Skilled Trades People
I acquired a triplex as my latest real estate investment property and I decided to try my hand at painting one of the units on my own before my contractors were due to arrive from out of town. It took me two full days to put on two coats of white paint for a 600 square foot apartment.
When one of the contractors showed up, he told me that I would never make it as a professional painter!
My painting was messy as I ended up with paint marks all over the wooden floor (which required me to spend additional time scraping off the paint) and the coverage on the walls were not very uniform. One of the other contractors tactfully suggested that I let his crew handle the painting since they do a better job and can do it faster as well.
My respect for skilled trades people went up as I now truly recognized my shortcomings. Such skills like painting and renovating take time to properly learn and that is why trades people are so specialized in their work.
Will Delegate Interior Painting To Others
I thought that I would do the painting since that was pretty all I could do. But I since realized that painting is a big skill that can’t be underestimated. I was however, able to rewire a few electrical outlets that were wired in reversed polarity and replaced several broken window screens. These were big successes for me as an unskilled individual in the various trades.
But irregardless of my own skill levels, I’m okay with what I can do and cannot do since being realistic about my own abilities enables me to concentrate on the things I do best. In this case, it’s to acquire good rental properties and to market them out to potential tenants.
We all have our specialties and talents. The skills that trades people have are different from mine and are important resources for me to tap into in order for me to be successful in real estate investing. With a second unit in this triplex along with a lobby that also needs painting, I think I will leave these to the professionals.
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