Doing your own repairs RANT

Investor · Warner Robins, GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 490 votes

Alright so obviously if you do all the repairs yourself you're going to save a ton of money. Its great because you save money. Saving money is the key to living a great life.

FORGET THAT!

I just prepared and painted a single room in my building on my day off work. It took me all day and I'm not even completely finished yet.

Forget saving money. I can't wait until I can hire this out and never have to paint a room again.

You know what you should focus on instead of saving money by doing repairs yourself?

MAKING MORE MONEY!!!!!!!

There are a million and five things I'd rather be doing right now. Out on the weights, hitting the twisties, training my deadlift....

But no. I'm here enjoying some great conversation with Sherwin Williams.

If anyone ever tries to tell you to always do your own work to save money throughout your entire career because "why pay a contractor"

Take their advice and burn it. Then take the ashes and use them as chalk to work on your snatch grip deadlifts.

Seriously.

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Matt H.

Real Estate Broker · CA · Member since 2016 · 243 posts · 226 votes

I realize you posted this because sometimes after painting one just needs to complain a bit. But let me tell you why I think you do need to do your own repairs - at first. 1. Chances are early in your career this will save you money and you aren't making more than it tradesman in question. I am making assumptions on this one but they are true in most cases. 2. Learn the trades. This will allow you to understand how things work. It will make walk throughs on potential properties easier. It will assure you don't get ripped off when you do hire out. It will allow you to estimate costs quickly and easily. No assumptions here, applies to everyone. 3. Respect the tradesmen. Some of this work is hard. Some takes serious skill. Eventually you will hire out and it is good to be able to understand the work people are doing for you and respect them for it. I did all the work I could do until about 15 units. Now I have 3 guys plus lots of other contractors and I respect the work they do. They know this and they also know I understand how things work and what they cost. Matt

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Sarah D.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 273 posts · 226 votes
9y
@Chris May We closed 8/31 and started work around 9/10. But that schedule only started about 3 weeks ago. We had a slow start and a learning curve, so now that we have knowledge and momentum I want to take advantage of it. The first unit is almost done; can't wait to post pictures! All units will be renovated and our first exterior projects finished by end of the year (hopefully 12/15 so we can enjoy the holidays). When I get tired I tell myself that it's only two more months...
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Sarah D.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 273 posts · 226 votes
9y
@Chris May Sometimes the hours shift when the kids won't go to bed, like tonight ;).
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Steven J.
Urbana, IL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 425 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Logan Allec:

Amen, @Rosston Smith. And I don't get a tax deduction for my labor hours--hours that could've been put to use by making more money either through my CPA business or in real estate. But if I pay somebody $X an hour, I get a tax deduction for that amount.
That said, there is a list, similar to the one from @Adiel Arvizu, of tasks that I do do myself because it's quick and easy. But painting? NOPE.
YAS! This is a great way to look at this tax deduction. I hadn't thought of it this way but will now. You make a very valid point. Although I'm spending money I'm saving my own self from headaches of doing the work and I get to pay less taxes... I can deal with that!
1 Reply
Rosston Smith
OP
Investor · Warner Robins, GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 490 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Matt H.:

@Rosston Smith Oh you know just some of the worst investments you can think of: a boat/jet ski, a plane and a second home. I have also always enjoyed coaching HS track. Recently however I seem to be mostly dealing with my 2 year old and tenants. You might also be interested to know I was able to negotiete most of those purchases by promising my wife I would never buy a motorcycle.
Love it man! That's really cool stuff!

NOOO!!! I can't say that you didn't make the right decision though lol

Bikes are awesome.
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Rosston Smith
OP
Investor · Warner Robins, GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 490 votes
9y
Originally posted by @JD Martin:

Originally posted by @Rosston Smith:

Originally posted by @JD Martin:
Originally posted by @Steve Vaughan:

Don't be afraid to do what you like to do or to do what you need to do early on. Always keep what's more important a priority. Working 'on' your business is over-rated in the beginning. Until you are analyzing million dollar deals every 20 minutes, there's nothing wrong with doing some real work and getting your hands dirty working 'in' it.
Cheers and thanks for a great discussion!
Preach it brother! This is the thing that I don't follow for the life of me. Every business that starts from ground zero has the CEO cleaning a toilet or taking out the trash at some point in the business's life. The idea that someone is some brilliant wheeler-dealer because he/she bought a few rental properties and now needs to join the country club to pencil the big deals, while the peons do the dirty work, makes me laugh.
I think the genesis of this mindset (I'm not saying Rosston has this mindset!) is the idea that RE is some passive activity. Yes, it is, if you are satisfied with smaller returns, it can be almost completely hands off. But completely hands-off and returning 15-25%, annually? No freaking way. That's the kind of growth seen by active businesses. I invest in RE, but that investment is really just part of the core pieces of my RE business.
There are two types of real estate investors.

1. Those who spend their life handling the majority of the labor (lockouts, toilets, painting, lawncare, rehab) etc...

and
2. Those who have transcended past unnecessary labor and pay others to do the brainless work, while they manage from the sidelines and live their life.

In my mind, professional real estate investing is a progression from ONE to TWO.
This is an elitist mindset for several reasons:
1. Doing manual labor is not inherently brainless. It also should really not be beneath anyone. There's nothing embarrassing or humiliating about changing a toilet or painting a wall. I have a terminal doctoral degree and have been a top executive for many years, and I don't see anything wrong with snaking a sewer line or taking a load of trash to the dump.
2. The idea that one is so in demand that "their time" makes more money doing something else is laughable. Most of the "make more money" time is inevitably spent doing dead snatches, drinking Coronas on the beach, and lots of other stuff that have zero monetary value and usually cost money.
I don't discount the idea of having enough money to buy you time, which is something that can't be replaced. Drinking Coronas is fun, and life should be fun. But the vast majority of everyone will work until they are dead because they are unwilling to put in the hard work that gets you above the crowd. You didn't have to paint that room if you are satisfied with 5% returns.
I know a decent number of "self made" wealthy people, and to a person they all busted *** up to the point they didn't have to anymore. Conversely, every time I try to hire someone for a job, they all want to start at executive management with little experience and often fewer skills.
PS: Just the fact that you were painting shows you're not an elitist. However, you shouldn't assume everyone dreams to do dead lifts. Honestly, I prefer manual labor; it just doesn't pay enough to do for someone else. On the weekends, I can often be found working on my truck or pulling weeds in my garden, both jobs I could easily pay someone else to do but that I prefer to do myself.
It is brainless. Painting walls is brainless.

Like I said. There's (1) real estate investors, and (2) investors. You can be (1) if you want, and I'll one day become (2).

There are some things you do because you want to save money, and their are some things you do because you like them. You like working on your truck, you like pulling weeds. You change toilets to save money.

That save money stuff. That's what I don't care for.
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Rosston Smith
OP
Investor · Warner Robins, GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 490 votes
9y
Originally posted by @JD Martin:

Originally posted by @Rosston Smith:

Originally posted by @JD Martin:
Originally posted by @Steve Vaughan:

Don't be afraid to do what you like to do or to do what you need to do early on. Always keep what's more important a priority. Working 'on' your business is over-rated in the beginning. Until you are analyzing million dollar deals every 20 minutes, there's nothing wrong with doing some real work and getting your hands dirty working 'in' it.
Cheers and thanks for a great discussion!
Preach it brother! This is the thing that I don't follow for the life of me. Every business that starts from ground zero has the CEO cleaning a toilet or taking out the trash at some point in the business's life. The idea that someone is some brilliant wheeler-dealer because he/she bought a few rental properties and now needs to join the country club to pencil the big deals, while the peons do the dirty work, makes me laugh.
I think the genesis of this mindset (I'm not saying Rosston has this mindset!) is the idea that RE is some passive activity. Yes, it is, if you are satisfied with smaller returns, it can be almost completely hands off. But completely hands-off and returning 15-25%, annually? No freaking way. That's the kind of growth seen by active businesses. I invest in RE, but that investment is really just part of the core pieces of my RE business.
There are two types of real estate investors.

1. Those who spend their life handling the majority of the labor (lockouts, toilets, painting, lawncare, rehab) etc...

and
2. Those who have transcended past unnecessary labor and pay others to do the brainless work, while they manage from the sidelines and live their life.

In my mind, professional real estate investing is a progression from ONE to TWO.
This is an elitist mindset for several reasons:
1. Doing manual labor is not inherently brainless. It also should really not be beneath anyone. There's nothing embarrassing or humiliating about changing a toilet or painting a wall. I have a terminal doctoral degree and have been a top executive for many years, and I don't see anything wrong with snaking a sewer line or taking a load of trash to the dump.
2. The idea that one is so in demand that "their time" makes more money doing something else is laughable. Most of the "make more money" time is inevitably spent doing dead snatches, drinking Coronas on the beach, and lots of other stuff that have zero monetary value and usually cost money.
I don't discount the idea of having enough money to buy you time, which is something that can't be replaced. Drinking Coronas is fun, and life should be fun. But the vast majority of everyone will work until they are dead because they are unwilling to put in the hard work that gets you above the crowd. You didn't have to paint that room if you are satisfied with 5% returns.
I know a decent number of "self made" wealthy people, and to a person they all busted *** up to the point they didn't have to anymore. Conversely, every time I try to hire someone for a job, they all want to start at executive management with little experience and often fewer skills.
PS: Just the fact that you were painting shows you're not an elitist. However, you shouldn't assume everyone dreams to do dead lifts. Honestly, I prefer manual labor; it just doesn't pay enough to do for someone else. On the weekends, I can often be found working on my truck or pulling weeds in my garden, both jobs I could easily pay someone else to do but that I prefer to do myself.
You can throw this "elitist" term around all you want. In the end what it will literally come down to is you spent 5000 hours painting walls when you die, and I spent 100 hours painting walls and 4900 hours snowboarding.

Replace the "it" with anything you could pay someone else to do that you do to save money.

If you like to do it, that's awesome. Its an art form then. Its the stuff you do to feel good about yourself for saving $300 that im talking about.
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David Dachtera
Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
@JD Martin,
Working on your truck might well be considered recreation, even a hobby, as might pulling weeds...
... as long you understand that you are ELECTING to do so rather than going out and finding the next profitable deal(s).
Until you've achieved your own chosen level of success, procrastinating the electives might be considered asserting a work ethic. After, it might be considered enjoying the time you've earned for yourself by putting people and systems in place to take care of your investments while you enjoy your leisure time.
Your mention of returns, therefore, fails to take into account the value of your owntime IF you devote it to income-producing activities rather than leisure activities. THAT is a key distinction.
Another distinction which usually keeps people poor is the difference between "saving" (read: not spending, a consumer concept) and earning or profiting (an entrepreneurial concept). You might avoid spending several hundred to $1,000 by putting in 8 hours of manual labor. In that same 8 hours you might also find a deal or two which in the end might net you $100K or more. The difference between reduced expenses and increased income is another key distinction. Even politicians get that wrong.
You might pay tradesmen and laborers several hundred to $1,000 or more for a day's labor. Do THEY know how to go out find profitable deals? ... negotiate favorable terms? ... lock in profits? (Hint: They're working for you rather than competing with you.)
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JD MartinBusiness Member
Moderator
Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @David Dachtera:

@JD Martin,
Working on your truck might well be considered recreation, even a hobby, as might pulling weeds...
... as long you understand that you are ELECTING to do so rather than going out and finding the next profitable deal(s).
Until you've achieved your own chosen level of success, procrastinating the electives might be considered asserting a work ethic. After, it might be considered enjoying the time you've earned for yourself by putting people and systems in place to take care of your investments while you enjoy your leisure time.
Your mention of returns, therefore, fails to take into account the value of your owntime IF you devote it to income-producing activities rather than leisure activities. THAT is a key distinction.
Another distinction which usually keeps people poor is the difference between "saving" (read: not spending, a consumer concept) and earning or profiting (an entrepreneurial concept). You might avoid spending several hundred to $1,000 by putting in 8 hours of manual labor. In that same 8 hours you might also find a deal or two which in the end might net you $100K or more. The difference between reduced expenses and increased income is another key distinction. Even politicians get that wrong.
You might pay tradesmen and laborers several hundred to $1,000 or more for a day's labor. Do THEY know how to go out find profitable deals? ... negotiate favorable terms? ... lock in profits? (Hint: They're working for you rather than competing with you.)
David, I don't disagree with your assessment. However, for the vast, overwhelming majority of people on this planet, it is not logistically possible to spend every hour making money, whatever your expertise. There are limits everywhere - limits to contacts, financial constraints, etc - such that nothing is infinite. The argument that "I shouldn't paint a room because my time is better spent making much larger money" only makes sense in the context of finance if you spend that time making larger money. The vast majority of times, that time is not going to be spent making money, but instead devoted to anything from taking a nap to lifting weights to watching tv. Those things all have value in and of themselves - after all, most people sacrifice short bursts of leisure time now for more leisure time later, with financial security - but they have little or no value from a financial point of view. If I decided, for example, that I would pay for everything related to a rehab over a month's time, and that increased my costs by $20,000, what is/was the likelihood that during that same month's time I made $20,000 on another deal? Possible, depending on the scale of the enterprise, but unlikely for most people for sure. It's logistically impossible to have an infinite number of flips or rehabs going at once, and there is a limit to the availability of capital to fund such enterprises, such that there will be plenty of time/times when no money is being made, but money is being spent. To your point, I'm not going to spend hours cutting the grass at my properties because a) It doesn't make any money, and b) the time commitment might very well preclude some other profitable activity. On the other hand, if I have 3 rehabs going, and I am at the limit of my available growth at the time, do I make more money watching TV or painting a room? It makes no difference if I can spend time looking for a deal to make more than painting the room if other considerations make those efforts impractical/impossible.
My point in all of this is that, first, most people vastly overestimate the value of their time from a financial point of view (i.e., what they 'should' be paid, what their 'expertise' is worth in a dollar per hour basis), and second, most people use the argument of "let the peons do it, my time is better spent making money" as a justification or excuse as to why they don't need to put in the hard work necessary to make a business endeavor thrive.
Podcast Guest on Show #243
Skyline Properties
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Marcus Narvaez
Marathon, WI · Member since 2016 · 23 posts · 12 votes
9y
Make sure to watch those paint fumes!
0 Reply
Michael Medinger
Real Estate Agent · Oceanside, CA · Member since 2016 · 28 posts · 22 votes
9y
@Rosston Smith
I don't know about you brother, but for me doing landscaping is pretty zen! :)
It's important to know one's own limitations and choose battles wisely. Aside from items that are well outside my expertise and/or credentials (granite, termite remediation) I cannot, for example, make DIY carpet installation pencil out better than a professional contractor. I could do carpet if I really had to, but it's awful work and takes up too much friggin time to be worthwhile!
1 Reply
Account Closed
Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 736 posts · 582 votes
9y
I find that sometimes I have time. I find that sometimes I have money. I rarely have both time and money. When I have time I DIY When I have money I pay someone When I have time and money I go on vacation. Last Vacation was 3 years ago- house boat trip on Lake Powell. It's gonna be a while until my next true vacation.
5 Reply
Rosston Smith
OP
Investor · Warner Robins, GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 490 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Michael Medinger:

@Rosston Smith
I don't know about you brother, but for me doing landscaping is pretty zen! :)
It's important to know one's own limitations and choose battles wisely. Aside from items that are well outside my expertise and/or credentials (granite, termite remediation) I cannot, for example, make DIY carpet installation pencil out better than a professional contractor. I could do carpet if I really had to, but it's awful work and takes up too much friggin time to be worthwhile!
Again. If you do it because you like it, then its more of a hobby.

If you do it because you want to save money. Then it becomes a waste of life if you can afford to hire it out and do something else.
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JD MartinBusiness Member
Moderator
Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

I find that sometimes I have time. I find that sometimes I have money. I rarely have both time and money.
When I have time I DIY
When I have money I pay someone
When I have time and money I go on vacation.
Last Vacation was 3 years ago- house boat trip on Lake Powell. It's gonna be a while until my next true vacation.
:D I love it! Great post @Ed E!
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Skyline Properties
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Rosston Smith
OP
Investor · Warner Robins, GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 490 votes
9y
Originally posted by @JD Martin:

Originally posted by @David Dachtera:
@JD Martin,
Working on your truck might well be considered recreation, even a hobby, as might pulling weeds...
... as long you understand that you are ELECTING to do so rather than going out and finding the next profitable deal(s).
Until you've achieved your own chosen level of success, procrastinating the electives might be considered asserting a work ethic. After, it might be considered enjoying the time you've earned for yourself by putting people and systems in place to take care of your investments while you enjoy your leisure time.
Your mention of returns, therefore, fails to take into account the value of your owntime IF you devote it to income-producing activities rather than leisure activities. THAT is a key distinction.
Another distinction which usually keeps people poor is the difference between "saving" (read: not spending, a consumer concept) and earning or profiting (an entrepreneurial concept). You might avoid spending several hundred to $1,000 by putting in 8 hours of manual labor. In that same 8 hours you might also find a deal or two which in the end might net you $100K or more. The difference between reduced expenses and increased income is another key distinction. Even politicians get that wrong.
You might pay tradesmen and laborers several hundred to $1,000 or more for a day's labor. Do THEY know how to go out find profitable deals? ... negotiate favorable terms? ... lock in profits? (Hint: They're working for you rather than competing with you.)
David, I don't disagree with your assessment. However, for the vast, overwhelming majority of people on this planet, it is not logistically possible to spend every hour making money, whatever your expertise. There are limits everywhere - limits to contacts, financial constraints, etc - such that nothing is infinite. The argument that "I shouldn't paint a room because my time is better spent making much larger money" only makes sense in the context of finance if you spend that time making larger money. The vast majority of times, that time is not going to be spent making money, but instead devoted to anything from taking a nap to lifting weights to watching tv. Those things all have value in and of themselves - after all, most people sacrifice short bursts of leisure time now for more leisure time later, with financial security - but they have little or no value from a financial point of view. If I decided, for example, that I would pay for everything related to a rehab over a month's time, and that increased my costs by $20,000, what is/was the likelihood that during that same month's time I made $20,000 on another deal? Possible, depending on the scale of the enterprise, but unlikely for most people for sure. It's logistically impossible to have an infinite number of flips or rehabs going at once, and there is a limit to the availability of capital to fund such enterprises, such that there will be plenty of time/times when no money is being made, but money is being spent. To your point, I'm not going to spend hours cutting the grass at my properties because a) It doesn't make any money, and b) the time commitment might very well preclude some other profitable activity. On the other hand, if I have 3 rehabs going, and I am at the limit of my available growth at the time, do I make more money watching TV or painting a room? It makes no difference if I can spend time looking for a deal to make more than painting the room if other considerations make those efforts impractical/impossible.
My point in all of this is that, first, most people vastly overestimate the value of their time from a financial point of view (i.e., what they 'should' be paid, what their 'expertise' is worth in a dollar per hour basis), and second, most people use the argument of "let the peons do it, my time is better spent making money" as a justification or excuse as to why they don't need to put in the hard work necessary to make a business endeavor thrive.
There are two aspects of this.
The financial standpoint aside. Ex (I could make more money finding deals than painting)

I'm more speaking of the quality of life viewpoint Ex (I could save money by painting or go live my life doing things I like.)
If you're investing right, there should come a time when you have the money to spend your time doing more enjoyable things.
1 Reply
JD MartinBusiness Member
Moderator
Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Rosston Smith:

Originally posted by @JD Martin:
Originally posted by @David Dachtera:

@JD Martin,
Working on your truck might well be considered recreation, even a hobby, as might pulling weeds...
... as long you understand that you are ELECTING to do so rather than going out and finding the next profitable deal(s).
Until you've achieved your own chosen level of success, procrastinating the electives might be considered asserting a work ethic. After, it might be considered enjoying the time you've earned for yourself by putting people and systems in place to take care of your investments while you enjoy your leisure time.
Your mention of returns, therefore, fails to take into account the value of your owntime IF you devote it to income-producing activities rather than leisure activities. THAT is a key distinction.
Another distinction which usually keeps people poor is the difference between "saving" (read: not spending, a consumer concept) and earning or profiting (an entrepreneurial concept). You might avoid spending several hundred to $1,000 by putting in 8 hours of manual labor. In that same 8 hours you might also find a deal or two which in the end might net you $100K or more. The difference between reduced expenses and increased income is another key distinction. Even politicians get that wrong.
You might pay tradesmen and laborers several hundred to $1,000 or more for a day's labor. Do THEY know how to go out find profitable deals? ... negotiate favorable terms? ... lock in profits? (Hint: They're working for you rather than competing with you.)
David, I don't disagree with your assessment. However, for the vast, overwhelming majority of people on this planet, it is not logistically possible to spend every hour making money, whatever your expertise. There are limits everywhere - limits to contacts, financial constraints, etc - such that nothing is infinite. The argument that "I shouldn't paint a room because my time is better spent making much larger money" only makes sense in the context of finance if you spend that time making larger money. The vast majority of times, that time is not going to be spent making money, but instead devoted to anything from taking a nap to lifting weights to watching tv. Those things all have value in and of themselves - after all, most people sacrifice short bursts of leisure time now for more leisure time later, with financial security - but they have little or no value from a financial point of view. If I decided, for example, that I would pay for everything related to a rehab over a month's time, and that increased my costs by $20,000, what is/was the likelihood that during that same month's time I made $20,000 on another deal? Possible, depending on the scale of the enterprise, but unlikely for most people for sure. It's logistically impossible to have an infinite number of flips or rehabs going at once, and there is a limit to the availability of capital to fund such enterprises, such that there will be plenty of time/times when no money is being made, but money is being spent. To your point, I'm not going to spend hours cutting the grass at my properties because a) It doesn't make any money, and b) the time commitment might very well preclude some other profitable activity. On the other hand, if I have 3 rehabs going, and I am at the limit of my available growth at the time, do I make more money watching TV or painting a room? It makes no difference if I can spend time looking for a deal to make more than painting the room if other considerations make those efforts impractical/impossible.
My point in all of this is that, first, most people vastly overestimate the value of their time from a financial point of view (i.e., what they 'should' be paid, what their 'expertise' is worth in a dollar per hour basis), and second, most people use the argument of "let the peons do it, my time is better spent making money" as a justification or excuse as to why they don't need to put in the hard work necessary to make a business endeavor thrive.
There are two aspects of this.
The financial standpoint aside. Ex (I could make more money finding deals than painting)

I'm more speaking of the quality of life viewpoint Ex (I could save money by painting or go live my life doing things I like.)
If you're investing right, there should come a time when you have the money to spend your time doing more enjoyable things.
Rosston, I believe we're on the same page here. I'm all for having enough money so that you don't have to work anymore, and you get to spend all your time jumping off cliffs or pulling weeds as the case may be :) . Absolutely one of the points of accumulating enough capital is so that you don't *have* to work anymore, if you so choose. I'm guessing you're not there yet, and though I probably could be, I'm not there at the level of life I'd want to maintain, so in the meantime we'll probably both be painting houses in our free time ;)
Podcast Guest on Show #243
Skyline Properties
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David Dachtera
Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
@JD Martin
"Hard work" doesn't necessarily mean physical. Sometimes, it's just ferreting out the deals, building the relationships necessary to assemble the needed resources, pulling it all together, shepherding it through to completion, etc.
Laborers and tradespeople aren't "peons"; they are, indirectly, your business partners. If you treat them poorly, they will reciprocate. Treat them well, they will reciprocate. It's up to YOU.
Ideally, you won't be watching TV - unless you're taking REI classes on-line like I and my fellow students do - or painting rooms. After the day's business is squared away, hopefully, you'll be spending quality time with family or valued friends and associates building and reinforcing relationships.
One of the leaders of my investment group is forcing himself to not "wear his tool belt" on his projects these days. He is a skilled craftsman, an artisan, in fact. Still, he's found managing projects through to the exit strategy and identifying new projects to be more profitable than doing it himself.
It's great that you have the skills to do what the tradespeople do. If you need to fill in to keep a project on schedule, on budget, etc., do what ya gotta do.
Only you can choose where your time returns the most value. Choose wisely.
0 Reply
Daryl Askew
Contractor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2016 · 104 posts · 22 votes
9y
Rosston shoot me your information . When you get ready to contract it out I would be happy to help you with your projects . I see you are in Macon . We are North of you in Henry county. Let's connect. Take care
0 Reply
Hunter Gunnells
Agent · Lizella, GA · Member since 2015 · 31 posts · 2 votes
9y
Rosston, if you need a local agent contact, hit me up as well.
0 Reply
Loren Clive
Residential Real Estate Broker · Paia, HI · Member since 2016 · 479 posts · 311 votes
9y
@George P It took our painter 6 weeks to paint the outside of our house, but he did a phenomenal job and cost half the rest of the bids we got. This is Maui, so by Hawaiian standards it turned out pretty good. ;)
I do pay folks to do most of the stuff on my properties, but then again, you have to realize when you're getting ripped off. Like when my property manager recently bought a $200 rug for my vacation rental after telling me to return my $65 bought from Ross. Right.
You always get what you pay for, so you have to balance your timeline, i.e. do you have the leisure to let it take longer, vs. the cost of hiring a real professional.
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Doing your own repairs *RANT*

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Doing your own repairs RANT