It goes something like this: "What about my neighbour? His lawn is green and my lawn is the colour of straw, yet he does nothing to his and I have a lawn service."
We can break this down to a number of factors that would explain the difference.
1) Your neighbour has southern exposure and since you are across the street from him, your house faces north. Properties that are located on the north side of the street always green-up faster because they receive more direct sunlight as Mother Nature flip-flops between winter and spring.
2) Your lawn has excess thatch build up. Yeah, you didn't prepare your lawn for winter like your neighbour did by cutting it short and now once the snow has cleared, and you have a lot of matted, dead patches of grass. This issue will also impede green-up until the thatch is raked and removed to allow for new growth.
3) Your neighbour used a quick-release fertilizer. I know you said he does nothing to his lawn, but if you were watching him 24/7...well, that would be creepy. Most lawn companies use a slow release fertilizer. This product is much healthier for your lawn, feeds it over a longer period of time and is less likely to invite unwanted insects like grubs or chinch bugs.
4) Your lawn is predominantly Kentucky Blue Grass, his is not. KBG seems to take its sweet damn time greening-up every spring and coaxing it along by dumping more fertilizer on it is not the answer. As we know, insects are attracted to higher levels of nitrogen, and KBG lawns in particular.
5) There is a deeper issue. Other factors that can delay lawn green-up are a soil deficiency. In other words, key micro-nutrients important to your lawn heath might be missing, and only a soil test will be able to expose what's missing. There might be a PH issue where the lawn is too acidic or too alkaline and need a corrective to provide optimum growth potential. There also could be an insect called a Leather Jacket affecting the lawn health, and unfortunately, nature has to run its course as applying nematodes this time of the year is just a waste of money.Whatever you do, don't ask your neighbour about it. Since he does nothing with his, chances are he won't know any of what I discussed here either.
