How Austin homeowners pay for yard work, from a mow to a backyard

Maintenance: monthly, no contract

Mowing, bed care and lawn programs are billed monthly by card or bank transfer, at the price on the written scope, and stop with a week's notice. Seasonal items such as mulch, color and aeration are itemized the month they happen. There is no deposit and no contract for residential maintenance.

Tree work: paid when the tree is down

Trimming and removal are paid on completion at the written price. A removal that needs a City of Austin permit may carry the permit fee and any arborist letter up front, itemized, since those are paid to the city before the job can be scheduled. Crane jobs may require a deposit to book the crane.

Projects: a deposit, then stages

Design and installation, hardscape, sod jobs over a few pallets and irrigation installations carry a deposit stated on the estimate, typically a third, to order materials and plants and hold the schedule. The balance is due on completion, or in stages on a large project with hardscape, irrigation and planting phases. The design plan fee, where there is one, is paid when the plan is delivered and credited against the installation.

Financing

For a project in the thousands, the installing contractor can connect you with third-party home-improvement financing with fixed monthly payments. The lender sets approval, rates and terms; the contractor and this site do not. Ask when the estimate is written and the details come with the price.

Insurance

Homeowners insurance does not pay for a dead lawn, a diseased tree or a patio that heaved because it had no base. It may pay to remove a tree that fell on a covered structure in a storm, and sometimes for the damage a falling limb did to a fence or a roof. Photograph before anything is touched, call the carrier, and ask for the itemized sheet and dated photos; both are provided for a claim. A tree that falls in the yard and hits nothing is usually the owner's cost.

The HOA letter

If an HOA in Cedar Park, Round Rock, Leander or a gated community has written about the lawn, the beds or a dead tree, bring the letter. The estimate prices exactly what it asks for, and any change visible from the street goes through the architectural submittal before the work, so the job closes the file.

Written opinions

When a buyer, a seller or an inspector wants a written statement on a tree's condition or a drainage problem, the contractor provides one with photos for a flat fee, credited against any work that follows.