price per acre???

[MIGHTYBRITE]

I will be bidding on approx.4 1/2 acres. It has an average number of obstacles, some hills(not too steep), and a pond. What is a good range for a price per acre? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, John
Mighty Brite Outdoor Services

[dave_n_mulberry]

figure how long it will take then bid it. i have one 5 acre property that takes 2. hours on i have another 5 acre that takes me almost 5 hours. one i get 80.00 per cut the other $170.00 per cut.
............

[MIGHTYBRITE]

Thanks Dave. I'm still kinda new to this, so what you're saying is charge for time-not necessarily the amount to be cut.
thanks again,John
M.B.O.S.

[dave_n_mulberry]

if you charge on time you will never go wrong. unless you think it takes 1 hour but when you do it it takes 3 hours. you gotta get burnt at least once.

[Seascape]

I would end up in the $300 range on that right off the bat. Thats going off some of the cuts i have now.

Mike

[Phil Nilsson]

MIGHTYBRITE ... break it down by what machine will be used cutting what amount of grass ... within the 4 1/2 acres. Some of the areas you might be cruising at the rate of two acres an hour, other areas at a far lower cut per hour due to terrain, obstacles, hills. If you were looking at best production machine that will "fit into" the areas, you might be looking at using 3 diff mower sizes which will impact total cut time.

Phil

[VALLEYWIDE]

wouldnt it be easier to charge $50 an acre. i mean if its an easy 5 acres id charge $100 if its a hard one charge $200

[dave_n_mulberry]

charge $50.00 an acre sounds high as a blanket price. if it is good ground and you have a good mower say it takes you two hours. you think they will keep you when you are charging $100.00 per hour?

[Seascape]

Originally posted by dave_n_mulberry
charge $50.00 an acre sounds high as a blanket price. if it is good ground and you have a good mower say it takes you two hours. you think they will keep you when you are charging $100.00 per hour?

Ya know i get sensitive about this. I dont think $200 for 4.5 acres is to much to ask by any means.

I didnt go out and invest 50k in mowers so i can run around and pass out price breaks to all the local property owners. Im only going to split my production assets so much with a client,, you know what i mean? Thats fine i get in and out quicker and get on to another site that much faster, but getting that way didnt do my check book any favors so why should i do any favors for they're check book?

i know its a competitive issue,, blah,,blah,,blah,,, but really gentlemen,, just how far down do we want to drive our prices down?

How long will they keep you @ $100 per hr? Well lets see,,, 17k truck,3k trailer,16k in ztrns,4k in a walkbehind,2k in 2cycle,2-3 men@ 9-11 per hour,15 yrs experience, ,,,,, they should keep you a while.

Mike

[Easy Way Lawn Care]

here is a general guideline based on one person with a 52 " ztr

To cut trim and blow it should in general take you 3.23 hours (194 minutes) now just take that and multiply by your hourly rate. Keep in mind this is a general guideline you may be faster then this but with the same equipment I doubt you would be slower.

[MEvans857]

Originally posted by Seascape
Ya know i get sensitive about this. I dont think $200 for 4.5 acres is to much to ask by any means.
I didnt go out and invest 50k in mowers so i can run around and pass out price breaks to all the local property owners...........

I love the straight up post from Mike!!

[Sammy]

$15.00 per acre.


Assumeing the pond is 3 acres.....

[justmjc]

$30 per acre min.