Whenever anyone even thinks about starting a home remodeling or home restoration project cost is usually going to be one of the biggest factors, especially if the project is being undertaken prior to selling the property.
With that in mind, for many keeping those costs down while still getting what they want is a delicate balance they decide to try and negotiate.
One of the ways that some homeowners decide to try and cut these costs is to rope in some cheap – or even free if they can get it – labor to save money. Even if it is only a ‘small’ job though doing so could actually cost you a great deal more than you might imagine. Allow us to explain…
The Costs of Accidental Injury
Accidents happen, even to the very best remodeling professionals in the world, it's the reason they are called accidents. The thing is though if you have hired a licensed professional, the costs associated with an accident will be absorbed by their own insurance coverages that the law requires they carry.
On the other hand, if that buddy who is painting your living room in return for a couple of cases of beer happens to fall of the ladder and injure himself you could be in real trouble.
George Sink, attorney and founder of George Sink, P.A says " Even if your injured friend has health insurance that will pay for his immediate treatment, you are almost certainly going to become responsible for some financial damages and they could be extensive, certainly more than hiring a professional painter to do the job would have cost."
You will not be able to rely on your homeowner’s insurance to help you either, as almost all policies will not cover accidents that are related to the commission of unlicensed home improvements. So that case of beer could end up being extremely expensive...
The Cost of Ignorance
Another danger associated with a DIY home remodeling project, or one that makes use of that amateur help is that another person’s property is damaged or infringed upon, even if it is completely unintentional.
All over the world, all year long, people, usually neighbors and very often former friends, end up in small claims court because one of them chopped down a tree that did not belong to them, or created a driveway that encroached 3 inches onto someone else’s property. Or worse still, caused damage to the electrical or water lines shared by others that results in inconvenience, damage and even injury.
It all sounds a bit silly, but it happens all the time And then you face a nasty courtroom soap opera that can drag on for weeks or even months and a bit of a neighborhood war, as well as any financial costs you are eventually accessed.
A professional would not have made those mistakes, as they would have checked things like legal property lines beforehand. Why? Because if they got it wrong, the blame would be placed squarely on them, not the homeowner they were doing the work for, so doing such due diligence is in their own best interest.
The Cost of the ‘YouTube’ Job
If you go to YouTube and do even a little bit of searching around you will find that there is a video to help you learn almost anything and that is especially true when it comes to home remodeling and home improvement. There are videos up there that show you how to tile a floor, how to install a granite countertop, how to build a deck and 1,001 other things.
However, there are also videos on YouTube that demonstrate how open-heart surgery is performed. Want to give that a try? No, probably not. The point is however that watching something and doing something are two very different things.
Almost every professional remodeler has at least a couple of horror stories they can share about being called in to fix a disastrous amateur job. At a price far higher than the one they would have quoted to do the job in the first place.
Some people get great joy out of doing DIY projects and that is just fine. However, use some common sense and be realistic about your limitations and call in the pros when required before that ‘little job’ costs you an awful lot more than you had planned.
