The Carpenters Advantage

[Jacob Y.]

Hey Everybody,
My co-worker and I are looking to get into real estate, and I am wondering what ideas people have for carpenters. Are there other carpenters who got into real estate who have advice and experiences?

Obviously i'm thinking we can rehab a property with the labor being "free", so fix and flip could be an option where we could increase our margins with some sweat equity. Advantages, disadvantages to this strategy? Also thinking that up to a certain point we could do all property management ourselves. We could also put labor into buy and hold properties, decreasing repair/rehab costs. Are these viable strategies to get started? Are there other ones? Anything else we should consider or know with those?

Thanks in advance!

[David Niles]

I agree with you most of the time on your replies J, and what you say is true for an established investor such as yourself that can afford to contract out all aspects of their project.
Someone from the trades just starting out on a shoestring budget must instead put in their "sweat equity" and my main point was for him not to mistake his labor as "free" and that if this was his "job" now that he is making sure he is compensating himself in his figures. (whether it makes more sense to him to figure it as an hourly rate for now or a bottom line dollar amount )
Your time should never be free whether swinging a hammer or pushing a pencil.