# Propery bidding for home owners associations and best way to clear them



## Bean5912 (Mar 18, 2014)

This is my first Homeowners association bid so i couldnt really find what i was looking for.. not new to the plowing but new to the home owners... if one has 43 drives and walkways to clear, do you figure out how many hours it will take and charge based on that, or do you do each driveway like you would if it was just a residential customer ( i do mostly residential, just started getting into commercial as i have grown and have the proper equipment ) they have a 2" trigger and require calcium chloride for walkways and rock salt for drives. 

Also, what is the best way to attack these? trucks or snowblowers if they are sequential driveways?


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

How do they want it bid?


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## Bean5912 (Mar 18, 2014)

grandview;1816122 said:


> How do they want it bid?


It's pretty much just like a commercial property, 2"
Trigger , seasonal price. Walkways and salting and any eagresses and mailbox, all the stipulations are pretty standard with any commercial or resi. Just not sure if you bid it as if each driveway was an individual customer ... All walkways and driveways have to be salted.


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## Bean5912 (Mar 18, 2014)

Bean5912;1816126 said:


> It's pretty much just like a commercial property, 2"
> Trigger , seasonal price. Walkways and salting and any eagresses and mailbox, all the stipulations are pretty standard with any commercial or resi. Just not sure if you bid it as if each driveway was an individual customer ... All walkways and driveways have to be salted.


It's also a 3 year contract and the landscape contract is the same if not longer


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## Buswell Forest (Jan 11, 2013)

Bean5912;1816080 said:


> This is my first Homeowners association bid so i couldnt really find what i was looking for.. not new to the plowing but new to the home owners... if one has 43 drives and walkways to clear, do you figure out how many hours it will take and charge based on that, or do you do each driveway like you would if it was just a residential customer ( i do mostly residential, just started getting into commercial as i have grown and have the proper equipment ) they have a 2" trigger and require calcium chloride for walkways and rock salt for drives.
> 
> Also, what is the best way to attack these? trucks or snowblowers if they are sequential driveways?


Oy vey.

Can you give us a google sat pic of the place?

I would wonder about the cars...if you have to wait for them to come out and move them, that takes time....and they will always back out, and then clean off the snow right in the travel lanes..so you have to clean that up..and they will be right in your way out there glaring at you because YOU MADE IT SNOW....and what about the idiots that wait until you leave to move? And then how do you salt a drive with cars in it?
Is there room to put snow? Or is it all landscaped with tender bushes that can't have snow blown on them?

All I know is it would have to be very lucrative to get me in a 43 unit HOA.


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## Bean5912 (Mar 18, 2014)

well the way the HOA i setup is they are all town homes, and the drives are pretty much just like individual residential drives.. one driveway services 2 townhomes..... i just didnt know if people go about pricing them as if each townhome or driveway was a typical residential? their requirements are pretty much the same as any reputable company would give to residential customers, 2" trigger, then the 3 and 5 rule comes in after,


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## Pristine PM ltd (Oct 15, 2005)

Pricing them like a residential will make you more expensive then probably the 3 most expensive companies in your area.

Do you have to plow the roadway? Sidewalks? Front Steps?

I find it hard to make money on the smaller Condo's. You need a couple of them close together.

A bit more info and I will have 2 cent's for you.


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## Bean5912 (Mar 18, 2014)

there is another HOA for the same company a few miles up the road.. these all fall within my current routes for snow removal, one HOA has a sidwalk around maybe a 1/2 mile along with a 1/2 mile road to plow, driveways are standard 1-2 car driveways, walkways shoveled, everything salted. 2" trigger. typically to plow residential driveway around here, with shoveling a walk for the season with a 3" trigger is $350-400, salt would add another $200 to that price. the market where i am is completely saturated, brickman pretty much owns the commercial market up here, i have a bunch of snowblowers, 3 3/4 trucks with v blades and salters, and 6 guys ( driver, shoveler) for each truck.


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## Bean5912 (Mar 18, 2014)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/V...e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x2d4df458a62eeb9b?hl=en


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## ryde307 (Dec 3, 2009)

You would price it as one stop. Take your total time estimated on site x your hourly rate add per time salt and you have a per time price. Multiply that by # of events and get a seasonal price. Add or subtract whatever you need for whatever reason and your set. If you priced it as each one an individual drive you will be way to high.


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## Quizzle007 (Jun 7, 2012)

Check your demographics. Hit the average snowfall totals and days of total for your area. One stop bid at total time with your hourly value (shove and salt $85 hr) x avg amount of snow days x the amount of months you will be obligated.......There's your seasonal bid.


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## snowman55 (Nov 20, 2007)

Around here its $30-$40 per unit per month for a year round account. I just bid a similar one the way ryde says which is how I bid every thing and it came in at $95 per unit per month. They went with a guy at $30. No way he can provide the scope of service at that price, once he realizes he is losing money he will have no choice but to skimp on the scope of service and quality, which is why most associations think all contractors suck.


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## ryde307 (Dec 3, 2009)

Bidding by unit can be tricky. I would calculate it out as one stop figure total time and costs.
We just got one that I bid at cost ( not going to explain why) and it came to $57 a unit per month. I know of another that just went for $29 a unit per month.


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