To swing a hammer or not?

[Alan Mackenthun]

Brandon Turner instigated an unofficial Bigger Pockets meet up last night in St. Paul, MN. It was my pleasure to meet Brandon and a number of other local BPer's. Later I found myself thinking about something Brandon said when I should have been sleeping (thanks Brandon) so I figure it's worth a post. I've heard others say the same thing before around here (or maybe Brandon just repeats himself?) and I never liked the thought much possibly becuase it hits too close to home.

Basically, the thought was "I wish I didn't know how to swing a hammer as I'd be a much better RE investor".

The assumption this rests on is that swinging a hammer and actual physical labor is beneath an investor (at least that's the way it hits me). It seems to me that the ability to actually lay hands on a project and constructing, improving or even repairing someone's home is nothing to be ashamed of. I work with software and people pay high rates for my services. That's all well and good, but I enjoy helping out my renters with problems when I'm able and I simply sleep better at night when I can look back at even a small project and see that the place is somehow better. I've bought cheap run down homes in the city and spent way too much time and effort fixing them up. It may not pay as well by the hour, but when passing by I'll detour a bit to drive by and see how these homes are doing. I don't think I'd have nearly the pride in the improvements if had only been a passive investor. Certainly there's a time and a place for contractors and delegation, but I don't see any downside to being able to swing a hammer when needed and time allows. Thoughts?