Garden landscaper offer ok or rather totally exaggerated?

Well, nowadays I don’t know anyone who really lets the garden landscaper do everything, not even the people who have the money.

Our neighbors two houses down had the same garden landscaper and had him do work for about €300,000. But very elaborate. They also have him handle all the garden maintenance.

Find yourself a cheap, maybe Polish or I don’t know what kind of paver, have him do what you can’t manage yourself, because paving is really tough...

I don’t understand how to divide that up cleanly. I’m already fine with having separated trades inside the house and now having to coordinate everything. If you don’t commission the company completely, they will surely charge separately for the upcoming execution planning, and just that alone is—a chunk according to HOAI—that probably makes separating it unattractive. Everything has to go hand in hand...

And on the topic of "doing it yourself." I won’t manage anything at all. I have zero green thumb (my wife neither) and above all no time. I’m self-employed, working six days a week, sometimes seven, and I won’t spend the precious little free time I have installing a roll lawn or something where I would be completely clueless...

For the time after, we thought about hiring a minor employee for garden maintenance—e.g., a retiree interested from the neighborhood or something like that. Some acquaintances have that and get along perfectly fine. The robot mower takes care of lawn care, the irrigation system the watering, and for professional pruning etc., you can have the specialist company come 1-2 times a year.

My thread should not be understood as "Wow, this is all so expensive, rip-off, how do I best negotiate it?" but rather it’s more about checking whether the offer seems serious and fair or if it’s simply excessive. As I said, garden landscaping is very difficult nowadays, just finding a provider willing to sit down and tell you which direction they would take is a challenge…

So honestly, I find the offer horrendous. I wish you your money, but throwing 300k out the window, that's not how you keep the money you earned for long, someone else ends up with it. In your case, the landscape gardener.

A friend of mine was offered a similar scope all in in BW for 80,000, so in comparison.

You should learn from the things that went wrong with the house. Does the garden really have to be finished immediately?

I would first make sure the house is fine, move in, and then start with the garden like everyone else does.

Inform yourself this time how garden irrigation actually works, what you really want, and not just leave everything to the "pros" again.

Only with the pool (having it done costs about 70k) would I already look now. It's much easier to put it in now than later when there are houses around you, etc. And you should also plan it with the heating, e.g. with a larger solar panel area, etc.

You should learn from the things that went wrong with the house. Does the garden have to be finished immediately?

No, it doesn’t have to. It is planned anyway not to commission this offer in full at the beginning but only the front side plus terrace areas at first. But even that is a considerable amount, so I have to think carefully whether it fits within the scope of the offer or not.

Only with the pool (getting it done costs about 70k) I would already take a look now. It is definitely easier to install it now than later when there are houses around you, etc. And you should also plan for it in the heating system, e.g. with a larger solar area, etc.

That’s probably too late – the solar system and heating are already installed.

Preparing a pool only makes sense if the pool is also planned in detail. And I don’t know when we will do it. Maybe in three years, maybe in six... that naturally also depends on the business success. Their garden landscaper says doing the pool works completely at the end might cost about 10,000 extra. For that, I wouldn’t want to have an excavated pit in the garden for years now.

Outdoor facilities cost
If you have no time, you have to outsource the service
I would also take 1 company
If your neighbor is satisfied, with a high-quality facility you have a good chance not to have the same problems as with the house itself

Do you have a comparative offer

Do you have a comparative offer

That's exactly the problem. When the garden landscapers hear it's about a comparative offer, I have the feeling they shut down. They then know that they won't get the contract with a pharmacist's offer and are probably - if they are good - booked out for months anyway.

And honestly, it would be enough for me if I knew whether there are positions in my offer that are completely over the top. I assume that the provider will carry out the implementation but I guess something will still have to be negotiated... but to do that, I also need to know for which positions that makes sense.

In any case, I am also willing to pay good money for a good provider. No question. I don't want to have any problems there. That is also gladly worth 15-20% more than elsewhere. But if in the end it is 40-50% more, then you should have a conversation and know which positions it relates to. These are just my thoughts.

Are these really pharmacist prices?
48 euros/hour is really not a rip-off

Outdoor facilities are time-consuming, plus machines and materials

Currently, there are no bargains
Whether positions are overpriced can only be determined by comparison. Are there individual material items? You can ask building material dealers yourself