“Why can’t I have an outdoor fireplace?”
“What do you mean I can’t put eight glowing reindeer on my roof?”
“The grass isn’t getting mowed often enough.”
“The grass is getting mowed too often.”
Is it possible to keep everyone happy with the landscaping at an HOA or condo association?
(You really want us to say yes. We can feel it.)
Sorry. This is a huge challenge.
The good news is we’re in this together. When you have a partner, everything seems easier, right?
Every challenge has a solution. Let’s take a look.
1. Keeping Things Trendy
Let’s face it, when it comes to cool places to live, there’s a lot of competition out there.
And a lot of potential buyers and renters assume newer is better. They want the high-end, trendy perks they see their friends posting about on Instagram.
To be competitive, you need more than pretty landscaping at community entrances and a nice community pool.
If you don’t offer the latest perks, another HOA will, and why let them attract all the coolest new residents?
What innovative HOA amenities will bring new residents knocking on the door?
Community gardens. Car-charging stations. Co-working spots. Exercise trails. Dog parks.
Don’t fall behind. Great commercial landscaping services will help you compete.
2. Rules, Rules, Rules
Most HOAs have a lot of rules, and many of them have to do with the landscaping.
There are rules about fences and flowers, mulch and mowing. But every community has its rule breaker, right?
You can save a lot of headaches by making sure everybody involved, from your HOA board to residents to your commercial landscaping services, knows the rules.
Most of the questions homeowners have are answered in their set of HOA guidelines. All those regulations are there for a reason — to keep the community tidy, appealing, and uniform for the residents.
Explaining rules and enforcing them isn’t exactly fun.
Neither are cars rusting in driveways and ugly half-completed outdoor projects lingering for months.
Encourage everybody to respect the rules.
3. Communication
So many problems can be avoided with good communication.
Residents expect it from their HOA board or property manager. You expect it from your commercial landscaping services. Everybody likes to be in the know.
Consider seasonal newsletters that give a heads up about the services the landscaping company will be doing in the coming weeks and months.
Dedicate part of your HOA website to Frequently Asked Questions about landscaping issues.
Invite your commercial landscaping services account manager to attend your board meetings to foster a great relationship and keep everybody informed.
Clear, honest communication between your HOA board members and your commercial landscaping company’s account manager will keep things running smoothly and your homeowners happy.
4. Complaints (Insert Heavy Sigh Here)
We know it’s tempting to post a sign at your entrance: No Complainers Allowed.
Sorry, it’s not that easy.
Yes, you’ll have a defined set of HOA guidelines with the rules people need to follow, but when homeowners complain, they’re not going to the rule book.
They’re coming to you.
You’ll get blamed for things. People might get huffy.
It’s impossible to make everybody happy all the time.
If the complaints are about your commercial landscaping services, speak up and let your account manager know, so you can solve the problem together, whether it's about keeping the pool area tidy or not creating a racket early in the morning.
5. Budget Issues
In most cases, landscaping services can be one of the biggest portion of an HOA’s yearly budget. So, you want to spend wisely. But you also need to plan ahead and be willing to spend money where it's needed to keep your property looking great and to fix small issues before they become big expensive problems.
Choose commercial landscaping services happy to help you out with this.
Cory Essman, division manager at North by Northwest Commercial Landscaping and Grounds Management, gives his customers options.
He’ll give a price for critical irrigation repairs, like a pipe break that’s wasting a lot of water and not properly watering landscape plantings. Then he’ll give a price for non-critical needs, like fixing crooked heads or raising valves.
Can’t afford everything at once? No problem. He’ll help you prioritize the critical needs and the rest can wait.
We’re happy to suggest ways you can make your HOA community look great and attract future buyers and save money in the long run.
We might suggest drip irrigation or switching to xeriscape landscaping that needs little water.
Quick tip for you: be open and honest about your budget needs. We get it. We’re a business, too.
And speaking of budget, don’t be tempted to go with the commercial landscaping services that offers the lowest bid. A drastically lower bid likely means the company is cutting corners somewhere.
You could actually end up spending more in the long run to fix an unqualified company’s landscaping mistakes.
6. Staying on Top of Safety Issues
There’s a lot at stake here.
Dead branches could topple onto pedestrians or cars.
Wayward branches can snag passersby. Overgrown shrubs can hamper visibility and obscure signage. Cracked or crumbling paths are trip hazards.
Good commercial landscaping services don’t just make things pretty. They keep your property safe by looking out for potential safety hazards.
Challenges? Tackle Them with North by Northwest
It’s tough when you’re the point person at an HOA or community association.
You want to make everybody happy. But that's a lot of people to please.
Let us help take some of the stress off your plate.
We’re proud of the meticulous HOA landscaping we do for our customers and the great relationships we’ve forged with their boards.
We understand that HOA landscaping is crucial to how your property looks, feels, and attracts new buyers.
You shouldn’t have to explain that to your landscaping company — or nag them about it.
We’d love to partner with you to make your landscaping impressive and your job hassle-free.
Are you ready for stress-free landscaping? Schedule a time to meet with one of our experts today. We’ll gather the details, create a customized plan just for you, and you can stop stressing as we improve and beautify your HOA community.
