I am looking for a referral for a landscaper to perform some lawn maintenance on a property in the Chicago suburbs of Berwyn/Cicero.

Its easy to just keep the outside the exact same (aside from painting and landscape) but just use new products.

They serve clients nationwideFollowing are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities Both were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions;Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m); andThe Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC) must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2015; the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

Also a notice for changing landscape grade in an area.Would a seasoned investor walk the deal as this repair is likely costly and will negatively impact potential gains on the resale?  

For me I went to every seminar I could find within driving distance, read books, listened to pod casts, read the forums, offered to work for free doing landscaping and manual labor, simple admin tasks, etc whatever you can do to be around like minded people and learn from them do it. 

The yard needs landscaping help and I can build a two car garage to add additional value and add a privacy fence and it should command a bit more in rent.   

Still looking for a good landscape guy.Another interesting thing I found recently is that many of local Modesto flips are using very cheap materials, some flip only repaint the kitchen cabinet and replace a countertop, without even changing the floor.

It doesn't factor in plumbing issues, roof, landscaping, windows, etc.  

I'm estimating property management fees of 10% of monthly rent, a vacancy rate of about 5% per month, utilities fees (this is going to need to be changed) of about $120/month, snow & landscaping costs of about $25 per month (this will need to be changed as well).

just close a property between Dallas and Fort Worth , need some repairs with a few minor interior wall cracks, fix leaning fence, change floor and some landscaping work. used to have a good contractor, but apparently is overbooked now with today's market.