Landscape Management Programs for HOA's

Landscape Management Programs for HOA’s

                                                               

During the past thirty years I have had the opportunity to work with many different Homeowner Associations in terms of landscape maintenance and management.  This has involved onsite troubleshooting of plant and irrigation problems as well as developing site specific landscape management programs.    

A good landscape management program not only meets the day to day upkeep required of landscapes, but also ensures long term health of plants and overall aesthetics.  A good site specific landscape management program will help in keeping maintenance costs down while keeping long term property values up. 

In the Las Vegas Valley each HOA Development, of condominiums, townhouses, or single family residences, common area landscapes of each are often unique.  Landscape use or function often varies from property to property as well as plant  types, soil types and conditions, and micro/macro climates that create the landscape environment.

Landscape management programs can be provided or developed by a landscape maintenance company or the Homeowners Association.  Most landscape maintenance or landscape management companies utilize landscape maintenance programs in maintenance of their properties.  Most often the programs are generic although a few landscape management companies may provide site specific programs. 

A few years ago I was asked by a Homeowners’ Association to assist in selection of a landscape maintenance company to maintain their condominium development.  The HOA was experiencing a high turnover in landscape maintenance contractors which resulted in a negative impact on the condition of the landscape.  The HOA did not have a site specific landscape maintenance program and was dependent on each contractor to provide a generic program with their bid.  In addition, there was not any agreed upon ‘standard level of maintenance’; therefore, bids submitted by contractors were wide spread ranging from $3,000 to $5,000 per month and each time the HOA would accept low bid.  Awarding the contract to low bid is acceptable if the difference between the low and high bid are close and fall within an acceptable range. To help this HOA it was necessary to develop a site specific landscape maintenance program that would become an integral part of the bid and contract specifications.  For the first time contractors were bidding ‘apples to apples’.  Bids came in at $3,800 to $4,100.  At first glance, the $3,800 may seem considerably higher than $3,000, but as I once heard a wise landscape consultant say at a landscape maintenance conference, “it costs, what it costs, what it costs”.  Landscapes are expensive to install and when properly maintained improve the quality of our lives and increase the value of our property. 

Site specific landscape management programs also place control for both short and long term landscape health and aesthetics in the hands of the homeowners and the property management company.  Landscape cultural practices often involve the application of fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals all of which carry a certain degree of liability for the HOA and property management company.  Therefore, it is important to have the control necessary to provide not only an attractive landscape, but also a safe landscape.