BiggerPockets

I am interested in rehabs and considering doing the work myself or have friends who have experience help. Am I putting myself at risk for damages/injuries if my friends are not licensed and I get sued? Ie, replace/repair the roof and then rent it out. I understand liability insurance won't always cover you (me the landlord) if the work was faulty. The best I can do is learn the current building codes and apply them. Will that cover me?

Thanks!

I'm going to take the opposite tack from Ryan. I've generally done a lot of my own work, and that does NOT mean hiring " friends" instead of contractors. Time for marketing has never been a problem for me, I don't think there are so many deals out there (that you'll have the resources to do) that take up that much time.

I was even doing my own work when I had a fairly high dollar (salaried) job. I found that my work was DONE RIGHT, and LOOKED BETTER as opposed to what Ryan said. In fact, I'd wager that you'll almost NEVER see a composition shingle roof applied correctly!

Learn what you are capable of doing and learn how to do what you're not. The first time I did a roof (layover, not strip the old one) my buddy in the roofing wholesale business kind of laughed at me. He said " I know you're earning a lot more than $3.00 and hour at your regular job" . At the time (1990) I was making about $55K/year. " Well those w****cks are only making $3.00/hour" .

I said that was true, but that since there would be 6 or more of them that was closer to $20/hour. Some other things to consider:

1. I would only be doing it from 7:00AM to 10:00 and from 4:30PM to 7:00. This way it didn't interfere with either my regular job or family time. Also I would not be;

2. Walking around on a comp roof in the heat of the day, wearing off the material somewhat no matter how carefully I walked on it, and

3. Hired guys are NOT careful walking on your new shingles, the often do not pick up their feet and I've seen them " pivot" on their foot when their co-worker calls to them. Thereby turning a 25 (I don't really think a shingle can last 30) year shingle into a 2 year one!

4. I know it was DONE RIGHT and cleaned up after, ie; no roofing nails left around for my tenant's kids to step on!

BTW, I've never laid carpet, and I only know how to troubleshoot HVAC systems, although I can do the electrical repairs on them, just not the freon related stuff.

all cash

Thanks for the thoughts, guys. I have a very good idea what experts I need (and will have to pay for). I think fixing/rehabbing is a way to increase the profit magin. My first couple RE plan to to be lower cost (test the waters, then go bigger). On one hand, renters should expect to get what they pay for (ie nothing fancy). On the other, I am a very anal person, so even with the lower grade materials, I believe my quality should be acceptable/good. I'll hire out anything above my abilty and use the early projects as a learning tool.

Thanks.

Adrian

I used to do rehabs without hiring and it did save some money BUT I was so Tired from doing all that work and having another job.

New philosophy is pay experts a few bucks to knock it out fast and just do more deals.

The fact is that no one does it exactly the way you do it. Even good contractors who do things well see things different then the owner and there are always conflicts of interest.

Then there are a significant number of contractors and unlicensed workers who are so bad it makes you want to do it yourself no matter what the risk.

I would not do a big job like the roof myself for the first time and expect to get ahead. However I would go for it if I had plenty of time, cash, and was learning a skill I could apply to other properties as well. Also I would be EXTREMELY careful.

Also I would get workers comp to cover anyone working for me. I suppose if I was extremely short of cash I would try to get by without, but it is risky.

Ask your self: Where is the time in my workday worth the most dollars perhour?

Do you really know?

Do you really know what you should be doing to make the most money in this business? And what you should delegate?

You know what" I DON'T EITHER!

Why?

It's an ever changing set of rules and demands on work time.

Sometimes an Investor has to wear many hats ....
A Deal Maker
A Realtor
A Loan Broker
A Title Officer
A Contractor
A Tradesman
An Accountant
A Property Manager
A Landlord
An Attorney
Ad Nauseam

Find competence and delegate if at all or when possible.

Remember this ...... You will be the DEALMAKER or you ain't getting paid to wear any other hats.

just sayin just sayin thats all!

Wouldn't it also be smarter to get your buddies to do most of the work on your own and get contractors to do the rest?

hmm a lot of great responses on this thread. I will have to go ahead and say that i as well love to work on my houses. It is a stress reliever and i get to know my house inside and out by every crack first hand.

Also how Tim said i like getting to know the neighbors, if they like you they will be on your side when your not around, and keep tabs of things.

Plus it IS a rental. Unless i was cranking out 10 houses a month or a week i do not think it is really needed to have contractors work on properties for everything. Also no one mentioned friends who are contractors or tradesmen. I have plenty of these and they help me out a lot.

I guess it really depends on who you are, your goal, and how much money you have!