Is learning carpentry worth it?

Question

I am 23 years old and have been working with a carpenter learning the trade through remodels on bathrooms, kitchens and exteriors/decks for the past couple years. I enjoy the work and learning skills but getting in to real estate has always been a goal of mine specifically owning rentals and flipping houses. And after listening to the podcast for the past few months I know that is something I want to start working towards seriously next year.

My question is after listening to the podcast and scrolling through some forums it sounds like majority of people are working with contractors not doing the work themselves. My thought always was that if I learned some skills and could do a lot of the work myself I would save money. Now I’m thinking that’s the one of the first things people find help with as I know eventually I’ll need to pass responsibility’s to others as I grow. My girlfriend of 6yrs is also in the process of getting her real estate license so learning remodeling and carpentry seems to make sense with me but again just wondering if I should spend my time and energy learning other skills while I’m young and have the time.
Thanks for any ideas or advice.

David Hedges · Answer

If you are early on in real estate, learning carpentry skills won't hurt. You are correct that you can save some money in doing the work yourself. The problem is that it doesn't scale well, and at a certain point, you do need to start delegating that work off to someone else if you want to grow, and if you value your time with your girlfriend and family.

The upside of having experience in carpentry though is that when you are hiring out the work, you have a good idea of what is involved in the work, and can vet your contractors a bit better than someone who does not have the experience.

I'd make the same claim of property management, if you do it on your own, you gain an appreciation for the services that a good property manager can provide. yes, you save some money doing it yourself, but doing it yourself limits you to your local market, and in the number of properties that you can affectively manage.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

A lot of people start off doing the work themselves, mostly because they've watched too many HGTV shows and think it will be easy.

A contractor can do the work correctly the first time and with a professional finish.

An amateur takes much longer, and the end result may be less than ideal.

Let's say you want to renovate the kitchen. You can hire a contractor for $15,000 and he can have it done in two weeks or you can do it yourself for $7000. The problem is, doing it yourself takes three months and cost ends up at $8,000 because you misjudged some things or made mistakes.

2.5 extra months of vacancy at $1,500 a month = $3,750. Your time is worth $20 an hour and you spent 100 hours on the work = $2,000.

$8,000 (material cost) + $3,750 (lost rent) + $2,000 (your labor) = $13,750

You saved $1,250. This doesn't include the amount of personal stress, the lost time with family, etc.

Crunch the numbers yourself. Don't forget to include the cost of your own time (it's not free) and that you may end up with an inferior product in the end.

Eliott Elias · Answer

You will save money, but your time to find deals, build connections, sharpen your investor blade will be handicapped by all the time you spend working on a home. Your bandwidth decreases.

Dennis Nguyen · Answer

I would try it out and see if you like it. For me personally I knew right away I did not enjoy the carpentry aspect of real estate - so I chose to hire it out. I would rather spend my time looking for deals or analyzing real estate properties. Like others said above - time is money! After a certain point it makes sense to leverage your money and hire out so you can get more time back for yourself.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Lol, even a great carpenter is only worth $50-75 hr to a GC. Unless you own the company and run a few carpenters like I used to, then there are big bucks in the markups..... :-)

Drew Sygit · Answer

what will generate the most income per hour?

Jaron Walling · Answer

Considering we have a shortage skilled labor learning carpentry is a smart move. It's only one aspect of rehabbing property but it's valuable.

If you're serious about REI having remodeling skills is an advantage. Rehab budgeting could become very easy for you. Like @Nathan Gesner said it comes down to time and $$$. From my experience remodeling older homes you can do the work but should you?  Pick one remodeling project... think about tools, material choices, planning, and driving to Lowes 12 times. It eats up time like crazy. Time is money. The distressed properties we purchase and numbers sorta dictate that, but it's not sustainable from a DIY prospective. Most investors learn to leverage the professionals.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Carpentry skills by themselves are not that critical. A majority of the work you will do to repair and renovate your rentals will not involve carpentry at all. Now if you could work with a GC you will learn a lot more, and after 4 years you could qualify to get your own license.

That will open some doors for you and by then you will have the ability to drive by a house and throw a rehab number at it. THAT is the priceless skill that will set you apart from the average investor.

Just being a good carpenter will provide you very little value in the RE world.

Is learning carpentry worth it?

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