Got a quote for maintenance work, am I being overcharged?

Question

Bought this home back in April. There's a tenant living in it and he's been there for 3years. The home is in pretty good condition interior and exterior. I was thinking I would reinvest some of the rental income to make some minor repairs/maintenance around the home. This is a long distance investment, and the quote is from a handyman. He was referred to me by a trusted local contact and also has good reviews online.

-Gutters cleaning: $350

-fix broken downspout: $300

-fix loose siding: $250

-carbon monoxide detector: $125

-bath silicone: $100

-deck boards: 3-4 are bad need to be replaced

What does everyone think. Is this a fair price?

edit: home is a 900sq ft rancher

Russell Brazil · Answer

Yup, I cant get my handyman to touch a property if they arnt making at least $1000-1500 these days.

Andrew Postell · Answer

@Gurjot Grewal I don't know about your market but getting someone out to a property for a job that's less than $1,000 is impossible practically everywhere else.  If you have a trusted friend who referred you a well reviewed contractor...then take it.

Bryan Kerner · Answer

You should try to make a living doing this work. Then you might understand that there is more, like any business, being charged in those numbers. You can't say: but it only takes a few hours to clean a gutter! It is a business, there are many things that have to be covered by that price. Sure, if you are just the half-drunk artist living in the back of your buddy's garage, you'll do it for beer and cigarette money. But in the real world you have to pay the cost if doing business.

JD Martin · Answer

I don't know how much siding is loose, but assuming we're talking about a few panels of vinyl, I could easily do everything on that list in one 8 hour day including picking up materials. That said, you are far away and if you don't have any alternatives, then that's what you'll have to pay.

Getting handyman work these days is a total PITA even if you have a decent number of properties. All of my properties are less than 20 minutes from my house so I do my own handyman stuff these days as I'm just worn out from following behind poor work or trying to hunt guys down. I've got about 10 more good years in me, then I'll probably cash out my entire portfolio :)

John Chong · Answer

Doesn't seem unreasonable if you're OOS. They're a referral from a trusted local contact and have good reviews. I'm sure you'll be able to find it for less but will the quality of work be the same? You might waste more time and money trying to save a few hundred dollars. You can focus that time and energy on finding another property and growing your portfolio.

Gurjot Grewal · Answer

thank you everyone. I decided to go forward with this handyman without trying to haggle. With the distance and only have the 1 property I do expect a certain cost of doing business. But I feel this price is fair as long as the work gets done and he is trustworthy.

Henry T. · Answer

Just one of the problems with being out of state.

forget being a landlord, I wanna be a handyman. My gutter guy is $120 for just about any house.

Richard Elvin · Answer

There are a couple of things I could fix myself for cheaper, however, that's not the primary question I would have for long distance investing.

Primary question(s):Is the handyman reliable, qualified, and knowledgeable? Since this handyman is recommended by a trusted local contact, I would assume yes. In that case, I would pay it without discussion. Having someone that can be relied on is better than getting cheap that isn't done, or isn't done well.

Got a quote for maintenance work, am I being overcharged?

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