Hey, I just wanted to reach out to everyone and find out what their handyman labor is costing you.

I was just blown away by an independent handyman on his pricing. I admit that some of the work is in the crawlspace, which isn't fun. And I'm willing to pay a premium for that, but I was honestly stunned by his prices. He's local and when I saw that he posted about being a handyman I reached out to him. He also mentioned that he's working on getting licensed. The work I need is not complex so whether or not he's licensed I felt wouldn't be a big deal.

So we're talking about replacing some damaged crawlspace vent screens and replacing the vapor barrier underneath... over the dirt and if necessary removing some of the old Visqueen. I would supply materials and haul away any scrap. Also I've been under this house many times. It is very small (900 SF) and pretty accessible.

Before I share his price I would like to hear what hourly labor rate any of you might expect to pay for this. At most this is a one day job. Plus he knows that I manage several units and could use him again and again.

Well it's good to hear that I'm not so out of touch with reality as he made me feel.

Well I figure he'd likely be about six hours give or take. He agreed. He quoted me $3600, which equals about $600/hour. He said he would normally charge up to $6300 (about $800/hour) for this. He said he was giving me a big break because he liked my wife and I.

I told him there was no way I could afford to pay or those prices. After a bit he texted me back and said his absolute minimum would be $2000 or $333/hour and that was incredibly cheap and he'd never work for so little again. I thanked him for his generosity and said it looks like I'm doing it myself.

I also let him know that I've never even paid an electrician or plumber that kind of money for a day's work. I have no idea how any of his customers do it. Only a year or so back I probably would have paid no more than $25-30/hour.

Yeh. That price=crazy.

He either:

Flat out doesn't want to do it.

Or, thinks your gullible.

Or, is comparing his work to that of high dollar waterproofing type places.

Or, I dunno.

No way, though.

I would have to agree with you Ned. My wife thinks because he knows we own a few rental properties, he thinks we're rich and decided he would try to soak us. But I don't know. I'd love to find some of his other customers and ask them what they paid for his work. Funny thing was that he's the one that reached out to me and said he had two or three days available if I had any work for him. And he's very young, Hispanic, and seemed like a nice enough guy.

But just in case, I took a look in the mirror and didn't see "STUPID" written on my forehead.

I've had a few young guys try to soak me over the years. Most have worked for their dad's for years and then try and make a go of it on their own. I'm guessing they find enough desperate people to make a go of it for a while but they don't seem to last long and they are gone with the wind.

I've had the hardest time finding a handyman lately, my $25/hr guy turned 75 and got to where he can't do the work. I've asked around other landlords and most are paying $35-50/hr for descent guys but are also having a hard time finding help.

I pay 30-50/hour for handymen, depending on skill and strain of the work.

What it comes down to, is that you need a more wholesale like labor source. They're out there. Of course, so are the guys trying to make a killing for a small job. Realtors often know service providers, closer to wholesale in pricing.

I'll give you an example of this:

A month ago, tenant called an HVAC contractor of their chosing without authorization and paid "out of their rent."

They paid $600 for a capacitor to be changed.

My HVAC guy would be between $85-125 for the same service. The rotten contractor has a ton of ads, fake google 5 stars, etc.

Gotta sift through the crap sometimes... it's no fun.

I pay 30-50/hour for handymen, depending on skill and strain of the work.

What it comes down to, is that you need a more wholesale like labor source. They're out there. Of course, so are the guys trying to make a killing for a small job. Realtors often know service providers, closer to wholesale in pricing.

I'll give you an example of this:

A month ago, tenant called an HVAC contractor of their chosing without authorization and paid "out of their rent."

They paid $600 for a capacitor to be changed.

My HVAC guy would be between $85-125 for the same service. The rotten contractor has a ton of ads, fake google 5 stars, etc.

Gotta sift through the crap sometimes... it's no fun.

The guy who does good work is $80 an hour, but he usually isn't available. I suspect he has discovered he can keep busy with easy jobs.

#22 I am wondering how you handled that situation of his taking it out of the rent. Did you let it fly or what action did you take?

I thought about this and i find that an inexperienced guy doesnt know how to bid a job and might just throw out a crazy number because he doesnt know any better.I start out by asking these guys how much they want per hour,if they ive me a decent number we meet at the job and i show them what i want done and if i like them i tell them to get started and i pay them hourly as opposed to give me a price and set them up for failure because they dont know how long it will take.The only things i do by bid is a legit guy like a licensed electrician,plmber,hvac etc

Occasionally, you will see some people in the trades that have chosen a new trade.

It is not plumbing, not electrical, not painting, not carpentry.

Their new trade is finding a group of customers that are willing to significantly overpay for jobs. They look for what I call the "jackpot job" and turn down fairly priced, smaller common everyday jobs that require a person willing to work hard with a good work ethic.

They see a highly skilled, very knowledgeable, very experienced, well trained, licensed, insured, bonded, and very professional person charging a lot of money. Then they decide they should be able to charge the same while doing ten percent of the work with no quality whatsoever.

At this point, even if he offered to do the job for $300 total, you would not be getting anything of value. He would be in and out in no time and having done nothing of value.

You have run into a real pro. Not a pro in any of the trades, but a real pro at the con.

No need to ask anybody else about him. You already know everything you need to know. He's only available for just a few days, yeah right. At the drop of a hat, he cut his price almost in half and he'll never work that cheap ever again, yeah right. He is offering such a bargain only because he likes you, yeah right. (Even assuming everybody likes you).

I won't be wasting any more time on this guy, even though he told me if I had anything else to let him know. Right.

HE'S telling you its sunshine and giggles,....but what it is is by-products of combustion he's blowing you your xxx.

my war story is standing at the parts counter of the local plumbing supply house waiting for a three dollar fitting and overhearing the gab between three fancy plumbers in crisp jump suits, with embroidered logos and names,...talking about their '''best''' 50 gallon atmo gas water heater swap outs.

$1850.......$2450,......and $2995.,...with the senior discount down from $3,500. !!

HE'S telling you its sunshine and giggles,....but what it is is by-products of combustion he's blowing you your xxx.

my war story is standing at the parts counter of the local plumbing supply house waiting for a three dollar fitting and overhearing the gab between three fancy plumbers in crisp jump suits, with embroidered logos and names,...talking about their '''best''' 50 gallon atmo gas water heater swap outs.

$1850.......$2450,......and $2995.,...with the senior discount down from $3,500. !!

Haha, FloridaNative, I wish that were true...

He reached out to me again last night and said he was "tempted to do the job for $1500."

Repairs should match the quality of your rental.