Background: I have about 3/4 acre of very poorly kept yard. Lots of weeds, grows like...well, weeds, in the summer - like it really needs cut weekly to look decent. I rarely cut it that often, so the yard is usually a little shaggy. I don't like yard work. I used to hate it with the burning hate of 1000 suns, but last year I started to find a zen peace with it. Still don't like it and would rather be doing something else, but also am okay with getting it done and I feel good about it once it is done. I did landscaping for a while after college and enjoyed it for a while, so maybe I'm starting to recapture some of that. Part of this change was taking a little better care of my ancient monster riding mower. It came with the house, 42" cut Murray tractor with a 16hp Briggs V-Twin that looked like it came off a Harley. Loud as berkeley. Missing most bodywork and with poorly welded add-on bars to achieve a redneck Mad Max sort of asthetic. I have a love-hate relationship with the thing. I had to work on it regularly, parts were hard to get, and it wasn't real fast. It took me 2+ hours to mow the yard completely, plus another half hour weed eating. If the damn weed eater ran, which it hasn't in a while and it sucked when it did. My wife has been telling me for five years to get a new mower, but when it ran the damn thing was unstoppable.
Well, last sunday the engine finally let go. Like, it sounded like I mowed over a cast iron chevy intake, then a lot of clattering, then a locked up motor with smoke coming out the dipstick tube. I sold it for $80 on CL and counted my blessings.
But now I can't decide what to do. I don't have the funds to buy a used mower. Most of the riding mowers on CL around here that are in better shape than mine are $500-$1000 dollars. After medical bills last year and both cars needing tires, savings are tapped, plus I feel like I'd be buying the same frustration I was having. No thanks. That leaves me two options:
A. The local commercial mower shop has a 0% financing offer. I can buy something like a 24 horse commercial-grade 48" cut ZTR and a Stihl weed eater and be around $125/mo for 42 months. Plusses are: The ZTR should cut my mow time in half (increased ground speed, more likely to mow more often if I can turn key and go.) I also have the option to mow when and as needed instead of waiting on someone else's schedule, and yard guys are notoriously fickle. I get a shiny new mechanical toy. Minusses are: Including fuel and regular maintenance costs, it puts me out about $1650 per year. I still have to block out a couple hours a week (including fueling and weed-eating) and do the work myself, taking me away from other things I want/have to do. Once I buy I'm essentially locked into a 4 year contract that I have to pay off to break.
B. I have a neighbor with a lawn care business. He generally won't do a contract for less than $200 a month, but he said he would beat anybody else I got a quote from since we're neighbors. I think I could get him to mow, weed, and blow the yard to my satisfaction for $150 a month on a 12 month contract. I don't know him, really, but we've both lived on the street six or eight years. He's done the lawn care thing for several years but tends to focus on irrigation systems. Plusses are: I don't have to do anything about the yard and can spend that time on other hobbies. If thing's don't work out I can always stop the service and buy a mower. Minusses are: I'm out $1800/ year indefinitely, maybe more. Might piss off a neighbor if I break contract, ask for too much, etc. I have no real idea about his dependability, and I know he's already cutting his rate and doing something that isn't his prime focus, which makes me worry about commitment level. IF something happens I don't have a backup plan besides going out and buying a mower. Part of me has issues paying money every month without some real property to show for it.
Part of me feels like I should be doing this myself, and I was getting a certain level of satisfaction out of it. The other voice in my head says if I'm paying every month, I might as well be paying to have someone else do the work so I can go play if the difference isn't that much. I can afford either of the figures above without much trouble, but much more would start to pinch.
So...any advice? Experiences?
) In one season the back yard was as tall as the six foot privacy fence and our dogs were covered in ticks. That doesn't take into account the increase in rodent and snake activity or the fact the shrubs that grew required a chainsaw to take down. So unfortunately, not an option in the sunny south that is a lot like living in a tropical jungle. The vegetation WANTS your house. It NEEDS your house.
