Handyman rates

[Tarty]

I realize rates are different throughout the country, but I was wondering about what rates are in your area.

I recently got a flyer in my paper box. This person advertises, HVAC, electrical, & plumbing, among a host of other services. Some of the things missing in their flyer are key words such as licensed & insured.

In my city, one can get a general license for contracting, you must provide proof of insurance. I know this because some years ago, I used to be a licensed/insured GC. My insurance company used to mail to the different cities, a copy of my $500K liability policy, b/4 the cities would issue a license.

Licensing for electrical, HVAC, and plumbing are totally different from a GC license and are State issued, but these services must be registered with the cities around here. They also must carry additional licenses with the cities in these parts.

Anyways, this person advertises painting, leaf raking etc.

Their rate: $50.00 per hr.

Seems a bit steep for a handyman, even if they were licensed & insured. And surely not enough for a licensed professional.

What's the going rate for a handyman in your area?

[Phisherman]

"Licensed, Bonded and Insured" is the what you want. $50/hr is about right. I can easily find a general experienced handyman for $20-25 an hour, but no insurance, no license, and not bonded. An illegal alien or a college student is about $10/hr, but that comes with additional risk.

[Bubba]

What you need to do is send a copy of that off to your local city building and state. They might be interested in why someone is advertising for HVAC, Electrical & Plumbing but doesnt have a state license for any. Im sure they would like to see his city occupational license to. Liability insurance would be nice. Bubba

[cm]

We own a home repair business in Arizona and we charge $40.00 per hour. We are not licensed.

cm

[cm]

[SteveBell]

Tarty wrote in :

I charge $40 an hour, and I'm insured. Texas doesn't require licenses for contractors, but I have what passes for one--I paid a fee with my city that allows me to submit building plans.

I'm not bonded, because my insurance agent says I don't need one. According to her, bonds here are job-specific. In other words, I would post a bond when bidding for a specific job, and I would lose the money if I didn't finish the job according to the contract. It's performance insurance instead of liability insurance.

Anybody have recommendations for me about bonds?

[Tarty]

I can understand not needing a _permit_ for work under $1000, but no license? That seems like an accident waiting to happen.

Arizona doesn't seemed concerned about protecting their citizens.

[Tarty]

A couple of cities around here, used to require performance bonds. They did away with it. I can't remember what I paid for the bonds, but they became renewable each year. They were not much, I'm thinking in the $100 range, for a $100K bond. But you needed a bond for each city which required one.

Now, the only jobs requiring performance bonds are government work.

BTW, your rates seem to be more inline with my thinking. I've been away from contracting for a little over 5 years. The insurance not only protects you, but the homeowner as well. I paid around $600 per year for $500K worth of liability. Thank the good Lord above, I never had to check to see if it was any good!

My licenses fees ranged from $150 to $175 per year, depending which city I renewed in. I licensed each year in 5 different cities. There were a couple cities which demanded bank references. To me it was a tad much, but I understood they wanted to protect their citizens, and it was game you had to play, if you wanted to be licensed in their city.

[Tarty]

I should have clarified, or got clarification about questioning the license under $1000 on "CM's" post. One would think electricians, plumbers, & HVAC people should be licensed, regardless of the amount.

I just assumed no license needed for work under $1000, regardless of work. Foolish assumption on my part!

[h]

No license requirement at all for "handymen" here in upstate NY. I'm not even sure there's a licensing option available for carpenters/handymen. I have a wonderful guy now (after several very, very bad experiences) who is not licensed but is insured. However, he has a licensed electrician and a licensed plumber on his large crew, so things get done very quickly and easily. His company does pretty much everything from one-day repairs to $250,000 additions/remodels. He's done a lot of commercial remodeling, too, and no license is needed.

[SteveBell]

Tarty wrote in :

I just renewed my insurance, a combination of carpenter/repair and landscaping, and I paid $1,200 for two megabucks of liability coverage. I do occasional subcontract finish carpentry for a local contractor, and he requires that level of coverage, because that's the level he has. Insurance companies want everybody covered at the same level, apparently.

[Ed Pawlowski]

So, do you think they should shut down all the Arizona Home Depot and Lowes stores to protect homeowners from themselves?

[Ed Pawlowski]

Thee are performance bonds that are to secure the buyer against not finishing a job. Then there are person bonds, such as bank tellers have. that insure them against theft of an owner's property while you are working there. They often require a background check.

[cshenk]

"cm" wrote

Lots of differences depending on area. Here, if you list as a handyman, you can replace a toilet or sink with no plummer license. An electrician can have an assistant who is not licensed (so can a plummer) for those 2 people jobs.

General handyman stuff (put in a new door, replace doorknobs, hang a new sensor on a motion sensor exterior light, fix a panel that fell down on exterior fencing etc) needs no license here. If smart, you make sure they are insured and the ones I use here are small company sorts (sounds a bit like your business) with insurance for their workers if they get hurt. Also a lone handyman who has his own insurance.

My husband and I are getting older, and though we know how to fix things, sometimes we don't have the stamina for them anymore or just cant lift something.

[Tarty]

I was assuming the poster meant HVAC, electrical, or plumbing work.

Your analogy if comparing to HVAC,electrical or plumbing, is poor at best.

You don't need to go off the deep end Ed. Take a breath, relax.

[SteveB]

I wish more states stayed out of private enterprise.

Steve

[SteveB]

Depends on what's to be done. So, this guy charges as much to rake leaves as he does to fix a HVAC?

I weld. I charge $50 an hour. Cash.

Steve

[Raleigh_3_Speed]

I charge between $25 - $50/ hr. depending on the work done.

Before you hire anyone, you should always ask for references.

[Dick Adams]

I'm willing to pay $65/hr for someone with specialized skills and from whom I only need two hours of work.

For non-skilled work, you can hire HS students for $10/hr, but be prepared to supervise. Make sure you have an Umbrella policy on your homeowners insurance in case the kid gets injured.

This past summer I paid a HS student $20/hr because he had a pickup truck, transported stone to my house, took yard trash to the dump, and accepted one hour for delivery and one hour for the trip to the dump. Plus there was a lot of heavy lifting.

Dick

[Red Green]

"Tarty" wrote in news:ggfah7$bah$ [e-mail]:

I know pretty much zip about heating systems. I've always had a bad feeling about anyone who does heating work and it's not their advertised and licensed profession. Stories of CO2 deaths occurring because of oddball ventilation things. I guess insisting on an inspection upon work completion would minimize risk...providing the area even has an inspector...a competent one.