A pre-sale garden clean up, before the photos and the open homes.
The garden is in every listing photo, and it is the first thing a buyer walks past. A tired front garden costs you at the first open home, and the fix is a day's work.
A pre-sale clean up is a tidy up done with the photos in mind. Edges cut sharp, beds cleared and mulched where it helps, hedges given a straight top, lawn mown and paths swept. The front garden and the entrance get the most time, because that is where the photographer stands and where buyers stop. I can spread mulch you supply or bring it myself; tell me which and it goes in the estimate.
Most pre-sale clean ups work best as two visits: a first pass a couple of weeks before the photos, and a shorter one the day before. That depends on the property and what you want from it, so send photos and I will suggest a plan. A property being sold with the garden properly overgrown starts on the overgrown clean up page.
Pre-sale jobs make a lot of waste, and a green bin never covers it. Everything is bagged and taken away, with the labour and the dump fees on-charged as in the Prices table.
What a visit covers
- Front garden and entrance first
- Weeding, cutting back, edging, mowing
- Hedge tops and lines, as high as I can reach from a standard stepladder, or single-storey roof height
- Section clearing and hedge reductions where the listing needs them, within the height limit
- Mulch spread, supplied by you or by me
- Everything bagged and taken away
Prices
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Garden work, any service | $60 per hour* |
| Minimum, regular visits | 1 hour |
| Minimum, one-off jobs | 2 hours |
| Green waste removal | $30 minimum, which covers the first bag. Then $25 per 280 L bag or $40 per wool sack. Trailer loads are time at the hourly rate plus dump fees at cost. |
| Other waste (soil, rubbish, flax, bamboo, palm, anything mixed in) | $45 minimum, then time at the hourly rate plus dump fees at cost. |
Every service, lawns and hedges included, is charged at the same hourly rate for the time I am on site.
*I am under the GST threshold, so no GST is added. That could change at any time; if it does, GST goes on top of the rate and this page changes first.
How this works
There are two ways to start. Send me a few photos and I reply within 24 hours with the hours the job will take. Or book a visit straight away and I sort the scope with you on the day.
- 1. Get in touch. Send photos through the estimate form, text them to 028 416 1624, or book a visit online.
- 2. Agree the hours. From photos, I tell you the range of hours within 24 hours. If you have booked straight away, I look at the garden when I arrive and agree the hours with you before I start. Either way, if the job turns out bigger than expected I tell you before I keep going, and if you have a set budget I work inside it and do the most useful things first.
- 3. I turn up and do the work. A text the day before and another when I am on my way. The clippings leave with me, and the invoice is for the hours worked, with a photo of the garden as I left it if you were not home.
Waste. Everything I cut leaves with me unless you would rather it went in your green bin. Removal is priced per bag in the Prices table.
What I don't do
I am a gardener, so a few jobs go to someone else. If yours needs one of these, I will say so up front.
- Tree felling, stump grinding, and tree work above stepladder or single-storey roof height: an arborist
- Hard landscaping, paving, retaining walls and decks: a landscaper
- Lawn renovation, returfing and new lawns: a lawn specialist
- Anything inside the house
Related services
FAQ
How far ahead should I book?
Can you work with the agent directly?
What will the waste cost?
Can I pay after settlement?
Do you tidy up for open homes after the first one?
Or call 028 416 1624