DIY vs. Professional Help: What Beginner Real Estate Investors Can/Can't Do

Allentown, Pennsylvania
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DIY vs. Professional Help: What Beginner Real Estate Investors Can/Can't Do

Noah BaconPro Member
Property Manager 路 Lansdale, PA 路 Member since 2021 路 844 posts 路 1k+ votes

Recently I've seen a massive increase of homeowners rolling up their sleeves and taking on DIY projects either on their primary homes or on their rental properties. Maybe money is tight, maybe it is the summer and people are feeling more inspired to make the recurring Home Depot runs, or maybe people are taking more initiative to round their skills on Youtube University. 

I am certainly guilty of biting off more than I can chew when it comes to taking on projects that I was not skilled enough to properly move forward, and have used professionals on a few of the projects to get me to the finish line. There are things I know I will never look at doing myself: plumbing, electrical, roofing, installing hardwood flooring, bathroom remodel, and I'm sure many more! At times, I wish I hadn't even touched certain things as it cost me more to hire out a contractor to fix my mistakes, and other times I have saved myself a few hundred dollars on maintenance costs. My biggest mistake was thinking that I could lay down new LVP on the main floor of my last house hack, 1 month out of shoulder surgery and I quickly pivoted to a local professional. My inability to understand the time it would take doing it myself at the pace I was moving the project forward set me back a few weeks at best; slowing down the turnover and listing it later than I expected. 

What are some projects you have been able to move forward that you did not expect you could do?

AND

What are some projects you have turned over to professional help after you realized you couldn't do it? 

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Matthew MorrowBusiness Member
Investor 路 PA - NY - NJ 路 Member since 2019 路 627 posts 路 219 votes
2y
Quote from @Noah Bacon:

Recently I've seen a massive increase of homeowners rolling up their sleeves and taking on DIY projects either on their primary homes or on their rental properties. Maybe money is tight, maybe it is the summer and people are feeling more inspired to make the recurring Home Depot runs, or maybe people are taking more initiative to round their skills on Youtube University. 

I am certainly guilty of biting off more than I can chew when it comes to taking on projects that I was not skilled enough to properly move forward, and have used professionals on a few of the projects to get me to the finish line. There are things I know I will never look at doing myself: plumbing, electrical, roofing, installing hardwood flooring, bathroom remodel, and I'm sure many more! At times, I wish I hadn't even touched certain things as it cost me more to hire out a contractor to fix my mistakes, and other times I have saved myself a few hundred dollars on maintenance costs. My biggest mistake was thinking that I could lay down new LVP on the main floor of my last house hack, 1 month out of shoulder surgery and I quickly pivoted to a local professional. My inability to understand the time it would take doing it myself at the pace I was moving the project forward set me back a few weeks at best; slowing down the turnover and listing it later than I expected. 

What are some projects you have been able to move forward that you did not expect you could do?

AND

What are some projects you have turned over to professional help after you realized you couldn't do it? 

It definitely is evident that people are trying to save money where possible. But there鈥檚 just some parts that you don鈥檛 want to skimp on. 

From my perspective, when I started house hacking, I really enjoyed learning about all of the trades, but as you said-  it becomes harder to do all those things while building. 

 
the ones I particularly enjoyed, were electrical, and flooring. I don鈥檛 know why, I just felt a sense of accomplishment afterwards 馃槀

[email protected]484-791-6200
CORE Team | Realty ONE Group Supreme547 Reviews
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  • Matthew MorrowBusiness Member
    Investor 路 PA - NY - NJ 路 Member since 2019 路 627 posts 路 219 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Noah Bacon:

    Recently I've seen a massive increase of homeowners rolling up their sleeves and taking on DIY projects either on their primary homes or on their rental properties. Maybe money is tight, maybe it is the summer and people are feeling more inspired to make the recurring Home Depot runs, or maybe people are taking more initiative to round their skills on Youtube University. 

    I am certainly guilty of biting off more than I can chew when it comes to taking on projects that I was not skilled enough to properly move forward, and have used professionals on a few of the projects to get me to the finish line. There are things I know I will never look at doing myself: plumbing, electrical, roofing, installing hardwood flooring, bathroom remodel, and I'm sure many more! At times, I wish I hadn't even touched certain things as it cost me more to hire out a contractor to fix my mistakes, and other times I have saved myself a few hundred dollars on maintenance costs. My biggest mistake was thinking that I could lay down new LVP on the main floor of my last house hack, 1 month out of shoulder surgery and I quickly pivoted to a local professional. My inability to understand the time it would take doing it myself at the pace I was moving the project forward set me back a few weeks at best; slowing down the turnover and listing it later than I expected. 

    What are some projects you have been able to move forward that you did not expect you could do?

    AND

    What are some projects you have turned over to professional help after you realized you couldn't do it? 

    It definitely is evident that people are trying to save money where possible. But there鈥檚 just some parts that you don鈥檛 want to skimp on. 

    From my perspective, when I started house hacking, I really enjoyed learning about all of the trades, but as you said-  it becomes harder to do all those things while building. 

     
    the ones I particularly enjoyed, were electrical, and flooring. I don鈥檛 know why, I just felt a sense of accomplishment afterwards 馃槀

    [email protected]484-791-6200
    CORE Team | Realty ONE Group Supreme547 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Corby GoadeBusiness Member
    Investor 路 Boise, ID 路 Member since 2014 路 3k+ posts 路 3k+ votes
    2y

    Oh man, I've been there many, many times. Over the years, I've done less and less of my own work for many reasons, but mostly because it's not the highest and best use of my time. I've found contractors who are way more efficient (and definitely more talented than I am) and that helps me leverage my own time in to finding more deals. 

    The things that I've wasted the MOST time on are:

    -Drywall

    -Roofing

    -Painting. 

    Definitely not an exhaustive list, but those are trades that I'll waste tons of time on and likely do subpar work when I can pay a pro who will do it in 10% of the time and the labor costs are pretty reasonable. 

    1Reply
  • Brandon Polcawich
    Member since 2024 路 11 posts 路 3 votes
    2y

    I鈥檝e taken on a number of different projects myself over the years on our home and now with our first rental I鈥檝e learned somethings are best for professionals. I鈥檓 very skilled at flooring and tile from my construction work I did in high school.  I find that enjoying so I continue to do it. However, with plumbing and electrical I鈥檝e hired those out for the fixes that needed addressed. 

    0Reply
  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant 路 San Diego / Phoenix 路 Member since 2021 路 12k+ posts 路 15k+ votes
    2y

    @Noah Bacon Investors should be aware that, in many states, an investor can not act as Owner/Builder on a property that is not their primary residence.

    But as far as what Investors tend to screw up, the list is long and painful:

    Structural - Awful framing, undersized headers and beams (or none, Lol)

    Electrical - Don't even get me started......

    Plumbing - Not as bad as electrical but still....leave it to the Pros.

    And the main thing that people screw up is, believe it or not, painting. Everyone assumes it's easy...but a real painter will absolutely deliver a far superior product to what any homeowner can do. And much much quicker.

    Frankly, I would advise that a homeowner do absolutely nothing to their investment property.....

    1Reply
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