Artificially low rates for a decade, material tax reform, rising interest rates, and black swans make the economy and housing market highly unpredictable and volatile.

I popped up for a surprise visit and the lawn was severely overgrown and air filters looked like they hadn't been changed in months, so I fired him.  

This gives you a swag number of what an hour of your time is really worth and you can use it to make decisions whether something should be done by you or whether you should outsource (ie, cutting the lawn).

Then put out some lawn chairs and plantings.

I would advise you to get ready to do all of your lawn maintenance yourself.

@Todd Dexheimer HGTV calls that a "drought resistant" lawn.

There is a well 15 feet away and water seeps through making the brick and stone damp which creates mold.It would be expensive to dig up the exterior lawn to fix it from the outside.

I'd done a fair bit of research here and had budgeted in the lawn care/snow previously.

Hello All, We have a 2 flat on the 3500 block of West Palmer in Chicago and need to hire a local guy to cut lawn, trimming, and spring and fall cleanup. 

Think of all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.