Hiring a Contractor: Should You DIY It or Hire a Professional Instead?
Today I had to ask myself a hard question: “Should I DIY this project or should I hire a professional contractor?” (The second question is “How do you hire a contractor?”).
Let me explain.
You see, my husband and I have owned a townhouse rental property for the past 12 years. We bought it at the height of the market when everyone and their brother was flipping properties and making thousands of dollars.
The young, naive Serena at the fresh age of 27, sans kids or major responsibilities, decided that she and hubby should jump on the “real estate bandwagon” and own a property and “make a killing” just like everyone else.
Ummm….did you catch that it was 2005??
The biggest real estate crash (ever??) was about to happen.
To spare you the details, let’s just say that if I knew then what I know now, I would have run faster than wildfire! LOL. We’ve held on to this property for much longer than we ever expected to simply because we’ve had to.
And while it hasn’t been lucrative, I have at least been thankful that we’ve had decent tenants who haven’t totally trashed the place (although this current tenant left the place much nastier than it should have been).
While we’ve waited for the market to recover, things have gotten pretty worn out over the years, like the front door, which needs a pretty paint job, and the light, etc.
Our current tenant of three years is now moving out, which means I’ve got to turn this property around and find new tenants.
That’s right–I’ve got to find new tenants.
You’re looking at the Property Manager right here. Oh, and let’s not forget that I’m also the handywoman. Ooh, ooh–and the cleaning crew! (Insert a smidgen of sarcasm here…LOL).
This is the time that I most dread: when a tenant moves out and I’m left questioning how I should address the wear and tear and how best to find good tenants fast.
There have been times when I’ve literally had a 1-day turn-around and the carpets were damp from shampooing as the new tenants were pulling up with their moving truck.
(….Now that was enough to cause heart palpitations…).
Back then, my mindset was that if I could do it myself, I would do it myself.
I found tenants on my own.
I’ve done the final cleanings on my own.
I’ve painted the entire townhouse interior on my own.
I’ve gotten on my hands and knees and cleaned nasty grout on my own.
And I’ve handled the on-going property management on my own.
But something snapped in me today as I walked through the townhouse: I don’t want to do this anymore.
Just because I can doesn’t mean I should.
And that, my dear readers, is where the big question began festering in my mind today:
When should people simply scrap the DIY superhero mentality and pay a professional to get it done?
What’s More Valuable: Your Time or Your Money?
It’s not just about rental properties that people ponder the question of DIY’ing it or hiring professionals. In our own home, we ask ourselves this question all the time, right?
The struggle happens when you know you could do it.
You can’t fathom paying someone to do something that which you could totally knock out yourself.
That’s money saved, plus the pride of a job well done.
But what’s the breaking point?
At what point do you say to yourself, “You know…I value my time over my money and I’m just going to hire someone to do this for me”?
5 Reasons When You Should Hire Professionals
I think there are five moments when you should definitely consider hiring professionals:
- When you’re just too busy. What other projects or activities would you be giving up in order to DIY this project? Sometimes you just don’t have time.
- When you dread doing it. If you really hate the thought of spending time doing a DIY project, despite having the skill to do it, it’s time to hire someone else.
- Your time is equal the amount it would cost to pay someone else. This is huge. Think about it: if your time is worth, say, $50 an hour and it would take you 5 hours to DIY something, doesn’t it make sense to pay someone that $250 and spend your time doing something else more productive or enjoyable?
- It’s dangerous. Yep, there are times when some jobs just are too dangerous for the everyday DIYer. For me, that includes certain electrical work. But even simple things such as climbing a ladder to clean the gutters or paint shutters–I’d rather not risk a fall. Those things I leave to professionals!
- You have no idea what you’re doing. ‘Nuff said. If even YouTube can’t help you, leave it to the professionals. 🙂
5 Easy Repairs You Can Do Yourself
Here are several projects that you can easily do yourself:
- How to Remove a Toilet: No Plumber Needed
- How to Install a Toilet: No Plumber Needed
- How to Fix Big Holes in Your Wall: No Handyman Needed
Should I Pay $2,000 for Painting the Entire Townhouse?
That’s the question I struggled with this evening as I drove home after getting a quote from professional painters (I contacted them through Thumbtack.com).
Is $2,000 worth me saving 4-5 days of time, including saving hours of commuting time?
And the answer “YES!!” resounded in my gut.
That’s hard for me to admit, as a DIYer.
Because I know I could paint this house myself. Heck, I could even organize a “painting party” and invite a few people over and we all bite into it, piece by piece until we collapse in a heap on the floor.
But I don’t want to.
Spending all day there today ate into my work day, setting me further behind in projects I wanted to create for the blog.
Am I willing to sacrifice a whole week of work and projects that are due for the blog, in order to paint this rental that has provided no value for my family?
No.
However, this townhouse must be painted before I can even show it to new prospective tenants.
And the thought of passing this daunting task off to someone else in exchange for money makes me sigh with relief.
I just want to walk in and it’s done.
I keep fantasizing about just coming to the rental after it’s all done and seeing freshly painted walls, not walls where kids’ grubby hands had smeared them.
And not just the inside, including the carpets badly in need of a (likely) professional cleaning, but the outside needs some pressure washing.
I’ll likely do that part myself.
I find pressure washing oddly satisfying. 🙂
That job could easily be done in an hour or so.
I’ll likely get it done over the weekend as I wait for the A/C repair guy to come (that’s another story…).
Feeling Okay With Your Decision
We have all heard the trite saying, “Time is money.”
It’s so true.
If you’re saving time, it will cost you money.
If you’re saving money, you’re losing a valuable resource called TIME that you can never get back.
I don’t DIY just to save money; I do it because it brings me joy and pride.
With this rental property, though, it has nothing to do with joy and pride. It has to do with valuing my time–time that I could be doing other more meaningful projects or activities.
In your home, you should feel okay with your decision to DIY or hire professionals if it means you’re focusing on what’s most important to you.
Every “DIY vs. professional” decision has consequences that will cost you either time or money.
It’s up to you to decide which is a greater commodity.
10 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring Contractors
Once you’ve made your decision to hire a contractor, I have to tell you: you must ask the right questions to vet a good contractor.
Be sure to ask these questions and read the blog post for more explanation about each.
Read: 10 Questions You MUST Ask Before Hiring a Contractor
What Are YOUR Thoughts?
Do you sometimes struggle with the question to DIY or to pay professionals? Leave a comment below and tell me all about it! What did you decide to do?
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My husband decided to DIY our attic insulation three months after we bought the house. I refused to help, then felt sorry for him and relented. Then I fell through the beams of the attic over the garage, and the only reason I’m here to write this is that instead of smashing onto the concrete floor below me, I caught myself with my thumb and forefinger. It hurt for nine months. I would NEVER take on that kind of a project again.
I used to prune our fruit tree till I got big enough to require a ladder. I fell, gashed and bruised my shin and terrified my young son. Now we pay to have it pruned by an arborist.
So, I’m with you: measure the pros and cons, then act accordingly. I’m 57 now. My attic crawling, ladder-climbing days are over. Best of luck with the house.
OMG, Alys!! That’s so scary and dangerous!! I’m so glad that you didn’t hurt yourself more badly than you did. I think that story will stick with me forever, especially when it comes to attic work. Thank you!! Glad to see you know your limits know and don’t feel bad about them!
Sometimes hiring a job out just makes more sense than trying to diy
ALL OF THE THINGS. I don’t know about anybody else but around my place there are always dozens of things to be done, dozens of projects, an endless list of repairs and chores, dozens of things we want to do for fun. The hubs and I are both skilled in different areas and, if you throw the son, daughter and son-in-law into the mix, there are very few things that we’re not capable of doing ourselves. BUT…..between jobs, kids, pets, family obligations, shopping, daily/weekly chores and trying to find a weekend here and there to go camping or to the beach (you know….fun getaway type things)…..time is limited. Money is limited too. So the toss up comes with do you spend the time or do you spend the money?
The hubs and I have been wanting to put a covered patio with a screened in porch section off of the back of the house for years. We decided to bite the bullet and do it. About the same time we came to the conclusion that the house needed to be reroofed. Well, we’ve done cement, we’ve built porches and a 24 by 12 workshop, we’ve reroofed the house before. But we’re almost 60. Prepping for and then pouring a 12 x 64 foot patio, building the cover, building the porch, reroofing the house….. that’s all we’d be doing for the next six months! We hired someone to do the majority of it. It was done in four days including a small covered porch at the front door. We deconstructed the old porch and salvaged the wood. We’ll build the porch ourselves over the summer and fall. It cost $16,000 but the majority of it is done! I shuddered writing out the check but hey! It’s money and it’s not like you can take it with you, right? We’re enjoying our covered patio down here in the Louisiana heat and enjoying lower utility bills with the new standing seam metal roof and we’ll be able to take a few inexpensive camping trips over the next six months!
We could have DIYed it all ourselves. I’m glad we didn’t. Now we have time for the kitchen diy remodel that’s been on the back burner for 20 years, lol!
Wow, that’s a heck of a project! Sounds like you made the decision to stick with the covered porch yourself and then hire out the roof! So the porch has cost $16K so far that you’ve done yourself? I can’t imagine what that would have cost to hire someone to do the porch so far! Please send me a pic when you’re done. I’d love to see that! Thanks for sharing your experience with me!!
I am fighting the same situation, however, mine is to have someone install a more permanent foundation on the old house we had moved in which happens to sit on the side of a hill. My husband thinks we could do it ourselves and save alot of money. We do have a business that requires a lot of our time and I would like for this home to be completed within a year, not 10. We have done all of the gutting of the interior ourselves and the house will need to be rewired and replumbed. I would prefer to do the work that makes it pretty and let the pros that are better equipped, handle the main repairs so I can finally move into it. I want to love the house I have invisioned in my mind, not hate it because it was too much work.
In your case, since it is a rental, I would hire the painter so you can have the spare time to do the minor repairs and work on advertising the property for rent. I just had a successful business owner of a large company tell me last week that we need to let go of some of the things we are trying to do ourselves as our time is very valuable. We are learrning but it is hard to let go of those things we have always done and took pride in doing. However, we end up stressing ourselves out trying to keep up with it all.
Thanks for your blog….perfect timing for my situation!
That sounds like a big job, Teresa! I wouldn’t even know how to tackle that! Have you gotten quotes from professionals on doing that foundation job?
Yes, I have one so far….$13,500 and was told that was a cheaper route. However, will try to get a least 2 more estimates before we decide if we should attempt it or let someone else.
Serena, I’m with you. Hire out when you can.
The thing you didn’t mention is the wear & tear on your body. For instance the painting & lugging & some taping. The rolling, the cutting in. You neck ,back, arms & feet.
Why do I mention all the above? At 61 years young I just completed painting my cathedral ceiling & walls in my living room as well as the walls & ceiling in my dining room. Ugh! Did I save money? Yes. Do I love the results? Yes. Would I do it again? No!! It took over a week & plenty of Aleve & massages.
I literally LOL at your comment, Tina!! 🙂 I can just imagine the aches and pains! Especially in the back and arms! UGH! Hats off to you for tackling painting cathedral ceilings. We had those in our condo and OMG….a nightmare! And if you can believe this, I painted the whole living room and dining room and woke up the next day and HATED IT. I had to re-paint everything again. HA!
Thanks for your wise insight!!
I am very curious as to why you still own this rental property? My husband has often said that he would like to invest in a rental home. I am very handy but it just seems so much work (not too mention headaches). I personally have done ALL the interior and exterior painting. I have laid cement, recaulked hundred of window panes (My house was built in 1937), tuck pointed a porch, laid basement tile flooring after removing the old flooring, repaired a plaster wall and ceiling after a roof leak and landscaped the front and back yards. My husband tells everyone that I belong to the Handywoman’s Club of America. He works very long hours six days a week so all of these projects are magically done by me while he is at work. For many years, I taught so I did these projects in MY spare time. Now that I have retired from teaching and he plans to retire in two years, he thinks that investing in rental properties would be good for us financially. HELP?????? Please be honest. Who does most of the work when you need to maintain your rental. Is it financially profitable?
Rentals are definitely a headache, Nancy! I think the only time it should be done is when there is a positive cash flow and that it’s an asset. I read a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki (sp?) and he defined an asset as something that puts money IN your pocket. A liability is something that takes money OUT of your pocket. This rental has always been a liability. Earlier in the rental we had a slightly positive cash flow, but whatever positive cash flow there was, it went towards the mortgage. It was a bad loan, too–10-year ARM interest only. We paid on the principle during that interest-only time period, so when the principle kicked in after 10 years, it was paid down slightly.
But we have kept it because we kept thinking we would just hold it and hope that it goes up enough over the years to make back our money lost. But at this point, I think we are both ready to sell, even if it means we take a loss. We are so DONE with this property.
So tell your husband these things when he starts talking that craziness about getting a rental property! LOL. I think if it’s bringing in at least $500 a month, that’s worth it. Anything less than that isn’t worth the hassle!
Thank you for your honesty. I think that I will cut back on buying food, clothes, shoes and going out to dinner when we are both retired. That should be almost $500.00 a month. Easier way to put money in the bank than becoming a rental owner. I absolutely admire your boundless energy, skills and talents. Your posts are always an inspiration. But I would like you to be happy and rested too. Take the $2000 and go on a vacation with your adorable sons. You can never replace this time in their lives. Memories with family are more important than freshly painted walls on a rental for someone else.
Hire a painter! It’s lots of money but worth it be cause it does save you time so you can focus on other things that need to be done snd if you haven’t used the painter before monitor their work, I find too many folks in the industry give women substandard work or cut corners when no-one is looking.
Yes, exactly! Hiring a job out means you can focus on other things. This morning I was in the shower and I was thinking, “Wow…that’s a lot of money…I could take a family vacation with that money….” And then I started wavering! I thought about using a paint sprayer to get the job done faster, but there would be a lot of prep work so that I don’t ruin the carpets with overspray and what-not. Anyhow, if I do hire it out (I have to make my final decision soon), I will be sure to monitor their work!! Thanks for that tip, Tammara!
My last paint job looked so bad that I wished I’d hired someone to do it! I bonked the ceiling with the green paint so now I need to touch up the ceiling but then I expect I’d bonk the walls with white and then have to touch up the walls which would need touching up and its a never ending story. Besides, the guys that paint all day know how to get the job done quickly, which is not something I can do. I know some folks who are my age (64) and do all of their own painting, but I think I’d be happier and more quickly finished if I hired it out!
Don’t work too hard!!
Oh, no, I know the struggle!! LOL. That happens to me all the time! I am usually pretty careful but I was painting hubby’s office a couple weeks ago and got some paint on the ceiling and decided IT’S STAYING! I am NOT painting the ceiling! lol No one will look up there. It blends in much better than your green and white mistakes. HAHA But I know what you mean! It’s just so expensive hiring it out, isn’t it??!
I’m doing a kitchen remodel right now that I hired out. Some I could do myself but it would take me twice as long. I’m with you. Time is important to me. Painting your whole house is a ton of time. Hire a guy for sure!
That’s what it comes down to, Sherry: are you willing to sacrifice time in order to save a buck! This morning hubby gave me a wad of cash he’d been stashing away, which was nearly all the amount needed for the painter. And my mind started to think, “Crap, this is a lot of money! We could take a vacation with this money!” Then I started asking myself, “Would I be willing to give up 3 days of my time and save that money towards vacation…..?” I started coming up with different answers. So frustrating when you look at it that way!
I’m with you–some things need to be hired out!
Thanks, Vicki! I feel better knowing I’m not the only one that would hire out such a big job! It still doesn’t feel any better since my DIY self is screaming, “But you can dooooooo this, Serena!”
Wow Serena, this is quite allot of work to take on! It wouldn’t be bad if you could take your time on it, but to have to get it all done quickly in order to get another tenant in there, that’s allot on the to-do list. I would be tempted to hire it out.
Yeah, that’s the thing: I don’t have a lot of time mostly because I have Thrift Diving projects and things I am focusing on. I do have a little time with the rental but would like to secure a new tenant asap. Thankfully, the renters moved all their stuff out sooner than expected. Which means if I could turn this place around quick, I could comfortably have someone in there by August 1st, which is when I would like to. Crossing fingers! Thanks for adding your opinion and letting me know that I’m not crazy for wanting to hire help, Terry! 🙂