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| Wednesday, April 19, 2006 |
| A cost of home ownership |
It is the time of year where peer pressure from neighbors is making me anxious to improve my home's curb appeal. Up and down the street landscapers are appearing and front yards are cleared of leaves, grass is trimmed, and bushes are pruned. Acres and acres of mulch are being spread in flower beds.
I spent about $1,000 last Spring to have my little lot of land cleared. The yard was a wasteland of overgrown brambles and bushes. It took days for the crew to clear out the overgrowth from my 5,000 square foot lot. This year I am just looking for the seasonal clearout. The quote I went with was $270 to mow, till, rake, weed-wack, and haul all away. Then another $240 for mulching. So $510 is the expected cost.
I take care of mowing and trimming through out the rest of the season. I figure I am always charged a bit more for the clean-ups since I don't have an ongoing relationship with a landscaper.
This is all just a drop in the bucket of what I will eventually spend to bring the outside of my house up to snuff. I am still waiting to see if I will be granted a variance for a second driveway. Glaciers move faster than building department hearings. I may get on the docket this year or I may not. Meanwhile all of the major improvements are on hold until I get a yea or nay.
Update: Figures - this always happens to me. My original landscaper who blew me off last week just showed up and undercut the other guys price by almost 1/2. So now I have had to call and cancel for tomorrow and my original, now much cheaper, guy will start on Saturday. *Sigh* I am thrilled to be saving money, but I hate canceling jobs on folks. |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 6:40 PM *
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