5 ms·
>But the biggest thing is that I'm the only one in charge of maintenance. There's no one person I can call for every single problem. Keeping track of regular ma
by asdff 5mo ago
>But the biggest thing is that I'm the only one in charge of maintenance. There's no one person I can call for every single problem. Keeping track of regular maintenance, performing that maintenance, and learning how to DIY things takes a lot of time. And even if I want to pay someone to do it for me, I still have to research contractors, coordinate estimates, and schedule the project. And I still need to learn enough about the project to determine whether they're doing it right!
The thing is, you can actually find these people. My landlord has one. Sage old handiman who knows everything about how the building works and fixed half of it himself already. Seemingly he can do every trade. He's under the building doing plumbing or electric one day. Landscaping the next. Installing appliances. Paint and drywall. Roofing. Most of the time it's him by himself, but he will occasionally bring out his crew of similar sage old handimen who know seemingly everything there is to know.
You don't need a contractor. They will give you the runaround. You need to find a handiman like this. Not easy I'm sure, but they are out there.
- bombcar 5mo agoIf you treat your house like a rental that you rent to yourself, you can avoid a bunch of headaches - mainly because you’ve given yourself “permission” to spend on it.
- natebc 5mo agowait ... There are landlords out there who will "spend on it"? Mine took 3 weeks to replace a broken HVAC when it was 35 degress out. 5 days to fix a toilet that when flushed dumped sewage into my downstairs neighbors ceiling. Maybe if you're treating yourself as a tenant but your run of the mill rent extracting (or worse, middle man) landlord is the cheapest creature on the land.
- bombcar 5mo agoThere are, but they're often found in places where the rent pressure isn't so great (e.g., there are many options for renters). When demand is so high or prices are fixed, everything else goes out the window; because what are you going to do, move?
- rascul 5mo agoThere are good landlords. Unfortunately many of them aren't and there's not really a good way to know before.
- harperlee 5mo agoDon't know about your landlord specifically, and I'm no landlord, but there's also a bunch of people (including homeowners) that will wait until summer starts to test and then complain about HVAC... just on peak season for HVAC maintenance, where the waiting times are long (and the price will probably be higher).
- apothegm 5mo agoOwner-occupiers in 2-6 unit buildings (who don’t have RE empires beyond that). The incentives are wildly different.
- taneq 5mo agoYeah but then I have to deal with my tenant. :P
- bombcar 5mo agoEvicting yourself and taking yourself to court could have fun Fogerty vs Fogerty vibes!
- taneq 5mo agoYou jest, but a couple of years ago I added myself to my company’s workers compensation insurance in case I get injured. If I ever do I’ll have to put in a claim against myself and hope my insurance covers it. :P
- Suppafly 5mo ago>If you treat your house like a rental that you rent to yourself, you can avoid a bunch of headaches Or you do a bunch of shitty halfass 'landlord fixes'
- bradleyjg 5mo ago> Not easy I'm sure, Can confirm it’s not easy. If you want to describe a method of finding one, I’m all ears.
- aidenn0 5mo agoAsk your realtor for references.
- LoganDark 5mo agoWhy would you ask a realtor?
- memcg 5mo agoRealtors often have a list of contractors they rely on to help potential sellers get their homes ready for sale. I have found and used recommended roofers, plumbers, HVAC and electricians from a local realtor that wants my future business.
- kxrm 5mo agoI would caution seeing a Realtor as an easy way to avoid doing your homework on someone. I did this long ago and the Realtor's recommendation was one of the worst I have ever worked with. There is, unfortunately, no shortcut to finding quality handymen.
- Forgeties79 5mo agoyou can definitely save a lot of time by asking your friends for referrals. Anybody who loves their Electrician/Plumber should be listened to in particular.
- pavon 5mo agoSeconded. What Realtors value in a contractor is someone who will respond quickly and do a job that looks good on the surface to avoid delaying closing. For the most part they don't know whether the job was well done and will hold up over time since they are already on to the next house.
- groby_b 5mo ago> He's under the building doing plumbing or electric one day. I believe I've encountered that guys electrical work, and it ain't sage :) (I.e. there are a few of those "fix it all" guys, but they're not always code compliant. They do get stuff done, though)
- mc3301 5mo agoPlumbing: plumber. Electrics: electrician. Most other things (besides obvious big things like foundation, drainage, roofing, load supporting areas) can be done with a good "fix it all" kinda person, or (with patience) youtube.
- laughing_man 5mo agoPlumbing isn't all that complicated, really. There are things you have to understand, but a little research will take you a long way. I only call the plumber when I don't have the equipment I'd need, like cameras and snakes.
- Gigachad 5mo agoIn many countries you are legally required to use a licensed plumber and electrician.
- obloid 5mo agoIf you're comfortable doing DIY a lot of equipment can be rented at your local Home Depot or similar store. I had a clogged sewer line and rented a drain snake for the afternoon. Much cheaper than calling the plumber. The thing I won't do is roof work. Too scary.
- cucumber3732842 5mo ago>The thing I won't do is roof work. Too scary. And that's why you're still allowed to DIY it. If schlepping packs of shingles onto a 150deg roof was as easy as pulling wire or laying pipe (heh) they'd have trade groups and lobbyists convincing the government to keep you from doing it yourself just like the lower altitude trades do.
- AnthonyMouse 5mo ago> Seemingly he can do every trade. He's under the building doing plumbing or electric one day. Landscaping the next. Doing this is basically illegal in modern day. The requirements to get even one trade license, much less more than one, are set up to make it uneconomical unless that trade is your full-time profession. Who can justify doing a multi-year full-time apprenticeship in each trade when they expect to spend 85% of their time mowing lawns and painting decks and other things that aren't that trade? There are still people who do it, of course, but then you're stymied by their inability to lawfully advertise their services.
- lostapathy 5mo agoThe other trouble is that every handyman thinks they have a great handle on everything but have at least one blind spot where they do really, really stupid stuff.
- AnthonyMouse 5mo agoIt seems like you misspelled "human" there. A large number of people can't afford contractor rates, so the alternative to the handyman is doing the work themselves. Who is more likely to screw it up, the person who does it once a month but not every day, or the person who does it once in their whole life?
- lostapathy 5mo agoHonestly, I'd debate this. The problem is the "handyperson" may "know" (but not actually) and do what they think they know. When I encounter the same task, I don't know I stop and try to learn the right way first. So there's a good chance the homeowner is actually on a better path. A lot of the handypeople you hire, kinda by nature of being under-the-radar, also end up intentionally cutting corners where "it doesn't matter" because savings are a priority for their customers, and it can go too far. I, on the other hand, at least know I'm not trying to cheap out on my own work just because my last customers were broke and I'm conditioned to working in that mode.
- brudgers 5mo agoMy landlord has one. That is a B2B relationship, not a B2C one. The old handyman probably might not need new customers and even if they do, they probably don’t want random homeowners because the inexperienced tend to have unrealistic expectations and only own one property,
- jdbernard 5mo agoTo provide a counterexample, my parents always had a handyman growing up. I think they still do. Not the same guy through all the years, but they've always managed to find one.