To “do” or to to delegate?

[Kyle Curtin]

Good morning everyone!

I wanted to write a quick post about recent experiences and lessons I have personally gone through regarding doing work yourself in your property vs. hiring it out and the pro’s and con’s that come with each!

(This is just my opinion and observations for myself for the future, everyone will be different and I would love to hear your opinions too!)

To do yourself:

Pros:

1. Cost is the one that is the most obvious. If you are on a budget, doing as much of the work yourself is absolutely a power move. The thing to keep in mind is that you will trade more of your time instead, and depending on the scope of the job, amount of times you have successfully completed it, & the situation (if a unit turnover and time is limited) you should factor in a learning curve of watching YouTube videos, trying things for the first time and messing up and having to go to the store to get more materials, etc. 

2. Over time, you will become more well rounded in different aspects and gravitate towards being more of a “Jack of all trades, master of none”, and be able to know what a fully complete and proper result looks like (if you delegate you can have a fully hands on high standard) and the more you learn, the more you can cut expenses if you have the time :).

Cons:

1. The result that you envision may not be the result that you get the first time or couple times around. It takes time and practice to start to achieve an early level of proficiency in different areas.

2. It may take longer to complete because of the learning curve and procrastination from lack of knowledge and being a little nervous because you do not want to mess it up, it is natural and a normal part of the human to respond to challenges of uncertainty like that. 

To delegate:

Pros:

1. The amount of YOUR time it takes to get that result you are looking for will drop tremendously . It may take a little while to find a go-to contractor, but once you do never let them go!

2. The result itself will hopefully be very high quality. In the book "Who Not How", without spoiling too much, the author mentions a concept of being committed to results. The better results you have, the higher quality your unit is, the higher rent you should be able to extract from it, and the higher returns on your COC.

3. You will be able to focus your time on higher $$$/hour tasks and adopt more of a “project manager” role in your real estate business. 

Cons:

1. You will have to pay a premium for labor, materials, & skill set of the contractor you are working with. Best case scenario, they get you an awesome result in a timely period that aligns with your situation.

2. Finding a solid contractor can sometimes be difficult. But like I mentioned above, once you find them for that particular field, pay them well and keep them as long as you can! These folks will be part of your “millionaire investor circle” for that particular area. (definitely read the millionaire real estate investor by Gary Keller!).

3. You will be potentially less aware of some of the more granular processes and final results for the projects that you pay for to make sure it was done correctly unless the contractor shows you. You should still learn in this area over time!

For me, I have experimented with both with my househack in the past 6 months, and I believe it depends on your situation. I am a very tactical and hands on type of person, but it does not fit my vision to be this way in my business to buy properties. I envision to hold more of a project manager & visionary that is out and about creating meaningful relationships and talking with sellers etc. It means more to me to work on finding the “WHO’S” to help me in these areas and create awesome mutual relationships and pay them very well and receive an awesome result on the back end.

What has your experience been & thoughts on the dynamic between doing work yourself & delegation?!

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Kyle Curtin:

I'm not your average Joe, so take this with a grain of salt.

I'm busy as a Property Manager. I make good money, I work hard, then I want to go home and enjoy my personal time on nights and weekends. 

I have 33 rentals and I let my company employees manage them just like any other investor we work for. They notify me of maintenance, they talk to me when a tenant is coming due for renewal or has a problem, they send my payments, they publish my monthly owner statement, etc. My company charges me a management fee. I don't want to bother with it, and it gives me the opportunity to see how my operation is running from an investor's perspective.

I also have a vacation rental. It's 30 minutes away and technology allows me to manage it on my own easily, but I don't want to be bothered. I gave it to a local company that manages about 90 vacation homes and I pay their fee so I don't have to be bothered. That investment makes me 2x what I would make with it as a long-term investment, even after paying fees, so I don't care if I pay 20%. My sanity is more important.

It looks like you're off to a great start by evaluating pros/cons. My recommendation is that you try to handle everything yourself, but continue to evaluate and determine what fits your goals. If you self manage, it can put more money in your pocket to invest and grow. If someone else manages, it may free up more time so you can focus on things that bring growth. The right answer is the one that works best for you.