When did you call it quits and hire a contractor?

[John Kwon]

Hi,

I wanted to know when you decided to stop doing the work yourself on your investment properties?

I love building and fixing things. Initially, I enjoyed the work and the satisfaction of finishing a nice work. I know many investors are cringing theirs face because it does not save time or money to do your own work. I agree.  

Anyway, on my last investment property, I decided to replace the dingy carpet with vinyl planks. My wife and I removed the old carpet without much problem. Btw, we never pulled carpet out in our lifetime. We noticed "millions" of little staples on the baseboard. We slowly tackle the monument task to remove them. God bless my wife who did a great job removing them on 1 bedroom. I spent 30 minutes and I put my hands up. This was the moment when my DIY  motivation just flew out the window and decided to outsource  the job.

So, tell me your story when your light bulb went on to hire a contractor? Funnier the better. 

[Tanya F.]

First, we consider if we want to do it. Then, if we are willing, we always price out what it would cost to hire it out, AND see what the scheduling would look like.  Often we choose to do things because we have total control of the schedule. Over time, we've collected a really good group of contractors, so we hire out more and more, even though we are getting more and more experienced.  We've definitely developed a preference for the kinds of things we like to do.

The things that we end up doing the most, it turns out, is drywall, trim work, and painting.