HOA and Realtor Pressure Washing Jobs: How to Win Them and Price Them

Residential walk-up work fills your week one driveway at a time. HOAs, property managers and real estate agents can fill it ten at a time, and they come back. Here is how to win that work and price it so it pays.

HOA violation letters: a customer with a deadline

Many HOAs inspect homes once or twice a year and send letters for mildew on roofs, black streaks on walls, and stained driveways. The letter usually gives the owner 14 to 30 days to fix it before a fine. That homeowner needs three things from you: a fast price, a date before the deadline and proof the work was done.

Make it easy:

• A page on your site for HOA notices, with your price ranges for the common violations: driveway, roof, walls, sidewalk
• A booking slot within a week. Deadlines are why they called
• Before and after photos sent with the invoice, so they can forward them to the HOA

Working with the HOA or management company directly

The bigger win is the community itself. Management companies handle common areas (entry walls, sidewalks, clubhouse, pool deck, mailbox kiosks) and they often recommend vendors to owners.

What they will ask for:

• A certificate of insurance naming the association, usually $1 million general liability
• A W-9
• References or reviews
• A clear price per home for group work, and a price for common areas

Email the community manager a one-page introduction with those attached and a photo of a job you did nearby. Follow up before inspection season.

How to price group jobs

When five or more homes on the same street book together, your setup and drive time drop. Pass part of that on:

• 5 to 9 homes: 10 percent off each
• 10 or more: 15 percent off each, scheduled over one or two days

Do not discount further. Ten driveways at $210 each, done in one long day without moving the trailer more than a few hundred feet, is the best day of the year at full margin. Collect from each homeowner separately, by card, on the day.

Realtors: curb appeal on a deadline

Listing photos are the first showing. Agents want the house, driveway and walkway clean before the photographer arrives, usually within two to five days of signing the listing.

What agents want:

• A 48 to 72 hour turnaround, every time
• One price for the package: house wash, driveway and front walk
• Someone who handles the seller directly, so the agent does not have to
• Billing to the seller, or to the agent at closing if they prefer

Visit five or ten agents who list homes in your area. Bring a card with your package price and a before and after. One active agent can send ten to twenty jobs a year, and the sellers become buyers who need their next house cleaned.

A sample agent package

Here is an example of a package that agents understand at a glance:

• House wash, driveway and front walk: $650 for homes up to 2,500 square feet
• Lanai or pool deck: add $150
• Booked within 72 hours of the call, before and after photos sent to the agent the same day

One line, one price, one promise. Agents forward it to every seller.

Pre-sale cleanings for homeowners

Many sellers book themselves after reading that curb appeal sells. Market a "listing ready" package on your site: house, driveway, walkway and lanai or pool deck. Typical price for a 2,000 square foot home: $600 to $850. Mention that the work can be done within the week.

Property managers and rentals

Managers of rental homes and small apartment buildings need cleanings between tenants and before inspections. They book quarterly or twice a year, pay reliably and do not shop on price every time. A schedule of two visits a year on 30 rentals is 60 jobs you do not have to market for.

Keep the paperwork tight

Group and partner work needs proof: dated before and after photos, an invoice per address and quick replies. Use invoicing that lets each homeowner pay by card on the day, and keep the photos with each job. For how to price each surface, see how much to charge for pressure washing, and for the yearly timing of inspections and listings, the marketing calendar.