Determining how long tasks should take (carpentry, painting, etc.
I am one of those investors who absolutely hates to do anything DIY. I own a lawn care business and a small web design business where I put the bulk of my "manual labor" while I have an absolute Godsend working for me who handles all our carpentry, repairs, etc. The problem is, I have NO IDEA how long things SHOULD take (i.e. is he fast or slow and is there anything I can do about it to help him without offending him if he's slow). Our repairs expense is regularly in the 20-30% range vs. "nationally accepted" 5-10%. We don't do anything "luxury". In other words, our problem isn't that we're putting granite countertops in class C properties. We just like things done well, done nice. 2 Tone paint vs. "antique white" etc. It could be my "fussiness" that is contributing to his onerous bills. To be fair, he does save us some when he sneaks in and takes care of plumbing issues instead of our $88 per hour plumbing company. We also do have an occasional apartment (of 48) that has NEVER been remodeled. He takes 80-200 hours @ $30 per hour to renovate. I don't have a solid core question here other than, if I have NO IDEA how much time things take to do, is there any way for me to hold him accountable and help him set better goals? Is there a list somewhere that says, "putting a kitchen cabinet in should take x" etc. Of course, these are old buildings and there's 9 steps that no "estimating guide" includes, like sanding and putting poly on the floor under the cabinet you tear out to keep the cat urine odor in, etc. Anyway, I'd love to hear anyone's feedback and perspective on this. maybe my solution is to hire a general manager who is a "bad ***" with controlling expenses!