Not Every DIY Project Is Created Equal
By JD Esajian on March 24, 2014
Everybody is always trying to save a buck. It is the human nature of people to try to get the best deal possible and to save money wherever you can. In real estate you can haggle with commissions or negotiate with your contractors to get the lowest price. One of the other areas where investors try to save money is by doing some or all of the repairs on their property themselves. There are some instances where this makes sense but there are many others where it will actually end up costing you more money down the road. If you are considering doing the work yourself you should know that not all projects are created equal.
There is a big difference between using a paint roller and a nail gun. While this may appear to be obvious there are many who think that because they can use a rake or paint a closet that they can hand drywall. Even further certain repairs such as electrical changes or even changing the front door require a specific skill set that if you don’t possess can end up getting you injured. There are literally hundreds of thousands of reported injuries every year by people trying to do home projects themselves. Saving money is one thing but not at the cost of a trip to the emergency room.
If you don’t have the right training for the job you need to hire a professional regardless of the cost. The reality is that by doing the work yourself you stand to cause even bigger problems with the property. Shoddy work is one thing but having to redo whatever work you have done and pay someone to start over will double your initial repair estimate. If you own a property you should have a pretty good idea of what you can do and what you can’t. Painting a bedroom or removing and replacing the shrubs will not ruin the house. Trying to replace the fuse box without knowing what you are doing will.
Most of the issues lie when do it yourselfers try to get in and out of a task and save as much time as possible. If you are not giving yourself enough time you are setting yourself up for disaster. Take your time and do the job right. Regardless if you are renting or selling you are being judged on the quality of your work. You may think you got away with one by just getting the job done but what you will find is that if it is not done right it will have an impact down the road. If you think about the big picture you will end up costing yourself more money either in lost revenue or having to pay to do the work over on certain tasks that you should have subbed out to begin with. Trying to save money is noble but not every investor is equipped to do every task. Know your limitations and you will end up out of the hospital and you may even save money in the long term.
Hiring a contractor is not an admission of laziness. If you can’t do the job or you can’t do it right, pay to get the work done right. This could be the best money you will spend on your property.