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Old 01-27-2020, 10:48 AM
 
15,707 posts, read 20,229,697 times
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For me it's a mix of all of the above.

I can work-from-home, so sometimes I stay home to wait on a contractor. Some days I take the entire day off for a contractor, or to DIY some project. And since I DIY a lot, I sometimes do that work in the evening, or weekends. I also manage to keep a tidy yard, mow the lawn, do my own landscaping, etc.


I also have 3 kids. My wife and I both work so we have to juggle their schedules as well. We also try to do an activity with them on the weekends (fairs, play place, park, etc)


I'm also in the middle of rebuilding a project car in the garage. Just wrapped up the engine build.


You can find plenty of time to get things done if you make time for them. I actually don't have any stress from the above.
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Old 01-28-2020, 02:45 PM
 
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,878,767 times
Reputation: 9885
I think the OP is bringing up some good points. I massively underestimated home maintenance when I bought my house. Also, it's not just waiting for the repair guys to show up. You want to do the work? Research it and find the materials and tools and then do it. Want to hire someone? Research who does it and then call them, check references, get some bids, and then wait for them to show up.
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Old 01-28-2020, 05:54 PM
 
37,460 posts, read 45,666,657 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bande1102 View Post
I think the OP is bringing up some good points. I massively underestimated home maintenance when I bought my house. Also, it's not just waiting for the repair guys to show up. You want to do the work? Research it and find the materials and tools and then do it. Want to hire someone? Research who does it and then call them, check references, get some bids, and then wait for them to show up.
I pretty much learn all about the project before I hire anyone anyway. These days I can’t trust anybody to do it right unless I know how it’s done before I ever hire them. At least then I can tell whether or not they’re doing the job I hired them to do, correctly. Exceptions to this are my roof ( I hired the best) and plumbing. Good plumbers are in good supply around here.
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Old 11-01-2020, 06:15 AM
 
1,879 posts, read 1,054,559 times
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I don't consider this thread "odd" at all. Why would you say that? The OP has a valid point. Maybe those of you who are married or coupled or have kids don't have this issue, so please stop posting negative remarks if you don't think it's an issue. For those of us who aren't married, it's a big issue to handle a home by ourselves. I had to use vacation/personal days to get work done inside my home. I had to finagle early quits from my job to meet them at the house in late afternoon and my job expected me to make up the hours. I had one contractor ignore our appointment and showed up when I wasn't there (I missed him by 1/2 hour) and left a card in the door. I was fuming. I had to leave work early to meet him, so it was a waste. Now that I'm working remotely, it's easier to be available of course.

I had a very reliable, honest handyman for some time and allowed him access to the house when I wasn't there. But that was after him working for me for a long time.

It's not just being home for contractors that's an issue. It's doing stuff inside the house without any help. Yesterday I had to move 3 big heavy pieces of furniture around by myself. I was able to do it, by using various strategies. I cut my own grass and mulch myself. I can't afford to pay for everything that has to be done, I have to do as much for myself as I can.

The other issue is that single women are sometimes BS'd regarding house jobs. I always try to research the job before meeting with the contractor and try to have an idea of a reasonable cost.
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Old 11-01-2020, 08:57 AM
 
3,287 posts, read 1,998,964 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smt1111 View Post
I don't consider this thread "odd" at all. Why would you say that? The OP has a valid point. Maybe those of you who are married or coupled or have kids don't have this issue, so please stop posting negative remarks if you don't think it's an issue.
I think is odd because the OP started a thread about something he has no first-hand knowledge of (he's not married nor a homeowner) yet detailed what he says are problems for these people.

Then a bunch of posters--who actually deal with being a homeowner IRL-- simply shared their own experienced how they overcame these problems and/or how they really aren't much of a problem. Sometimes they are, often they're not.

To me, the responses are more appropriate/rational than the original post itself. YMMV
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Old 11-01-2020, 06:45 PM
 
8,827 posts, read 6,148,853 times
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I have worked for a total of 14 managers across 7 companies over my career thus far and only 2 of those managers were WFH friendly. One of those two is my current situation during the pandemic. All of my jobs have been computer-based and could have been done remotely. I encountered three general scenarios that prevented WFH to be onsite with the contractors.
  1. Smaller employer that did not prioritize infrastructure to enable remote work.
  2. Old school manager that wanted to see their subordinates in person every day.
  3. Manager only allowed remote work from home for childcare issues.

I am a single guy and I purchased my current home as a foreclosure. It was livable when I first moved in and I did not do any work prior to moving in. Within four years additional repairs were needed. I ended up gutting and remodeling half the house. I was very lucky that the stint under my only WFH friendly manager, my renovation funding and the availability of my contractors all coalesced at the same time. The renovation project would not have been feasible if I was restricted to paid time off (timing restriction) or if I have to take unpaid time off to complete it (budget restriction).
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Old 11-02-2020, 07:38 AM
 
1,135 posts, read 2,482,374 times
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I think OP has asked a valid question, and as another poster mentioned, for me its historically been a mixture of all three

Quote:
(A) take off vacation time just to be home when contractors make repairs, upgrades, fixes, do maintenance, etc.
I don't typically use vacation time for this however, I use "flex time" and this has always been a hassle and pita to wait around for a contractor that may or may not show up to give a quote.

Quote:
(B) Bite the bullet and let the contractors work unsupervised, essentially trusting total strangers with your home and its contents, or
This is fine if you have trustworthy contractors that you work with routinely. However I try to avoid this if necessary.

Quote:
(C) attempt to DIY virtually everything, which requires a lot of background knowledge and a lot of time invested. I would think this might risk making it tough, after both full time employment and work on the house, to have any free time left for social life, volunteering, self-improvement, or dating .
I DIY a lot because im cheap and the cost of labor typically is 50% when hiring out, aka you can save significantly by doing things yourself. To be honest most DIY projects are not that difficult and sometimes are fun and rewarding. With that said I will always hire out for things where I could easily die or cause massive damage if done incorrectly, aka electrical, tree removal close to the house, roofing. etc.

Now with that all said, Covid's silver lining of working from home has been awesome on this front, I have had a ton of contractors come out and give quotes as well as do work around the house without hassle.
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Old 11-02-2020, 08:02 AM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,702 posts, read 79,413,686 times
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I do a mix of the three. Mostly I DIY if it is something doable in a weekend or two. If I hire something out, I am only home when I need to be to show them where things are or answer questions. If you do not trust your contractor, do not hire them.
I am not going to sit there and watch them for eight hours anyway. How they spend their time is up to them. I try to avoid T & M work, you end up paying more, even if your contractor is honest. When I get home, I may look at their progress or wait until they are done. In part it depends on how much I know about the work they are doing. In the end or before it is covered up I am going to inspect the work carefully and if practical test it. 99% of the time there is no benefit to me sitting around at home all day. It just makes them and me uncomfortable. One exception is when I need to do something myself and I am not sure how to do it. If I have a contractor that I know, I might take they day off and offer them an extra $50 to show me how to do whatever it is I am doing myself. Some of them refuse any extra money and some will pop around once in a while and see how you are doing and offer suggestions.
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