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Are these charges reasonable?

Nicola

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We`ve just got a bill for some work done (reinstalling a shelf). We were charged $55/hour (plus materials). The total time was 5.25 hours. This included his travel time to the house and getting the materials needed.

Is $55/hour reasonable for a handyman?

Is it normal to charge for your time getting to the house and buying materials?

Thanks,
Nicola
 

housingrental

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For Toronto contractor yes it is normal
You should be able to find someone cheaper for simple jobs
For smaller jobs though, especially if you don`t have regular work / relation with trade, it can be harder to find.
A worker can easily waste two hours driving to house, going to store, finding item, getting back to house... so a 5 minute job could be 3 hours.... Not sure what you had done re shelf (cutting needed, finishing of wood on shelf or painting, support, adjacent area refinishing? etc..) but this seems 2-3 hours too long without more info


QUOTE (Nicola @ Nov 11 2010, 09:55 PM) We`ve just got a bill for some work done (reinstalling a shelf). We were charged $55/hour (plus materials). The total time was 5.25 hours. This included his travel time to the house and getting the materials needed.

Is $55/hour reasonable for a handyman?

Is it normal to charge for your time getting to the house and buying materials?

Thanks,
Nicola
 

Nicola

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QUOTE (housingrental @ Nov 12 2010, 01:07 PM)
For Toronto contractor yes it is normal

You should be able to find someone cheaper for simple jobs

For smaller jobs though, especially if you don't have regular work / relation with trade, it can be harder to find.

A worker can easily waste two hours driving to house, going to store, finding item, getting back to house... so a 5 minute job could be 3 hours.... Not sure what you had done re shelf (cutting needed, finishing of wood on shelf or painting, support, adjacent area refinishing? etc..) but this seems 2-3 hours too long without more info
<





This is a contractor that our PM regularly uses. I'm not entirely clear about the shelf, but apparently it was a shelf in a closet that had fallen down and needed replacing. I'm having a very hard time understanding how it came to so many hours.
 

housedoc

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QUOTE (Nicola @ Nov 11 2010, 11:26 PM)
I'm having a very hard time understanding how it came to so many hours.




To do even a seemingly simple job like that requires:



Going to the unit to see exactly what needs to be done.

Assessing what materials/fasteners/repairs are required.

Going to find the materials.

Paying for them.

Delivering the materials.

Doing the repair.

Cleaning up.



At the very least, it's a half day.

You paid 5.25 X 55 = $288.75

Does the PM take a cut?

How much do you think the handyman actually made? 100 bucks? 150?
 

RandyDalton

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QUOTE (Nicola @ Nov 11 2010, 09:55 PM) We`ve just got a bill for some work done (reinstalling a shelf). We were charged $55/hour (plus materials). The total time was 5.25 hours. This included his travel time to the house and getting the materials needed.

Is $55/hour reasonable for a handyman?

Is it normal to charge for your time getting to the house and buying materials?

Thanks,
Nicola

Hi Nicola,

We provide handyman services here in Hamilton and charge $25/hour. Tradespeople run $30-$45. Keeping in mind in Hamilton our crews can get anywhere in 15-20 minutes we would look at no more than four hours. Probably more like 2-3. Now with that said, this is Hamilton, not Toronto. In Toronto rates are higher, and time commitments are extended based on volume of cars on the road. I hope that helps.

Regards...Randy Dalton
R&B Properties
"Providing Design, Construction, and Property Management Services."
905.516.8997
 

SpecialEd

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QUOTE (RandyDalton @ Nov 12 2010, 10:00 AM)
Hi Nicola,



We provide handyman services here in Hamilton and charge $25/hour. Tradespeople run $30-$45. Keeping in mind in Hamilton our crews can get anywhere in 15-20 minutes we would look at no more than four hours. Probably more like 2-3. Now with that said, this is Hamilton, not Toronto. In Toronto rates are higher, and time commitments are extended based on volume of cars on the road. I hope that helps.



Regards...Randy Dalton

R&B Properties

"Providing Design, Construction, and Property Management Services."

905.516.8997






I mean this in the least offensive way possible, but why didn't you simply get a quote first? Asking about if the charges are reasonable after you have the bill in your hand is like trying to close the barn door after the horse has left...
 

oddjobs

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The hourly rates seem high if they used handyman and you should be able to find something for a little less even in Toronto. Now if the used a contractor then I could understand the price. As for the length of time it`s hard to say if it`s a reasonable amount without knowing the size of the job and materials needed. how much were the materials? what did they buy ?

I`d check into things a little more with your property manager and how they deal with service calls.
 

Nicola

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Thanks for all your comments.

The PM just goes ahead with small jobs (e.g. under $500) - I don`t have an opportunity to get quotes.

The invoice was from the handyman/contractor company - the PM doesn`t take a cut.

The materials were about $90 (I don`t know what they were). I don`t have a really clear idea of the job, just that it was re-installing some shelves in a closet, which doesn`t sound like a big job.

I was just wondering, for future reference, if the charges seemed high for a handyman (I don`t think it was a tradesperson/carpenter) - and whether I should ask the PM to use someone else in the future.
 

RandyDalton

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QUOTE (SpecialEd @ Nov 12 2010, 06:51 PM)
I mean this in the least offensive way possible, but why didn't you simply get a quote first? Asking about if the charges are reasonable after you have the bill in your hand is like trying to close the barn door after the horse has left...




Hi,



Point taken. However if you called me up tomorrow and asked me how much to install a closet shelf I would tell you the same thing.



None of us are there or can see what the repair man saw so it is difficult to judge the actual costs. Given the time and material cost I can only assume there were other damages such as drywall that needed patching and painting. However the hourly costs seem high even for Toronto. I would definitely be asking more questions and suggesting the PM find another handyman that is prepared to work in the $30-$35 per hour range.



Regards...Randy Dalton

R&B Properties

"Providing Design, Construction, and Property Management Services"
 

ekisielewski

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QUOTE (Nicola @ Nov 11 2010, 08:55 PM) We`ve just got a bill for some work done (reinstalling a shelf). We were charged $55/hour (plus materials). The total time was 5.25 hours. This included his travel time to the house and getting the materials needed.

Is $55/hour reasonable for a handyman?

Is it normal to charge for your time getting to the house and buying materials?

Thanks,
Nicola


Sounds high to me. I get handymands to do very good work for $ 25 / hour plus materials. In Oakville.
Elisabet Kisielewski
 

fisher1

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I work for a service company. You have to charge a customer for travel time or you are working for free. If I have to go to 4 small calls in a day and don`t charge travel I may have to work 10 hours to get paid for 8.
 

housedoc

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Do you gauge the value of all services hourly?
How many hours did your real estate agent work the last time you bought or sold a property? Did you calculate the hourly rate for them?
 

fisher1

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You guage it hourly if you work for a company for an hourly rate. You guys that say you are paying 25 an hour are probably just paying a guy cash for his services. The ones that are paying 55 are hiring a company and they are paying the service guy his 25- 30 per hour, and recieving a bill for tax purposes. Comparing a service guy to a realestate agent is comparing apples to oranges.
QUOTE (housedoc @ Nov 14 2010, 07:30 AM)
Do you gauge the value of all services hourly?

How many hours did your real estate agent work the last time you bought or sold a property? Did you calculate the hourly rate for them?
 

RandyDalton

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QUOTE (fisher1 @ Nov 14 2010, 02:44 PM)
You guage it hourly if you work for a company for an hourly rate. You guys that say you are paying 25 an hour are probably just paying a guy cash for his services. The ones that are paying 55 are hiring a company and they are paying the service guy his 25- 30 per hour, and recieving a bill for tax purposes. Comparing a service guy to a realestate agent is comparing apples to oranges.






Hi,



Actually we are a company with 6 staff/tradespeople. We provide full invoices to all our clients for tax purposes. Our preferred rates start at $25/hour for Handyman and General Construction Labourers. These rates are for Hamilton which is a bit lower than Toronto.
 

kir

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QUOTE (Nicola @ Nov 11 2010, 07:55 PM) We`ve just got a bill for some work done (reinstalling a shelf). We were charged $55/hour (plus materials). The total time was 5.25 hours. This included his travel time to the house and getting the materials needed.

Is $55/hour reasonable for a handyman?

Is it normal to charge for your time getting to the house and buying materials?

Thanks,
Nicola

HI, I see you are from Korea. Does this mean you have a rental in canada and live in Korea?
One has to wonder if you are occassionally overcharged. It`s almost 100% certain that you will be overcharged periodically for all the little contracts you provide to your PM and sub contractors.

55 dollars an hour for 5 hours to put up a shelve is too much. Some handyman have trailers which house tools, trims, all the nails, screws, and some pieces of wood, etc..
These are the people you want. It does make a big difference when all the tools and materials are there. Handyman, by definition should be prepared, thus 5 hours seem a bit too much, in my opinion (assuming no other work was done like drywalling, painting, etc..)



Kir.
 

Nicola

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QUOTE (kir @ Nov 18 2010, 02:25 PM) HI, I see you are from Korea. Does this mean you have a rental in canada and live in Korea?
One has to wonder if you are occassionally overcharged. It`s almost 100% certain that you will be overcharged periodically for all the little contracts you provide to your PM and sub contractors.

55 dollars an hour for 5 hours to put up a shelve is too much. Some handyman have trailers which house tools, trims, all the nails, screws, and some pieces of wood, etc..
These are the people you want. It does make a big difference when all the tools and materials are there. Handyman, by definition should be prepared, thus 5 hours seem a bit too much, in my opinion (assuming no other work was done like drywalling, painting, etc..)



Kir.

Yes, I live in Korea and only make it to Canada once a year at most. This is one of the reasons for my question. I sometimes think we are being overcharged because we are so far away (and aren`t familiar with the going rate for certain jobs). I also wonder if some contractors might overcharge PM companies, as they know it`s not the PM that is paying (and the PM probably doesn`t check each invoice all that closely). Hope I`m not too cynical...
 

kir

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QUOTE (Nicola @ Nov 17 2010, 10:46 PM) Yes, I live in Korea and only make it to Canada once a year at most. This is one of the reasons for my question. I sometimes think we are being overcharged because we are so far away (and aren`t familiar with the going rate for certain jobs). I also wonder if some contractors might overcharge PM companies, as they know it`s not the PM that is paying (and the PM probably doesn`t check each invoice all that closely). Hope I`m not too cynical...


Well, typically, the PM gets around 10% of what sub-contractors job because he/she has to communicate with the subcontractors,
and "supervise" everything from start to finish. It`s hard, you just have to phone, email, and continue to superivse the PM as best as you can. I would:
a) look at Kijijii to examine rates for handy people (you have to phone them).
b) establish a line of communication with the renters and phone them once in a while to see what needs fixing and once it has been fixed, if the job was done nicely.
c) Of course , the PM should be kept in the loop.
d) maybe amend the contract to state that landlord wants more input if cost of repairs exceed 200 dollars.


The important thing is that your renters are happy that you are fixing things and that the PM knows are you supervising him.

It`s a hard situation...sometimes you have to trust people. However, bad PM and tenants from hell are major issues in landlording.




Kir.
 
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