Determining how long tasks should take (carpentry, painting, etc.

[Kenneth LaVoie]

I am one of those investors who absolutely hates to do anything DIY. I own a lawn care business and a small web design business where I put the bulk of my "manual labor" while I have an absolute Godsend working for me who handles all our carpentry, repairs, etc. The problem is, I have NO IDEA how long things SHOULD take (i.e. is he fast or slow and is there anything I can do about it to help him without offending him if he's slow). Our repairs expense is regularly in the 20-30% range vs. "nationally accepted" 5-10%. We don't do anything "luxury". In other words, our problem isn't that we're putting granite countertops in class C properties. We just like things done well, done nice. 2 Tone paint vs. "antique white" etc. It could be my "fussiness" that is contributing to his onerous bills. To be fair, he does save us some when he sneaks in and takes care of plumbing issues instead of our $88 per hour plumbing company. We also do have an occasional apartment (of 48) that has NEVER been remodeled. He takes 80-200 hours @ $30 per hour to renovate. I don't have a solid core question here other than, if I have NO IDEA how much time things take to do, is there any way for me to hold him accountable and help him set better goals? Is there a list somewhere that says, "putting a kitchen cabinet in should take x" etc. Of course, these are old buildings and there's 9 steps that no "estimating guide" includes, like sanding and putting poly on the floor under the cabinet you tear out to keep the cat urine odor in, etc. Anyway, I'd love to hear anyone's feedback and perspective on this. maybe my solution is to hire a general manager who is a "bad ***" with controlling expenses! 

[Marcia Maynard]

That's a fair question to ask but one that's almost impossible to answer. There are so many variables, especially with older properties.

Workers who are honest, dependable, skillful, reasonably priced and personable are worth their weight in gold. We choose to work with people who don't smoke, drink (in excess), or use drugs. Our best workers become part of our "team" and we let them know we value them by speaking highly of them, complementing their work, and treating them to lunch, or tickets to a show, or even paying for a professional massage or trip to the dentist from time to time. We strive for more than a transactional relationship. We want workers who look after our best interest in addition to their own.  The win-win. The guy or gal who will go out of their way to help us in a pinch. Loyal. Respectful of our tenants too and know that what they do makes a positive difference in the lives of our tenants. It's never "just a rental"; it's someone's home. We look for workers who take pride in their work and demonstrate integrity. 

At one of my past jobs we had a saying "You see it, you own it!" Whereby if you see something that needs tending, you take care of it by either doing it yourself (such as picking up a piece of trash and putting it in the waste bin) or letting the right person know something is amiss so it gets addressed appropriately. Sounds like the guy who works for you understands the value of seeing something and proactively tending to it within the scope of his capability. That's great!

That said, what's a fair wage and what's an honest day's work? When we work side by side with tradespeople or others, what do we observe? Do they show up on time with the right tools? Do they know how to select the right materials? Are they focused? Are they working at a steady pace? Do they take safety measures and have the right PPE? Do they take breaks appropriately? Do they start with the end in mind? Are they able to complete the task in a reasonable amount of time? Are they saving us money in the long run or bleeding us dry? Do we get the results we want?

One of my strategies is to look at YouTube videos of tradespeople doing their work, especially the ones where they are teaching other tradespeople how to do the job. There's a difference in how a professional approaches a task and how an unskilled laborer approaches a task. As a worker becomes more skilled, their ability to pick up the pace increases too, as well as their critical thinking skills. There is value in that. 

Good workers can also slow down over time without even realizing it. Especially solo workers. But, when working side by side with others, there's a group energy bouying effect which leads to greater efficiency and camaraderie. The workers can be working on the same task or completely different things. Just the presence of others tending to improve accountability.

I wouldn't put pressure on a good worker by sending in a bean counter to reel in expenses. Instead, I would take the worker out to lunch and share with him my challenges and ask him for his thoughts. If I needed him to do something different, I would phrase it as... "What would it take to _______________." For example, "What would it take to complete this apartment rehab within $$ budget, or within XX time, or with QQ quality?" In the project management triangle, you are considering Scope - Cost - Schedule when aiming for a particular quality outcome. Others have put it simply..... Price, Quality or Time....  choose two."

Also, as emphasized in a recent version of "This Old House" fewer people are going into the trades. There is a real shortage on the horizon. Finding good tradespeople, who are interested and available to work on our investment properties will become more challenging. We'll need to provide incentive to keep the good ones servicing our older properties or we may lose them to new construction.

So I didn't really answer your question.... just gave you more to consider! :-)