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First and foremost please pardon me if my questions seems to be absurd(i know they are). I'm looking to buy a house with around 0.4-0.8 acre of lot size in a suburban area(Princeton Junction, NJ) , the drive way is closer to the road, more space is towards the back of the house. I've lived in apartment all my life, so don't have much of an idea about the following stuff.Please guide me.
(1) Lawn Mowing -
How much will it cost for lawn mowing, if we hire someone ??
How often do we need to do it? (once in 2 weeks during summer/spring??)
(2)Snow Removal -
How much would it cost to remove snow, if we hire someone?
Can we just remove the snow from driveway / do we need to remove it from the front lawn as well?
(3) Also, what are the other expenses that i should anticipate apart from the Mortgage & Insurance with respect to the house
Thanks Much!
Last edited by simplebuzz; 06-09-2013 at 06:52 PM..
I pay $38 per week for cutting the grass on my 2/3 of an acre, so I would expect a more or less similar rate on a property of .4-.8 acres. The most important thing is to contract with a company that charges by the cut, rather than a flat monthly rate regardless of how few times they cut the grass. If there is a lot of rain, and your grass is only cut 3 times that month, you don't want to have to pay a flat rate that includes a 4th cut that never took place.
Cutting every 2 weeks?
Unless you want your neighbors massing at your front door with pitchforks, ready to tar & feather you for maintaining an unsightly property, you really need to have the grass cut each week.
I can't tell you about snow removal costs, as I do that myself, with a gas-powered snow blower and a shovel. However, I can tell you that removing snow from your front lawn is...impractical...unnecessary...and ultimately, something that I have never seen done. The snow that accumulates most winters is actually very good for the grass, shrubs, and trees, as it provides moisture that sinks into the ground gradually. Removing it would be a disadvantage for your landscaping, IMHO.
And be careful of people that charge a flat fee BUT required 4 cuts a month (so basically a flat monthly fee). They insist on cutting your lawn 4 times a month even in October and November). Total rip off
The OP might mean the front sidewalk. If your neighborhood has sidewalks, you are probably responsible for keeping the sidewalks on your property clear of snow and ice.
1. Lawns. I don't know current costs, but assume you're going to need it mowed more frequently than every 2 weeks. The main growing season is more like every week. Spring/fall may be more like 2 weeks, depends on temps. If that size lot is mostly lawn to be mown (and not forest/wild), you would probably want a riding mower if you're doing it yourself.
2) Okay, picturing someone clearing snow from a front lawn actually made me laugh, I give you credit for that.
Anyway, yes you do need to clear the public sidewalk (most likely). I would caution that you probably don't really need to pay for snow removal. The yearly average snowfall is only ~25" or so. If you've got a huge driveway and are concerned about it, I'd probably just suggest buying a good two-stage snowblower and making sure it's in working order every October or so. The 1-4x a winter you'll need to use it won't be a big deal, and the days when you actually need to use it, you probably weren't going anywhere anyway, because the roads will still be a disaster.
First and foremost please pardon me if my questions seems to be absurd(i know they are). I'm looking to buy a house with around 0.4-0.8 acre of lot size in a suburban area(Princeton Junction, NJ) , the drive way is closer to the road, more space is towards the back of the house. I've lived in apartment all my life, so don't have much of an idea about the following stuff.Please guide me.
(1) Lawn Mowing -
How much will it cost for lawn mowing, if we hire someone ??
How often do we need to do it? (once in 2 weeks during summer/spring??)
(2)Snow Removal -
How much would it cost to remove snow, if we hire someone?
Can we just remove the snow from driveway / do we need to remove it from the front lawn as well?
You could save yourself a ton of money by buying a lawn mower and a snow blower up front and simply doing it yourself assuming you are able bodied. Never could figure out why someone would pay someone else to mow their lawn/clear their snow unless they were too old or infirm to do so themselves. $38 bucks a week!? Holy hell...I have to cut from about mid-April to the end of September-that's about $1000!
Quote:
Originally Posted by simplebuzz
(3) Also, what are the other expenses that i should anticipate apart from the Mortgage & Insurance with respect to the house.
That's pretty broad-are you buying new construction? In Princeton Junction I'd guess not since it's an older neighborhood, but it's hard to say without knowing more about the house. I live in a 1960s era ranch and have made a lot of improvements but as far as regular maintenance I do the following:
Mow lawn/weed whack/edge
Clear leaves in the Fall
Clear snow in Winter
Blow/rake yard waste and dispose of it
Power wash house/driveway/outdoor furniture (once a year)
Replace light bulbs, smoke detector batteries, etc...
Stain fence/decks (probably once every five years or so)
Other than that it's repairs as they come/as stuff wears out/breaks down.
I live in the area you are considering, and mostly the advice you have gotten is correct.
We pay the lawn cutters by the cut (not per week or month) as there are several months where we do NOT need it cut every week. We pay $35 per cut. We use the same people to plow the drive (if there is more than 5 inches I think is our agreement,) and that kind of varies by the snow storm.
This winter I dont think we used them at all
Lawn cut for 0.4 acre will be about $35, for 0.8 acre will be about $40. If you have too many flower beds or obstacles etc, it might be a bit higher, but not by much. Most people in the area pay by the cut. I have no idea about snow removal costs. Most people remove the snow from their driveway and put it over the lawn. You do not have to clear the lawn. If there is a sidewalk on your property, you have to clear that too, but most people do not do that (as far as I have seen).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Badfish740
You could save yourself a ton of money by buying a lawn mower and a snow blower up front and simply doing it yourself assuming you are able bodied. Never could figure out why someone would pay someone else to mow their lawn/clear their snow unless they were too old or infirm to do so themselves. $38 bucks a week!? Holy hell...I have to cut from about mid-April to the end of September-that's about $1000!
Badfish740- I used to think like that 10 yrs ago. Now, with 2 kids, and both of us working, it is hard to find time. The thing about lawns is that if you live in one of those newer developments where everyone has pristine lawns or if you just prefer to have great lawn, it has to be mowed regularly. Now the problem is it rains a lot in NJ, sometimes for 3 to 5 days at a time (off and on). So, the lawn gets wet and you are left with a small window to mow the lawn before the next set of rain days. If you miss that window, you might be facing 12 inch high lawn after 2 weeks. All of a sudden it becomes a lot of work. If you miss a lot, you will see a lot of weeds.
Also, it is not just cutting the grass, you have to bag, then there is edging (not a must, but most people do it), blow the grass clippings from sidewalk/driveway (again, not a must, but many people prefer to do it), cleanup the tools and put them back in the garage. For a 0.5acre lot, it could be a couple of hours of medium to high intensity work. So, $35 per cut is a bargain. I fought this battle for the first 7-8 years, but have now made my peace with paying $1K for lawn service/year.
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