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An HOA deals with many layers of community life. From property maintenance to party planning, an HOA council assigns teams so homeowners never have to worry about these aspects of property management. HOA landscaping is part of this list.

The local lawns and park areas define the atmosphere of an HOA community. Landscaping influences the land’s health and it influences how residents and visitors alike feel when on the grounds. This is why landscaping and grounds maintenance are valued HOA concerns.

As the season begins to change to cooler weather, you might find that while you still enjoy being outdoors, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stay warm. Thankfully, outdoor fireplaces can help keep things more comfortable.

Just as they do inside homes, double-sided fireplaces bring unique benefits to outdoor spaces. And, just like they do inside homes, double-sided outdoor fireplaces add charm, sophistication and class to your landscape.

Whereas traditional wood-burning fireplaces require lots of space and venting — and are also normally built into an exterior wall — double-sided outdoor fireplaces are more attractive, efficient, can be installed in previously considered off-limits spaces, and don’t have the space limitations of traditional fireplaces.

Let’s take a closer look at the unique benefits of a double-sided outdoor fireplace...

Safety is paramount in any healthcare environment, from the dynamics inside to the conditions of the landscape. In terms of the latter concern, the winter in Northeast Ohio naturally invites more hazards for healthcare facilities. As snow and ice accumulate on parking lots, sidewalks and walkways, healthcare facilities become increasingly difficult for patients to access and also increase the potential for slips and falls (and subsequent injuries) on-site.

For those who oversee healthcare facilities management, here are a few helpful tips on how to keep your practice or hospital safe come wintertime.

When tenants leave a commercial space, filling these vacancies can become a costly endeavor for property owners. Aside from profit loss they endure between tenants (on average, vacancies last 40 days), there’s a slew of other expenses to consider:

• Marketing the property to attract new tenants (online and in print)
• Maintaining and cleaning the commercial space to prep it for a new tenant
• Processing paperwork and obtaining reports to screen/approve applications

With these costs in mind, it’s easy to see why high tenant retention rates are a critical metric of success for commercial property owners. Steady cash flow and fewer administrative and repair costs translate into higher profit margins for commercial properties — and in turn a more sustainable business model.

That leads us to the focus of this blog post. Based on the value that high tenant retention rates bring to the table, we wanted to share some tenant retention ideas for property owners to utilize.

While the square footage of homes has increased over the past several years, the opposite is true for lot sizes. Homes built in 1975 occupied just 13.9% of the lots on which they sit. For homes built since 2015, that number has jumped to 25%.

When you pair this trend with the growing interest in outdoor living spaces, it’s easy to see how homeowners can be left in a bit of a conundrum. Let’s use the backyard deck as an example. While homeowners want to make their deck as functional as possible, a lack of space can also lead to a game of picking and choosing what features to include — potentially eliminating a few options along the way.

With the goal of helping homeowners with small yards maximize their deck space, we’ve put together a list of ideas that combine the optimal layout with highly functional features…

The practice of dormant pruning is just what the name implies: it’s the pruning of deciduous trees and shrubs while they are still dormant in the winter. While winter pruning is recognized as one of the most effective ways to trim your trees and shrubs and keep them healthy year-round, we’ve put together a dormant pruning guide so you can get the job done right and see the best results.

With busy schedules and the rise of new technologies, children don’t spend as much time outside as they used to. In fact, research has shown the average child only spends four hours a week outside. (Compare that to the 8.2 hours a week their parents logged outdoors as children.)

Considering the positive impact that outdoors has on children’s physical and mental health, it’s important to find creative ways to get them outside into the fresh air and sunshine. And with the ultimate kid-friendly backyard, how could they resist.

You may have heard some buzz around paver patios. Their growing popularity. Their benefits over traditional patios. The various styles they come in.

It’s valuable to take things back even one step further and simply define what is a paver patio. The answer will provide insights into why paver patios continue to appear in more backyards — perhaps even those of some neighbors!

It was just a few weeks ago that we answered the question of why yes, you do need to winterize your sprinkler system. Now we want to turn our attention to another important question we hear from homeowners: When should I winterize my sprinkler system?

As is the case with other lawn and landscape maintenance, timing is important when it comes to winterizing irrigation systems. We’re here to help steer you down the right path.

1. Rake leaves.

2. Prune trees and shrubs.

3. Clean gutters.

Two homeowners can have the same to-do list for a landscaping fall cleanup, what often looks like the example above. But depending on the techniques that are used, each can experience vastly different results — from the time and effort required to the overall effectiveness.

With the help of these tips, you’ll experience fewer frustrations and unveil a green lawn come spring.