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The
Cost of Doing It Yourself |
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The following is from an article that was recently featured
on msnbc.com
Your home is your greatest asset. It's natural that you want
to increase its value, improve its appearance, and enhance its
livability. Small do-it-yourself projects, such as painting
a room or installing a closet organizing system, don't require
major expertise—unlike large home improvements, such as
building a porch or renovating a kitchen.
When considering do-it-yourself projects, keep in mind that
shoddy work leads to difficulty when it comes time to sell your
house. Weigh the scope of the project against your know-how.
Also consider the following:
Real costs
If you earn $40 an hour at your regular job, it would be cheaper
to pay a skilled tradesperson $30 an hour to do the work for
you. If you do it yourself, you run the risk of incurring extra
expenses later if you have to hire an expert to fix your mistakes.
Real time
Ask yourself if you want to spend your leisure time working
on your house. Doing it yourself can add weeks (or months)
to a major remodeling job, simply because you're doing the
work in your off-hours as opposed to working on it full time,
as a professional would.
The Value of Sweat Equity
How much do you actually save by improving your home yourself
instead of hiring someone else to do it? According to most
estimates, do-it-yourselvers only save about 20 percent in
home improvement costs. For many homeowners, this kind of
savings is the main reason for taking on their own home improvements.
The value you add to your home by improving it yourself is
called sweat equity. The idea is that the less you pay to
improve or enhance your home, the more profitable your home
will be at resale time. To make sweat equity work, it is essential
that you:
Understand the scope of the project, and know precisely how
to tackle it
Take the time to gain essential expertise through classes,
books, software, and/or instructional videos
Leave the difficult or hazardous tasks to experts
If you don't have the time or know how, the project is probably
best left to the professionals.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Here's a quick checklist of qualities shared by most do-it-yourselfers.
If none of these apply to you, you should definitely consider
hiring an expert for the job.
- You have a knack for working with tools
- You're good at taking things apart and putting them together
- You can clearly visualize what finished projects should
look like
- You take pride in your creativity and home improvement
skills
- You have plenty of leisure time and energy
- You find working on your house an enjoyable hobby
- You are willing to research projects thoroughly and develop
needed skills
- You know your limitations
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