What financial value should I attach?

last year

This is not an annual issue, but this is the most active forum I frequent.

I am selling my 2.3 acre property. I have been living with my elderly mother 2 hours from the property. My neighbor, who agreed to mow my lawn with my mower, in exchange for use of the mower for his yard, neglected to inform me that the mower "broke". So, I arrived to find 2-3 feet of "grass" that needed attention.

So, my realtor recommended a lawn service. I met with the owner, in person, and I informed him that there was an asparagus patch, a strawberry patch, scattered shrubs marked with orange flags, a pollinator garden, clearly marked, etc.

Long story short, everything got mowed. Interestingly, the orange flags are intact, but the shrubs were mowed down. I have photos from after. They also mowed a raspberry hedge, though that should regrow, with time.

In addition, I had one-year old deer/rabbit fencing that I planned to remove and relocate to my mother's property. The owner of the lawn service said, "Oh, we can roll that up for you." They attached a tractor to the fence and ripped it out. The deer fencing has tears in it, and the rabbit fencing is a mangled mess. A rubbish service has since hauled the rabbit fencing away.

My question for you, how do I value 150 3-year old asparagus plants, and 500+ mature strawberry plants that were mowed down? I presume they will grow back next year, but they are invisable to potential buyers. Similarly, the rasberry patch. It's invisable, currently. But, it would add value to the property.

I'm tempted to refuse to pay the lawn service at all. They also destroyed a native pollinator garden that I established from seed. They also mowed down 8 3-year old high bush cranberries, which were marked with flags, and a dogwood, also marked.

Any opinions or thoughts would be welcome.

Martha

Featured Answer

docmom_gw
Original Author

last year

I will clarify. I don't think the "damage" amounts to anything I could try to recoupe financially related to the sale of the property. But, I don't feel like paying full price for the lawn work that was completely at odds with what I had requested. Plus, I had to hire a rubbish service to remove the mangled fencing, and purchase new to use in my current garden. While mowing down 150 3-year old asparagus plants and hundreds of strawberry plants is not the end of the world, it would be nice for a potential buyer to know those plantings are there for future enjoyment. I can't be present for every (or any) tour of the property. So, I can't give my two cents worth. I have considered writing a brief description of what makes the property special. But, my daughter is getting married next Saturday, and my priorities are currently elsewhere.

Again, I so appreciate all the input from each and every one of you. It might sound corny, but you are some precious friends. Good to know there are knowledgeable and honest folks to turn to.

Martha

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Comments (11)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
Unfortunately, the only financial value these sorts of plants have is replacement value......what they would cost today at a local plant nursery. Age and size rarely have an impact unless you are dealing with trees.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
last year
I’m not sure where you are or what the market is like there, but here the land is the primary thing of value, and in some cases the house but that could be considered a tear-down possibly. So in that sort of market, some plants could be a negative but they are rarely much of a positive. My guess would be that, for most buyers, the loss or temporary disappearance of certain plants would be of minimal concern/value. I consider our garden is for our pleasure and would have no effect on overall value here - more potential buyers are likely to rip a lot of it out as being too much work than there would be potential buyers who are attracted by and willing to pay for the plantings….
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dbarron
last year
Sadly woody is correct. Plantings add curb appeal in some cases, but usually not value.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
last modified: last year
"Plantings add curb appeal in some cases, but usually not value."

That is not precisely true :-) A well designed and established landscape can add 15-20% (or more) to property values. But that is a landscape - including hardscaping (decks, patios, terraces), outdoor entertaining features (kitchen, fireplace, pizza oven, inground pool), and mature trees and shrubs. Edibles or kitchen gardens tend to have little to no value as they are often seasonal and require considerable maintenance.
docmom_gw
Original Author
last year
Thank you, all, for your responses.
diggerdee zone 6 CT
last year
Martha, maybe you can clarify, but I feel like you are asking what the value is because they damaged your property, not what the value is for resale purposes. It's a fine line I guess, but even though I feel like the disappearance of these gardens/plants might not really affect the resale value of the property, I think regardless of whether you are selling or not, the company was really negligent. They may have no idea you are selling, and what if you weren't? I think you are owed something for their negligence. But what that is, I just don't know.

Perhaps you can gather costs of replacement for anything they irreparably damaged, and present the owner with those costs, and work out an agreement (discount, freebie, etc) from there. I would be sure to mention also that some of these plants/plantings were more established and larger than new plants, and also mention the cost of (your) labor. You might also gently suggest that the outcome of this situation will affect your report to the Better Business Bureau (am I showing my age lol?) Perhaps you should say instead it will affect your Yelp review or your review on their website/FB page.

Good luck to you! I know you are dealing with a lot so I hope this works out for you!

:)

Dee
dbarron
last year
Yes, as far as ire goes, I'd be horrified if a landscaping service scalped my yard. I'd almost make sure to put them out of business (but I'm a plant dad and some people wouldn't understand that I waited for X years for that plant to mature).
littlebug zone 5 Missouri
last year
last modified: last year
Diggerdee brings up a good point. I believe you have grounds to support nonpayment to the lawn service. But I do not believe you would be able to stretch that to permanent damages to the property for resale value.

I am myself a flower lover and have heavily planted the yards I have owned, especially the last one we sold. As luck would have it, when we sold we bought another house on the same street - which is a dead end. So I see my old yard every. single. day. So so sad to see what they have done to it. And NOT done to it.

Obviously many people do not love plants like some of us do. And don’t place the same value on it. So I think you’ll have an uphill battle on that.
docmom_gw thanked littlebug zone 5 Missouri
diggerdee zone 6 CT
last year
'... I don't think the "damage" amounts to anything I could try to recoupe financially related to the sale of the property. But, I don't feel like paying full price for the lawn work that was completely at odds with what I had requested...."

Yes, that's what I thought you were getting at. I do think you should try to get something back, if not even the full price.

In the meantime, congratulations on your daughter's wedding!! Yes, definitely a priority, and so nice to have something good to look forward to - it's been such a rough few years for so many. Enjoy yourself next weekend and then worry about those landscaping slackers lol!

:)

Dee
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last year
I would not pay for that at all. If they sue you, counter-sue for the plants, damages, & expenses. Sounds like it would be a wash in court with both parties walking away with nothing. If their business is big enough to bother, file a complaint with BBB.