General labor or maintenance job to find - need an advice (oceanfront, 2013)

[larisa.murren]

Hey everybody!
We will moving to Maui in Dec 2013. My husband is a general constructor in CA and has a great skills in his field.
My question is how hard to find the job for him in Maui (skilld general labor or maintenance) if we will come without secured job position? And what is the best way to find this kind of job over there?

Thank you all of you!

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Can he qualify for a contractor's license or a handyman's license in Hawaii?

There is always piece work for a hard worker who does a good job and shows up on time, even if there is not a full time job in construction.

[larisa.murren]

Yes, he can be qualified for getting a handyman's license. How can he start the process of getting this license and how hard to get it in HI?

Thank you!!

[mdand3boys]

Start here:

http://http://hawaii.gov/dcca/pvl/boards/contractor/


Then, read the FAQ section:

http://hawaii.gov/dcca/pvl/faqs/contractor_faq.pdf

Here are the pertinent parts regarding handyman's licensing:

"Is there an exemption from the license requirement for “handyman” work?
A license is not required ifthe aggregate contract price for the project, including
labor, materials, taxes, and all other items, is not more than $1,000.00 and does not
require a building permit. This exemption does not apply to electrical or plumbing
work requiring a permit. Furthermore, even if an electrical or plumbing permit is not
required by the county on a particular project, the work may still have to be
performed by a licensed electrician or plumber."




He will have to apply for a GET (general excise tax) license as well.

[larisa.murren]

Thank you, thank you very much! It is hard to start all over at a new place, right? But we are loving Maui SO MUCH!

[ILoveLidoBeach]

Since you are talking about handymen, how much do they normally charge in Maui? We are planning on moving there and will need some handymen work done.

I know it is different if you live in Hawaii and can check them out but if you are an investor, it's another story.

I know I had an oceanfront condo on the Big Island and it was a nightmare to find someone to help. Our management company (Century 21) finally got us someone who happened to be one of their agents husband and he totally ripped us off, took our money, ($10,000) stole our things, had their relatives living in our unit for 2 months, punched holes in the walls, and we think they were dealing drugs from our unit. The only reason we found out was when we started to get $500 electric bills and $200 phone bills on a phone that we had blocked long distance. We were getting charged .75 each time someone dialed *69 to see who had called. The calls were at 1am-5am and agent tried to tell us the calls and the high electric biils were from the workers. Really? At a condo, facing the pool, sawing wood at 1am and getting hundreds of calls while sawing?

It was a nightmare and when we called a lawyer they said we would never win since we were "mainlanders" and the judge would be local. We lost thousands in utility bills, in property (they even stole my ironing board) and the original $10,000 and well as now I had to hire a handy man to repair holes in walls,etc.

So I have learned you have to be VERY careful of who you hire and make sure you check them out.

I know I got off track on this but Just wanted to know the going rate and to warn people to be very, very careful.

[TwoByFour]

We have been paying a guy $35/hour. This is the only thing that is costing us less than the mainland. In Seattle we were paying between $45 and $55/hour for handyman work. At any rate I totally trust this guy on Maui. Very reliable. Buys all materials and keeps all receipts for reimbursement. No up-front cost or deposit needed although I suppose YMMV on that. He does landscaping also but charges $70/hour when he uses his excavator.

[ILoveLidoBeach]

Thanks for the info. Those prices sound good. Here in Florida we had one guy that was $25 an hr. He spent the whole day on the phone chatting with "Baby" and only worked 6 hrs, left his mess in the driveway and I still tipped him.LOL He was supposed to return on Monday and never called. We finally got in touch with him when he was 5 hrs late and he replied " Dude I have a migraine" This guy was about 60 and he is calling me "Dude"??? LOL Needless to say, we fired him.

The next one we got was $45 and he was professional, returned calls and showed up on time and left my house clean.

So your $35 rate is really good. Especially since he is good and shows up! Thanks for the info.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I'm on the BI, not Maui, but things are probably the same. We find that prices charged can vary and if we're hiring someone we know they usually give a better rate. It is really, really hard to find good help, as in show up when they say they will and show up sober and stay until the work is done.

We have a lot of people in our neighborhood who have various skills, and we usually hire one of them for most jobs. Especially when they meet the definition of handyman provided by mdandthree. So while your husband may be very skilled, he also may be fighting a lot of competition from those people who are already there and have established themselves.

Building is picking up again, so your husband may be able to get on with a contractor. I'm sure they would be happy to have someone show up for work instead of hitting the beach when the weather is good.