Industry Insider: Rob Keslin, Keslin Landscaping

Compared to other enhancements a homeowner might make to his or her home, an investment in new or additional landscaping can be a bargain.

“You can get a lot of bushes and trees for $6,000 these days,” said Rob Keslin, owner of Keslin Landscaping in Antioch. “I can give a homeowner a 20- to 25-foot maple, installed, for $300, for instance.”

Keslin has found that homeowners who know that they won’t be moving anytime soon are choosing to invest a bit on making their current houses more attractive and comfortable.

In the case of suburban subdivisions where there is little differentiation between homes, owners are choosing to purchase landscaping that makes their houses more unique. They are also adding berms and spruce trees to give themselves more privacy in their backyards.

In addition, people owning older homes with landscaping that is old and overgrown, are deciding to remove the outdated bushes and replace them with a more contemporary look, particularly around the foundation.

Keslin said the same is true of builders, investors and buyers who are picking up foreclosure homes at deeply discounted prices. In many cases they, too, are choosing to revitalize the landscaping, particularly in the front, for better curb appeal before either reselling the improved property or living in the house.

“Homeowners who are willing and able to spend a little more, on the other hand, are enhancing their outdoor living spaces by adding brick patios, fire pits and outdoor grill areas/kitchens and by hardscaping around hot tubs and pools,” Keslin said.

“They realize that for only about $6,000 I can give them a nice brick patio with landscaping around it and they can get rid of that old deck that has been back there for 20 years.”

Another thing making a new patio appealing to people is Keslin offers a five-year warranty on all hardscaping, he said.

“When I go out to talk to a potential client, I tell them to check out our website for ideas before I get there and then I start by asking them what their hot spots and priorities are and what a realistic budget is,” Keslin said. “I can design something at many different prices points, depending on what a homeowner wants to spend.”

Keslin then returns to clients with either a free, two-dimensional drawing or with an upgraded, blueprint-style plan. The upgraded plans cost extra, but Keslin rebates that cost back to the homeowner if he or she eventually chooses Keslin Landscaping to do the installation.

“We have landscape architect friends who will draw up plans for us for everything from tricked-out perennial gardens to basic foundation planting gardens — anything the homeowner wants,” Keslin said.

Keslin Landscaping has been in business in Antioch for six years but Rob and his wife, Sandy, have been landscaping professionals since 1991, running businesses both here and on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and also working for an Illinois landscaping company that declared bankruptcy due to the housing crisis.

After that happened, the couple started Keslin Landscaping. Over the past six years they have built a growing company, despite the difficult economy, working in the area from Lake Zurich north to the Wisconsin border and from Zion to McHenry.

In addition to offering landscape design and installation, Keslin Landscaping maintains more than 400 lawns per week during the growing season.

“We’ve picked up over 100 new accounts so far this year, primarily through referrals from our current customers,” Keslin said. “People want to be able to enjoy themselves on the weekends. They don’t want to be bothered with caring for their yard.”

Keslin also purchased a seal-coat business last June, so the company now seal coats driveways and parking lots, both commercial and residential.

“We will even do small jobs like cutting and patching homeowners’ blacktop where it has a tendency to settle (usually) right in front of the garage door,” Keslin said.

“I like to say that we will maintain everything on the outside of your house so you don’t have to do it, and while we are at it, we try to make your yard someplace special. We are passionate about that.”

For more information about Keslin Landscaping, call (847) 838-8595 or visit www.keslinlandscaping.com.