7 HOA Landscape Maintenance Tips to Keep Board Members & Residents Happy
For homeowners associations (HOAs), the community landscape represents one of its most visible and valuable assets. Well-maintained lawns with massive curb appeal help to boost the values of homes in the area and increase resident satisfaction.
Without the right landscape maintenance plan, this curb appeal can be difficult to achieve. Overgrown lawns, weedy flower beds, dead plants, and litter can ruin the aesthetics of your home and the enjoyment of the community’s shared outdoor living areas.
As an HOA, you can take these seven steps to ensure the commercial landscaping company you work with provides top-notch service that keeps your board members and residents happy.
1. Be Detailed About the Scope of Work
It’s a good idea not to leave anything to chance. Work with your landscaping company to define a comprehensive scope of work for grounds maintenance. Be as thorough and detailed as possible when describing desired tasks, standards of care, frequency of maintenance, and quality expectations.
Here are some specifics you may want to outline:
- Mowing, edging, pruning, and debris cleanup schedules for lawn areas
- Bed maintenance, such as de-weeding and refreshing mulch of rock beds
- Shrub and tree care, including pruning, fertilizing, and disease or pest control
- Seasonal floral rotations and planting
- Watering schedules, maintenance, and adjustments
- Hardscaping care, like pressure washing or sealing
- Removal of leaves and debris
- Emptying trash cans or cleaning litter
By having a precise work order, you can eliminate confusion and ambiguity, and hold your contractor accountable. You should also update the scope of work as needed as your community evolves.
2. Conduct Regular Walkthroughs
While it’d be nice to assume you can leave everything up to the contractor, you shouldn’t assume everything will go smoothly on its own. Do walkthroughs of the property at least once a month with the landscape contractor themselves, so you can check for quality and identify any issues.
During these walkthroughs, you should point out areas that may need improvement or special attention. If you have HOA board members participate in the walkthroughs, this can show your residents that your team actively cares about managing the community grounds.
3. Develop a Landscape Plan
Developing a master landscape plan that guides the vision for your HOA’s greenspaces can be extremely valuable for both you and the contractor you work with. Sharing this plan with your landscaping contractor ensures that their work aligns with the desired long-term outcome of your community.
With a clear roadmap, you can keep your aesthetics cohesive over time.
4. Keep Residents in the Loop
Communicate with residents about scheduled maintenance so they can know what to expect. For example, if there will be pesticide applications or lawn renovations that will temporarily disrupt the use of certain areas, your residents have a right to be aware.
You should also inform them about any plant removals or replacements, so they feel a part of the strategy behind landscape design.
5. Ask for Feedback
Another great way to keep your board members and residents happy and engaged is to ask for feedback about the greenspaces. Send out periodic surveys to measure satisfaction and collect suggestions.
This will help you identify ongoing problem areas or any areas the contractor may be missing while also showing your residents that you value their feedback.
6. Be Strategic About Contract Review and Renewal
Don’t just renew the same contract year after year without first evaluating the rendered services.
Before renewal, have the contractor walk the property with the HOA landscape committee. This provides the opportunity to address concerns before signing a new agreement.
You should also consider requesting competitive bids every so often to ensure you’re receiving a fair price.
7. Respond Quickly to Requests and Issues
Board members and residents should have a quick and easy way to report landscape issues that need attention, such as a flooding problem or a downed tree. Make sure you have a system in place to ensure these requests get to the right person and problems can be quickly resolved by the contractor.
Maintain a Thriving Community with Strategic HOA Landscape Maintenance
With a detailed HOA landscape maintenance plan, regular oversight, and plenty of communication, your HOA can enjoy beautiful, immaculate outdoor spaces all year round. By following these key tips and working collaboratively with your landscaping partner, you can keep your board members, your residents, and yourself happy.
Grass Works has been providing Expert Residential & Commercial Local Lawn Care Services in Central Texas: Austin, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Avery Ranch, Bee Cave, Lakeway, Steiner Ranch & West Austin since 2007! Need help with your landscaping? Get a free estimate today!
Ferris MyCue is the founder and owner of Grass Works Lawn Care, LLC located in Leander, TX. As a former firefighter who maintained yards on his days off, he saw a need for a dependable, local maintenance company that knew the hill country climate and could deliver quality landscaping services for a reasonable price. Since 2007 he has used his leadership to grow the company into one of the top landscape maintenance companies in Austin and surrounding areas offering landscape maintenance, design, and irrigation services to both residential and commercial clients. Ferris is also a member of the Seasonal Employment Alliance (SEA) and an active participant in advocacy efforts to help promote cap relief.