Are you searching for a top-rated landscaper in Los Angeles County ? Are you getting overwhelmed with the sheer volume of landscapers in the greater Los Angles county? Not all landscapers are created equal, and often times you get what you pay for.

Allow us to help you understand what to look for when hiring a landscaper in LA County. Before we give you some advice, it’s important to know the financial impact that landscaping can have on the value of your home.  As a general contractor in Los Angeles , we understand the importance of having a well-maintained home.

According to industry experts, a professionally landscaped home can improve the value of your home on average by 5-12% .  If you’re trying to sell a home in the Los Angeles county area that’s worth $500,000, consider hiring a top-rated landscaper. Doing so could increase the value of your home by $25,000 – $60,000!

According to John Gidding , host of HGTV’s “Curb Appeal” and Logo TV’s “Secret Guide to Fabulous”, landscaping has helped increase the resale value of some homes by an astonishing 150%!

Now that you know how much you can expect your home value to increase, let’s review some tips to hiring a contractor in Los Angeles County.

Tip #1 for Hiring a Landscaper

Make sure your landscaping goals can be completed by the contractor. As you may expect, each local LA County landscaper will have different skills and competencies. If you know exactly what you want, you should ask the landscaper if they can share pictures of projects they have completed that are similar. This will help you understand what the limits are for each local landscaper and may help you find one that can really deliver what you’re looking for.

If you aren’t sure what your goals are, it would be smart to have a conversation with the landscaper to get their ideas, suggestions, and thoughts on the project. If you feel that the company can deliver what you’re looking for, make sure to ask for pictures as well as some references.

Some landscapers in LA County are great salespeople, but aren’t able to deliver! Proceed with caution if they are unable to provide references and/or pictures of work completed.

Tip #2 for Hiring a Landscaper

Get a contract in writing, with all of the deliverables and timeframe for completion . Once the goals have been established, the next step is to ensure everything is in writing. You as the homeowner know what to expect, and the contractor knows exactly what they need to do. We suggest doing this, regardless of the budget. Even if it’s only for a $500 job, having a contract in writing helps protect both sides.

Most LA County landscapers will create the contract, which is a good sign. Other landscapers won’t. If they don’t do this as part of their standard process, that doesn’t necessarily mean they refuse to. They may do excellent work but just don’t have their customer service processes in place! On the other hand, if a landscaper refuses to create and sign a contract, or the contract contains language that is not specific enough, it may be time to look for someone else.

If push comes to shove and you have to go to court, a well-written contract will protect both parties!

Tip #3 for Hiring a Landscaper

Learn about their Warranties and Guarantees. You can get a warranty on a big screen TV, and you can get a satisfaction guarantee with most service contractors, so a local landscaping company should be willing to do the same. A warranty merely implies that they will stand by their work after it’s complete! If you’re hiring a local Los Angeles County landscaper who doesn’t stand by their work, you should consider someone else.

Similar to the point about getting a contract in writing, you’ll want to make sure the warranty/guarantee is in writing as well.

Tip #4 for Hiring a Landscaper

Check out online reviews! There are no shortage of online review sources, and we suggest reading a variety of different sources. If an LA County landscaper has a 1-star review, make sure you read the review to understand what went wrong. It may have been due to poor expectations on the customer’s end, which shouldn’t necessarily reflect badly upon the company. Understanding the context of each review is very important.

Did the company respond to each review, not just the negative ones? This may be a sign that the landscaper is committed to customer satisfaction!

Consider Hiring these Local Landscapers in Los Angeles County: