt":"2018-09-30T12:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.managementone.com\/?p=727"},"modified":"2024-01-25T05:34:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T13:34:46","slug":"lawn-care-how-to-help-residents-stay-compliant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.managementone.com\/lawn-care-how-to-help-residents-stay-compliant","title":{"rendered":"Lawn Care: How to Help Residents Stay Compliant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever lived on a street and you drive by the house after house, and the lawn is brown, overgrown and full of junk? And then you see this immaculate yard, and you wonder \u201cwhy can\u2019t everyone else have yards that look like this?\u201d You might even pass a judgmental thought through your mind that sounds something like this \u201cBet a darn tenant living in that home. They\u00a0NEVER<\/em>\u00a0take care of the home as a homeowner does.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 30+ years in the property management business and leasing out and rehabbing over 10,000 homes, managing thousands of homes, and issuing hundreds of violations to residents for not properly maintaining their yards, we decided to start rewarding those that do maintain their yards.<\/p>\n

This year we implemented a program titled \u201cBob: Best on the Block.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents who are recipients of the \u201cBOB\u201d award are featured in our monthly resident newsletter,\u00a0on our website<\/a>, and receive a $25 Starbucks Gift Card! We reward them for taking care of the landscaping. \u00a0Who doesn\u2019t love free Coffee! \u00a0Besides personal gratification of course. We want our Residents to know that we do appreciate their efforts and love when they take care of the property as their own.<\/p>\n

The Why?<\/h2>\n

Over the years we found two main reasons why the residents let the grass die off.<\/p>\n

1. They don\u2019t know how to operate the sprinkler timer. Thus they water at the wrong times of the day.<\/p>\n

2. They don\u2019t have the time to mow the lawn and don\u2019t want to pay anyone to do it for them.<\/p>\n

Sprinklers, love-hate relationship<\/h2>\n

We encourage our residents not to touch the sprinkler timers. Often, they don\u2019t know how to properly set the timer, resulting in either overwatering or underwatering the lawn. It is best to leave the timer setting to the professionals. If a landscaper is at the property, they will set the timer at the appropriate time. If a landscaper is unavailable, our inspectors will set the timer in most cases when they are at the property.<\/p>\n

There is a misnomer flying around that by reducing the time the sprinklers are on that it will save you \u201ctons of money.\u201d We experimented with reducing the watering times and the result was shocking. The total saved was $10.00.<\/p>\n

Not much savings, compared to the amount of damage to the grass and what it cost to restore the said grass.<\/p>\n

What happens to those turn off the water?<\/h2>\n

Residents adjust the sprinklers incorrectly which ends up killing the grass, now what? Well, they are responsible for bringing the grass back to life, which includes the cost of water, grass seed, and covering the seed by raking it into the yard, not to mention the violation fees. Take a look at how fast the fees add up:<\/p>\n