Guest Post: How to Hire a Caretaker in Upstate New York

  |  November 15, 2012

Readers, a treat: Hal Zucker, an ex-NYC Realtor who has been living and working in rural Greene county for 25 years, has some advice for you on how to find a handyman, caretaker or other surrogate helper to help you with your upstate New York property. More below.

Flicker/photo by Mike Cogh, used via Creative Commons license

 

I moved from Manhattan to my home in East Durham, New York, full time in 1986, and since then I’ve made a living primarily as a Realtor with an office in Cairo, New York. The question that downstate buyers ask most often is where to find a qualified caretaker of some sort: a handyman, property manager, mover or caretaker, or someone to do snow removal or lawn maintenance.

If you need all of those things, I suggest going with a professional property manager. But if you’re looking for something less, we need to talk. The first step is always to understand that the goal is not a simple one. These helpers come in every skill level and vary from amateur to professional and everything in between. Will they be paid by check or in cash? Will it be a one time thing, a seasonal hire or a true employee (part time or full time)? Lastly, just how rural is the location? Some towns are so small that it would be impossible to satisfy all those needs with anything other than professional management company, or multiple people.

I’m going to assume that what you need is a basic handyman (basic plumbing, electrical, painting, drywall and landscaping skills.) Here in Greene County (the surrounding counties would be slightly higher), pricing for a person calling themselves a handyman will vary from $10/hour to as much as $35/hour. The number is really irrelevant. Why? Because (and here is the most important tip you’ll get) the price per hour is not as important as:

1. What is the job worth?
2. How long does the handyman think it will take to complete the job and is that how long it really took?
3. How close is the estimate to the final price?
4. Do you trust it was done correctly (some stuff is behind the walls)?
5. Does the quality of the work fairly represent the quality stated and desired (sometimes  just a tweak is needed)? Are you getting it?

Forget about dollar per hour prices. Forget about what you are used to. Start to understand that things are done differently upstate and with less skilled people when you interview (2nd tip, never hire anyone you haven’t met and talked to) the best approach is to have a list of tasks or jobs ready to go and ask the handyman how long he/she thinks it should take and estimate what that would cost. (This is actually a test. I have tried handymen who always underestimate either time, scope of work or both.) Again, if they start with “I have no idea how long that will take but I only charge $10/hour,” you have the wrong person. Am I being completely clear? This interview is the most important part of the hire.

The biggest complaints I hear from clients have to do with poor communication. Sometimes it may be the handyman but many times it is the client themselves. When estimating a job, the scope of work should be clearly stated. “I want you to paint the master bedroom,” is not a clear scope of job. You must be specific:

1. All walls should be cleaned, all holes sparkled and sanded and then primed with (fill in the blank) paint.
2. You need an estimate of amount of primer and paint that will be needed. (Almost all paint has a 300 square foot coverage. If 3 or more gallons are needed, it might make sense to purchase the paint in a 5 gallon bucket rather than by the gallon.
3. The specifics of the paint should be specific as to brand of paint, color and finish (matte, eggshell, semi-gloss, gloss, etc.)
4. All work should be done on a cloth drop cloth. (If you are not this specific you will be paying for clean up time or worse.)
5. Finish coat specifics should be as specific as the prep work for the primer.
6. The handyman should be able to break up the estimate into materials and labor. (Another test. The list of materials should not include brushes and rollers. These are tools that should be owned by the handyman. Roller pads are only used once so they may be on the list. If brushes and rollers are included it should be stated that they would become your property when the job is done.) H

opefully just by looking at the above you are understanding what your job is. This example should be transferable to any job you have. If you are a detail person this will come naturally (although if you get too compulsive you will pay for it.) If you are not you will need to understand and take responsibility for setting the scope. Below is a list of tips that are general but very important.

  • If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
  • What methods of communication does the handyman prefer. (If one of them is not instantaneous, like texting or cell phone even don’t bother.)
  • Ask for 3 client references. (This is not the same as the next suggestion.)
  • Ask for the last 3 jobs he/she finished. Ask when they were completed and the contact number for those clients. (If the last completed job was 3 months ago this might not be the right handyman.)
  • Does he/she have insurance. (If they don’t, which is very likely, you might want to contact your insurance carrier to make sure any damage is covered by your policy.)
  • How far away does he/she live. (Be aware that if it’s over 30 minutes you will most likely be charged travel time. If the job includes being your eyes and ears while you are gone it’s not likely that they will be available for emergencies. I set a personal travel time of 20 minutes for anyone I hire that would handle emergencies.)
  • Ask what stores does he/she has accounts with. You do not want to have to set up an account at a vendor for their use. This can become a real potential for abuse.
  • Give jobs/tasks one at a time until you are sure that you have found the right person. There are handymen that might start out fine but may start to take advantage as time goes on. I always recommend that no matter how long someone works for you it’s part of your job to create that scope of work list. You may let go of the need for estimates if you’ve grow to trust him/her, but the scope is your job.

The rest of my suggestions are more optional. I prefer to write checks to giving cash. I always try and get any other contractor or specialist from my main contact (my handyman) but while I may ask for referrals I also ask other people I come into contact with who they might suggest. The smaller the town, the more you are likely to get feedback about your hire from neighbors and others. If you don’t really know these people very well you should take each comment (gossip) with a grain of salt. Little towns can be very little. That’s it for now.

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