DIY or hire out? Which things can be done yourself vs. best to hire someone to do?

Question

Excited to be closing on my first investment property here shortly! Got a long list of things I am excited to tackle to increase some equity and overall curb-appeal. For my more seasoned investors, what things are good to do it yourself and what things are just simply better to hire out for? i.e., painting, landscaping, bathroom tile etc. Anything helps!

Leo R. · Answer

@Justin Mabry whether it's worth it for you to DYI or hire out depends partly on your net worth and how valuable your time is spent elsewhere. For a person with minimal to no net worth and not many other options for making money, it may be well worth it to DYI--and this is especially true if that person has a lot of free time. But for a person with a higher net worth and/or other ways of making money, and/or very limited time, then hiring out begins to make more sense--in those scenarios, it's often easier and (ultimately more profitable) to hire people to do this stuff.

These days I hire out most of my work, but back when I was a beginner, I did tons of DYI. Here are the things I DYI'd vs. the things I hired out back when I was starting:

DYI: painting, laying flooring, basic carpentry, basic plumbing, drywall repair, basic house maintenance, yard work, property management, VERY basic electrical (like wiring in ceiling lamps to existing receptacles), basic tile work. Also, there were some jobs I did myself purely because they were so unusual that I couldn't find anyone I could pay--for instance, I once dug out and installed a commercial grade sump system...a long story). I've also done insulation, re-sided a house, and re-roofed a house myself, though I'd probably recommend hiring those out, if you can...

HIRE OUT: all but the most basic of electrical, advanced plumbing, advanced carpentry (esp. anything structural or requiring engineering), HVAC, appliance repair, most masonry work.

Sometimes there are things that probably would be fairly easy to DYI, but I hired out because the price was low--for instance, I found that gutter installation was pretty cheap (at least it was when I last got new gutters), so I hired that out-- even though I probably could have figured it out on my own.

One thing that you should always ask yourself is:  "If I DYI this, what is the worst case scenario if I screw it up?"  Painting a room is fairly low stakes--you might spill some paint; big deal. But if you screw up on electrical work, the house could burn down, and people could get killed. So, think of the consequences of messing up when you decide whether to DYI, and hire pros when the consequences of mistakes are high.

Good luck out there!

Eliott Elias · Answer

If you value your time you will spend none of it doing rehab work.

Hugh Thompson · Answer

As some others have said, you will need to factor in that time is money.  If you have time there is no reason why you should not DIY some tasks to build sweat equity.  In fact in regards to the BRRRR strategy, the more sweat equity the better when it comes time to cash out.  There is enough youtube videos on every subject to not attempt to do DIYs.  The key is your skill level AND patience AND having the right tools.  Let me say again........"having the RIGHT tools"............. Also to think about...........can you do skilled work to the level of what local building codes require......(i.e. electrical, plumbing, hvac etc)  Changing a toilet, faucets, flooring, painting, even hanging door jams are pretty straight forward.  Install a AC system, probably not.  Even if you completely mess it up the first time, you will now learn for the next time.  So have it, know your limits.  Many times you might find that the quality of your DIY might be better than if  you paid someone to do the same work.........

Leo R. · Answer

@Justin Mabry I should also point out that DYI'ing can make you a MUCH better real estate investor (even if you eventually end up hiring everything out). You learn a LOT about properties and how they function when you DYI things, and that will make you better at spotting potential problems, potential solutions, etc. when you go to acquire more property. It also gives you a better understanding of property management, the costs of operating a property, the risks of owning/operating a property, and just the overall financial model of real estate investing...it's a valuable education!

Steve Vaughan · Answer

What will save you the most $ of course is to do the things a licensed tradesman would have to do. I save at least $60k per year doing my own plumbing and electrical, but I learned how and have been doing it a long time.  I also do my own interior painting but I cut in free hand fast and have my own paint.I save another $60k per year doing my own RE transactions., not having to hire or retain bonehads that think any real work is beneath them. Last year I saved over $110k there.

But I don't do roofs, concrete  or tile or mess with landscaping too much.  I wouldn't build a deck or swap windows. But I do stain and refinish floors, decks, cabinets, countertops. Contractors all seem to just want to rip them out.

Basically things that can be easily bid out where a specific license isn't needed I'll hire out.

Handyman and cleaners can take care of punchlist stuff for the most part.  Hanging blinds, screens, securing rails and racks, swapping locks and fixtures etc if you have a job and time is more limited.

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Justin Mabry pros & cons to consider:

1) Time = Money: If you make $X at your current job, you should hire out anything you can get done for less than that.

2) Knowledge = Power: Any work you do yourself will help you better understand future bids from contractors, so you can avoid being gouged.

Adam Martin · Answer

I do most things myself and when I hear what people will pay to have a house painted I cringe, but on the flip side I loose a day or 2.  I enjoy it though as well as flooring, yard maintenance, and general odds and ends.  I also enjoy the self managing aspect and like screening tenants and feel I'm pretty good at it.  It has already been said but to reiterate I always look at what is the worst that can go wrong.  I'll hang a new fan, that's just connecting a couple wires but I'm not going to be the one to replace those wires or any water pipes.  If there is a decent risk that I could cause significantly harm than good I just hire it out.  This is primarily plumbing and electric, I've been shocked too many times doing simple things to trust myself with the complex.  For those of you who have been doing this for a really long time, I'm not sure how you did it without youtube, you can learn anything there.

Joehn B. · Answer

Nice! ditto.  I do my own electrical/plumbing. (Engineer) but won't do heavy lifting and landscaping. @Justin Mabry go easy on the first one, help the trade folk and learn.  replace old yellow outlets plates etc.  take care of the little details!

Overall it's tempting to do it all yourself and you save $$$ but you have to PAY yourself.   over time you want to find a balance.  your time is better spent find the NEXT DEAL.  get good at THAT like @Eliott Elias said!

Adam Christopher Zaleski · Answer

Landscaping typically doesn't require much skill. It is a good place to save money, assuming you don't have to go buy a bunch of new tools or machines.

Replacing toilets or faucets are pretty easy. I wouldn't install new plumbing as a DIY.

Painting doesn't require much skill. I also like to install "snap and click" flooring. For me personally, manual labor isn't a big deal if it's 6 hours or less per day.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Depends on your skill set and time.  Painting, yard work and cleaning are easy to do, but you have to do them-not leave them.  Things like plumbing, hanging drywall, electrical, etc... not for a weekend DIYer.  Time is money.

DIY or hire out? Which things can be done yourself vs. best to hire someone to do?

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