Do It Yourself?
I am going to take a wild guess that if you rehab the property yourself, it will cost less.
How much more would it cost to hire a contractor to do the rehabbing for you?
Does anyone use a contractor to do all their work for them , all the time?
JB
[addsig]
I agree with you that it will cost less to rehab a home yourself. However, money has a potential to be an infinate supply. Time has its limits. If you can make $20k in 4 months or only $10 each month by hiring out work, which is better?
Here is a rough rule of thumb for you to go by, And I mean rough:
When a contractor is giving an estimate to do work he can quickly come up with a qoute for the customer by taking total estimated cost of materials and multiplying that by 3. Just some FYI...
Good Luck!
Do what you do best find deals. Why limit yourself to 1 deal every 2-3 months when by hiring sub-contractors you could do 5 deals. With the 1 deal you may make $5,000.00 more,but doing multiple deals will mean greater potential yearly profit. It requires controlling your projects and subs.
Jb, to answer your question, on average it is going to cost you minimum of 2 times to 3 times more for someone to do the work for you then you doing it yourself. But that can really vary, some things are not worth doing yourself (carpet) some things you can get done so much cheaper if you have the skills and save way more money (kitchen remodel - you can probably do it for 1/4 of the cost of a contractor). Think about painting. To paint the interior you might get quoted $1500 from pros, you could do it yourself for $200 in materials.
As the owner of the home you can also do a lot of remodelling cheaper because you are allowed to do things yourself where even a contractor will have to sub it out.
For example as a homeowner you can do electrical yourself and plumbing yourself. A contractor will have to hire a licensed electrician and a licensed plumber to do that work for him in most cases, which you can imagine, the more you things you don't have your hands on the more it costs.
I dont' think that many people hire a licensed general contractor to do the work. They cost too much. Think handyman.
It costs me way less to hire a good, inexpensive handyman. I work full time and it would take me forever plus I do not have the skill set. My time is better spent finding deals. I am the manager of my business, not the laboror.
Brenda
So, me the homeowner does the electical and plumbing myself, then Tommy Tennant moves in. What happens when he flicks on a switch and water starts coming out? I know this is a joke, but still, when it comes to plumbing, I watched the contractors who did the addition on my house have a tough time getting it done right, including the pressure test. Not too many homeowners can tackle this. Even wiring can be tricky as you try to allocate the load in any giveen area to the correct breakers and stuff like that. Plus, once you drywall in wiring, it is hard to go back and make fixes. I would leave these areas to a pro.
You can't confuse a "handyman" with a professional contractor. In the end you get what you pay for. I'm writing a book on remodeling... it's called Expensive Lessons. Chapter one is Expensive Lessons, chapter two is More expensive lessons, chapter three is Even More Expensive lessons... chapter four is, I Can't Believe That I'm Learning The Same Lessons That I Learned in Chapter One All Over Again!!
I start off by saying that you can do anything if the two necessary ingredients are present... Time and Money. They are not really interchangeable. I'm not going into the whole trip here... you will have to read the book.
The only real commodity is time. When I sell remodeling, it is my time spent learning my trade, time spent practicing my craft, time spent earning the money to buy my tools and equipment, time spent producing the job, time spent in my office and time spent taking the check to the bank, etc.
I worked for an excutive that was making a six figure income. He would call me up every year and get me to work on his house with him for the two weeks that he took for vacation. He said he wanted to learn how to do stuff so that he could save money!! About the third year, it dawned on me that he sucked as a laborer and was so inept at being a carpentry helper that I wanted to fire him. I told him that he was nuts for not taking the two weeks off. Or else stay at work and make enough money in one week to have my guys come in here and finish the place, instead of living in an unfinised mess for another year. Really he was earning maybe ten bucks an hour helping me... if he was my employee, he would be getting five and be glad that I let him work for me. Yeah, he was saving a lot of money...
So what is your time worth? Do you think that you lessons will be worth it.
I did a $100k kitchen remodel for a young couple that had become very wealthy writing software for MACs in the 80's. When I made my bid presentation, I tried to explain the schedule of values and why each part cost what it did. The paint bids were all in the $10K to $12K range. I saw the eyebrows go up at that part. I stupidly blurted out, "You guys could paint the rooms and I'll do the cabinets, so you could save some money!" The guy looks at me and says, "Dude, I'm a professional, and professionals hire professionals."
Certainly I hire an electrician or plumber when it is necessary. But for a leak under the kitchen sink and wiring a new AC I hire a handyman. Granted, it is a handyman that I have used many times and I trust his work.
No rehabbers that I have ever met, use a general contractor.
Brenda
Don't confuse sub contractors with generals.
I wouldn't hire anyone that wasn't licensed, but thats just me. If a handyman has a state license, it is probably a General Contracting license. Maybe we have to be a little more specific about our terminology.
You guys are great!! Thanks for all the feedback. I am thinking I like the make $10k a month every month idea...so I am going to let someone else do the work for me.
Thanks again!!
JB
[addsig]
joefromphilly - if you the homeowner do the electical and plumbing and when you flick a switch and water starts coming out
You shouldn't be doing electrical and plumbing.
If your contractors who did your addition had a tough time getting the pressure test to work
- they suck, I hope they were cheap at least..
Even wiring can be tricky as you try to allocate the load in any giveen area to the correct breakers and stuff like that.
Can you add and subtract? A 15 amp circuit means put 1200 watts on it. You got two 100 watt lights on it? That's 200 of the 1200 watts.
Plus, once you drywall in wiring, it is hard to go back and make fixes.
Try testing the wiring before you cover it with drywall. That's why they have rough and finished inspections for electrical work.
I would leave these areas to a pro.
You should for sure.
My first house I bought I hired my younger Brother the electrician to re- wire the place and I played laborer for him.
What a rotten boss.
Everything had to be perfect.
He has the license and the liability policy.
I learned more working with him than half of the handymen I have seen.
Unless I am going to do the work myself I hire a Pro for plumbing, heating, elect. ect or have them do the rough and I will install fixtures lights exct. Not so much any more
If You want to save money, learn something and have the extra time, play laborer.
Just not for my brother. He will run you ragged.
Best of Luck
JohnNH