Do You Just Need a Fall Cleanup — or Do You Need Ongoing Care?
“I got an HOA notice. Can you just clean it up?”
Yes. We do one-time cleanups for homeowners who got cited for weeds, debris, overgrowth, or general neglect. That solves the immediate problem, and sometimes that’s all you need.
But here’s the part nobody likes hearing: in most cases, the property didn’t get cited because you skipped a fall cleanup. It got cited because the yard hasn’t had consistent attention.
HOAs are usually looking for:
- Sightline safety: Can plants block sidewalks, driveways, or address numbers?
- Weed control: Are there obvious nuisance weeds in rock beds?
- Fire/visibility: Is dry or dead material piling up against walls or structures?
- Irrigation runoff onto sidewalks
Those are not seasonal issues. Those are maintenance issues.
Why once-a-year cleanup costs more than ongoing maintenance
A once-a-year cleanup is heavier work. Crews have to:
- Cut back material that should’ve been managed months ago
- Haul away large volumes of green waste
- Re-edge and redefine beds that disappeared under growth
- Reset the visual baseline of the property
That’s slow, labor-heavy work. So yes, it’s absolutely doable — but it’s also the most expensive way to “maintain” a yard.
When a seasonal cleanup makes sense
There *are* good reasons to schedule a dedicated fall or pre-winter cleanup:
- You want the property to present well for holiday traffic or sale photos
- You’re about to overseed or refresh planter beds
- You’d like us to reset pruning structure on shrubs/trees before the cooler season
Those are smart times to do a focused service.
The best strategy if you’re busy and don’t want to think about this
Most of our long-term clients do this:
1. Light recurring maintenance to keep things in spec and off the HOA radar.
2. Scheduled seasonal detailing (usually fall or spring) to make everything look “new” again.
That combo keeps cost reasonable, keeps you compliant, and keeps the yard from drifting into “we need to fix this now or the HOA will fine me.”
Your options
If you just need an emergency cleanup, we can do it. If you’re tired of cycling through emergency cleanups, we can build you into a regular route instead so the problem goes away. Ask us which option makes more sense for your property.
