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Using Home Depot Day Labor

PilarsMom

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I also want to add - a house is a investment. Home improvements go beyond aesthetics. If whatever work you want done isn't completed properly, once it deteriorates, will cause more troubles and a bigger cost to repair.

Always use Licensed and bonded business / contractors.

This its better in the long run
 

IronLady

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Home ownership is expensive as hell (I say this having just completed an $8000 SMALL renovation project). I’m going to be honest and say that if you can’t afford stuff like repairs, it’s better not to purchase a home. You are going to incur some major costs (a roof can cost you $12K out of nowhere, my quote for driveway paving was $6000, basically anything that breaks costs a minimum of $1000) and if you can’t afford them it’s going to be a problem. You also need to get work done by licensed professionals or it will cost you more in the long run. We are looking at a $30,000-plus electric project because the last owners decided to be cheap and do DIY wiring that we now have to fix. We knew we had to do some work but didn’t realize the full extent until the electricians came and ripped out of walls. This is more than the inspector could have known. We can afford it luckily but this is the reality of home ownership.

If you do major projects not using real contractors and professionals, the township you live in can and will find out and will make you rip out the work and start over with permits. That’s my husband’s job as an engineer to order that. Your neighbors will tell on you because they are nosy and people don’t know this, but townships take drone photos of houses in their area and compare older to newer pictures. People try to be slick and my husband catches them all the time and fines them big time (tens of thousands many times). That’s why we went with a professional electric company with the $30k quote and not the guy who would do it for $12K but without permits. I will just say that my husband would never let us get work by an unlicensed, uninsured person. The other issue is that if you, for example, use a shoddy electrician for a major project and your house burns down, your homeowners’ insurance won’t cover it. So you will be SOL.

Finally, somebody said it

OP. I don't know your situation, but don't rush into anything you're not quite ready for.

Don't let these internet billionaires & mansion-owners fool you or influence you to make moves prematurely. Every repair won't cost trillions, but you do need more than a "very slim budget for repairs" if you want to own a home.

It is OKAY to wait a bit if needed.
 

Nightshade13

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Because they aren't black.

Hispanics can do whatever they want out in the open be sure people say " awww they're so hardworking and don't ask for handouts. They just want to provide for their families", but yet the black man in Watts that was selling tacos got shut down.

this is true black vendors get heavily fined or asked to pay for fees meanwhile Hispanics get to operate without a Serv safe , business license, food handlers card .
 

Minnie Mouse

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Home ownership is expensive as hell (I say this having just completed an $8000 SMALL renovation project). I’m going to be honest and say that if you can’t afford stuff like repairs, it’s better not to purchase a home. You are going to incur some major costs (a roof can cost you $12K out of nowhere, my quote for driveway paving was $6000, basically anything that breaks costs a minimum of $1000) and if you can’t afford them it’s going to be a problem. You also need to get work done by licensed professionals or it will cost you more in the long run. We are looking at a $30,000-plus electric project because the last owners decided to be cheap and do DIY wiring that we now have to fix. We knew we had to do some work but didn’t realize the full extent until the electricians came and ripped out of walls. This is more than the inspector could have known. We can afford it luckily but this is the reality of home ownership.

If you do major projects not using real contractors and professionals, the township you live in can and will find out and will make you rip out the work and start over with permits. That’s my husband’s job as an engineer to order that. Your neighbors will tell on you because they are nosy and people don’t know this, but townships take drone photos of houses in their area and compare older to newer pictures. People try to be slick and my husband catches them all the time and fines them big time (tens of thousands many times). That’s why we went with a professional electric company with the $30k quote and not the guy who would do it for $12K but without permits. I will just say that my husband would never let us get work by an unlicensed, uninsured person. The other issue is that if you, for example, use a shoddy electrician for a major project and your house burns down, your homeowners’ insurance won’t cover it. So you will be SOL.

Finally, somebody said it

OP. I don't know your situation, but don't rush into anything you're not quite ready for.

Don't let these internet billionaires & mansion-owners fool you or influence you to make moves prematurely. Every repair won't cost trillions, but you do need more than a "very slim budget for repairs" if you want to own a home.

It is OKAY to wait a bit if needed.

I can second and third all of this.

the hot water heater was $2300 to replace this summer. Folks were like just do it yourself, I did for only the cost of the water heater! Little did they know after the company came out and did ours. The city came behind them to inspect and slapped an inspection sticker on it and took pictures. Those two little extra things are vital if something malfunctions and it damages my home. Without that sticker insurance is going to be like where were the REQUIRED PERMITS that were pulled when you did this repair? Those same “I did it for $599” folks ain’t gonna be laughing when if they end up running into problems. (You can pull permits yourself to do it but we didn’t have the time and people who diy normally don’t pull permits either because they don’t know it’s required)

Also, it cost me 1300 to replace the refrigerator and another 1000 to replace the stove. I know I could’ve gotten cheaper appliances but I didn’t want to get the cheapest just to replace them with what I want later on down the line.

All three of these expenses happened within 6 months.

Then to top it off, not home related but I ended up needing a new car. Which was another expense on top of what I had already shelled out all summer.

I also need a new dishwasher but it’s going to have to wait.
 

Scottsmoothe

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Go to Youtube and try doing things yourself. I can't tell you how much money I have saved, and it is very rewarding. I was a momma's boy growing up. I wasn't handy at all. I'm not trying to say a mother can't be handy but ya'll get the point. I try to make a little fun of myself.

I got married, and when we got our first home, I simply had a lot to learn. When I say I didn't know how to do anything, I didn't know how to do anything. Just from Youtube, I learned how to replace parts and make repairs to the engine of a Mercedes, I started doing some minor plumbing work, I can paint any and everything now, I removed and installed new shutters on my house, I built a retaining wall in my yard under my deck, I built a decking system in my attic for storage, I installed a camera system on my home, and just last night, I rewired an outlet because it was wired wrong and not working. The list goes on and on and on. There are still some things I will definitely get a professional for. I'm currently having my laundry room relocated and a bathroom installed in place of the original laundry room. It is going to take cutting into the concrete in the basement, and all other types of stuff I am not ready for yet. At any rate, I went from being completely not handy to being pretty handy and it feels good. I tell people all the time, if I can learn it, you can too! Good luck and I agree with many others. Don't cut corners on your home. Go with a professional if you must but again, if you can learn some of it yourself, nobody is going to do it with more care than you will.
 

BunnaBoop

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I can second and third all of this.

the hot water heater was $2300 to replace this summer. Folks were like just do it yourself, I did for only the cost of the water heater! Little did they know after the company came out and did ours. The city came behind them to inspect and slapped an inspection sticker on it and took pictures. Those two little extra things are vital if something malfunctions and it damages my home. Without that sticker insurance is going to be like where were the REQUIRED PERMITS that were pulled when you did this repair? Those same “I did it for $599” folks ain’t gonna be laughing when if they end up running into problems. (You can pull permits yourself to do it but we didn’t have the time and people who diy normally don’t pull permits either because they don’t know it’s required)

Also, it cost me 1300 to replace the refrigerator and another 1000 to replace the stove. I know I could’ve gotten cheaper appliances but I didn’t want to get the cheapest just to replace them with what I want later on down the line.

All three of these expenses happened within 6 months.

Then to top it off, not home related but I ended up needing a new car. Which was another expense on top of what I had already shelled out all summer.

I also need a new dishwasher but it’s going to have to wait.

THAT! Well Said!!!!(y) You can "pull" them (Apply/Purchase); however, after the work is completed and inspection is scheduled ----it MUST be as per City/County/State CODE otherwise, any and all work done MUST pass inspection No.Matter.Who.Does.The.Work.

I hired a LICENSED Contractor to replace the panel box on one of my properties and the Utilities Company (pg&e) Tech noticed a problem that the LICENSED Contractor did a sloppy-rushed job. Because the Contractor had pulled the permit, the Utility company held his feet to the fiyah! Replacing that panel box cost over $8,500.00 upfront followed by another $10,000.00 upfront to rewire the house from nob&tube (and it's only a 950 sq ft bungalow):giggle:. . . .that was a total of $21,000.00 needed upfront 1/2 down at the time of work and 1/2 the day of completing the work (which was only a 3-day project). Those two checks were written and CASHED within 3 days from dating them. I hired a young lady who was an apprentice to work on an ADU; however, her dad was right there walking/talking her through the project. BOTH projects were over $500.00 therefore, BOTH projects needed to be inspected by my city. And trust me, when a city is hurting for money. . .they will FINE you heavily to balance the city's budget:cautious:

If you don't have a Sinking-Account (Savings/Checking Account JUST for Home Improvements), I suggest you start saving 5% of your monthly income for any and all projects NOT covered by Insurance.

My rule of thumb: If the work needed to be done is over $500.00----I'm going to research and find a contractor with a track record of EXCELLENT work to prevent more cost if the work isn't up to CODE. (Home Depot and Lowe's have 3-party contractors they work with and will release the names if you ask).
 

call 6322135

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I just used them last week but it was to love me out of my apartment to the storage. I’m not comfortable having them come directly to my home. Never know what people’s real thoughts and intentions are. I always think they be scooping the place, sizing me up, seeing if I’m single ect and may try and come back and rob me
 

AngelFace0214

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We’ve only used them for smallish jobs. For example, widening our driveway, fence work, etc. I’ve never had them do work inside our home because my husband won’t allow it. Major work is always done by a licensed contractor . Remember the cheap comes out expensive!
 

Yazzie6333

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This is slightly off base. But I met one of them in front of an auto zone offering a cheaper price for an oil change. Firstly, they wanted me to follow them to a more secluded location, even thought folks do car work in front of the auto zone all the time. Long story short, I got to the secluded area to met by huge black dude who I also didn’t know.

I was so uncomfortable the black dude even knew and in jest said, “what do think we are going to hurt you?” Thankfully I was close to my house and hightailed in outta there before they started on my car.

I say all this to say OP, do some research and go to a reputable company. Safety first.

And before y’all start, I’m a black woman, I just told the other man’s race to frame the story. He favor Deebo (RIP).
 

DeafningSilence

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A friend who lived in a condo hired them to bring home some tall palms that were too big for her car. We had them drop them off in a general spot near her door (as well as a few other residents), but not in front of it. and I made sure she parked her car in a visitors spot when we got there, this way they would not know which unit she lived in. We didn't move the plants any where near her door until we saw that they were long gone.

I personally wouldn't hire them unless it was to do demo work outside, and they never could see what was inside my home or my garage. And that's a big maybe. But I would never hire someone whom I could never get in touch with again to do anything inside my home. Where they could get a good look at everything I owned, and then also knew where I lived, but I barely knew their name.

Most of them only care to do a decent enough job to get paid. They don't care if the sh*t breaks tomorrow, as long as they got paid today. Would you like someone like that working on your HOME???
 

Caligirl83

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If you want something still cheaper, but more reliable than randoms, you can still go the mexican route, but ask around. Guess who does those jobs you hire expensive companies for? It's still mexicans, and plenty of them do their own side jobs, you just need to ask.
 

OG Jay

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I've seen some high quality work done before.
Just make sure there is no drinking on the job.
 

ShesImmaculate

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I did twice and i regret it. First time i hired 2 guys to haul my things from one apartment to another- moving. A laptop came up missing, well i had found it in perfect condition abandoned at a laundromat, , find some lose some, not the same as stealing from someone who trusted you

The 2nd time years later, 2 guys i hired tried to double charge, i specifically told them $100 for both (they allegedly heard $100 each) to move a few large items into a storage unit, not even 1 hour worth of time. Uh, $100 per person is like an 8hr shift @ $13/hr today, this was back in 2013 :sidefrown. Long story short- small altercation, but since im not a fan of home invasion, i paid them $150 to split to keep the peace. Struggling randoms who know where u live and know you live around the corner from Home Depot they hang out at... i had too much to lose so i just bowed out and paid up
 

whutsthetea

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Don't

I've personally known people who have and then had their homes broken into days later.

To all the skeptics, I would NOT lie about this when I've known 3 people/families who experienced this. I would not want another, especially a single black woman, have to go through this. Safety will always be my top concern!
Yep. I can also say I’ve known people who had this happen to them. Also, you have no idea who you’re bringing to your home. They could be xes offenders, violent criminals, stalkers, etc. and this goes for any stranger of any color of any ethnicity.
 

I Am Chanel

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It's a hit or miss with those day laborers. Years ago, my best friend and I picked up some day laborers to install an exterior door. The door came off the hinges a few weeks later. I hope that helps answer your question.
 

Afrohemian

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I’ve used them for moving and my mom loves them for everything smh but I would invest in normal contractors now
 

Stealyourman

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How would you know someone is licensed though?

I asked a black man from Nextdoor to come look at my floors and give me a quote. He gave me a high ass quote. I could not find him on the state website for contractors.
 

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