Assessing Your Own
Do-It-Yourself Trade Skills

Before starting a home repair project, an honest assessment of your own do-it-yourself trade skills that are needed for the project is necessary. Otherwise, if you don't have the skills, you could be biting off more than you can chew and end up in a quagmire. Your goal is to do the job right the first time, and save big money by doing it yourself (sweat equity).

To assess your individual situation and ability to do the work, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Have I ever done this work before? If you have, then jump right in full steam ahead. If not, then you might want to learn by first reading up on how to do the work, or call in a professional to do it while you learn. You can learn a lot just by watching professionals and asking them questions.

2. How long will the job take if I do it myself? Is your own time for doing the job limited due to other commitments or responsibilities? One rule-of-thumb that I always use for figuring out how long a job should take is to multiply my time estimate by two. This gives a safety factor if unexpected problems pop up while doing the work.

3. What will be the consequences (opportunity costs) of doing the work myself? Your time will be taken up, and that has a price; you'll have to buy the materials and tools if you don't already have them; and rental income may be lost if an apartment remains vacant because it takes you longer to do the job versus hiring someone to do it.

4. Do I have the proper tools for the job? Without the proper tools, your chances of completing the work successfully are severely handicapped, no matter how motivated you may be. It surely pays to have the right tools.

5. If I run into trouble, is help available? Having a friend or relative who is involved in the skilled trades or is handy can be a great asset. If you've never done the work before, it might be a good idea to schedule the job around when someone qualified would be available to help you out on quick notice if needed.

Answering the above questions will provide some honest insight into your own do-it-yourself trade skills and abilities. This way, you'll be able to make the right decision with either hiring someone to do the work, or doing it yourself. As your experience, knowledge and various "tricks of the trades" grows, the easier things will become.

For more in-depth information on do-it-yourself trade skills, please visit The Landlord's Library book collection. It's a great resource that will surely maximize your success as a residential landlord.