[MarkJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hat do you pay them? $10 to $20 hr, No wonder............. You want a top-notch A/C sub, it will cost you $100 hr.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')e generally pay subs based on the job, not by the hour, that way they don't have an incentive to milk the job, plus we have time limits and/or incentives.

[MarkJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')ow do you pay subs by the job on a service call.

[vision-master]

I know a furance guy that just quit due to the economy, $1,000 day's were normal.

[MarkJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'I') know a furance guy that just quit due to the economy, $1,000 day's were normal.

[Maddog78]

I just booked a contractor friend, who is slow right now, to remodel my kitchen and two bathrooms.
We've been in the same house for 20 years and it was time.

RE and remodeling have slowed down in our area this year. (Vancouver, B.C.)
About time. It's basically been a 20 year boom with only brief slow periods the past two decades.
If it stays slow the rest of the year it will be a real education for many of the younger RE agents, mortgage brokers, trades people, etc. They only know that RE always goes up. They've never seen anything different.
It's been easy for them to ignore the headlines from the U.S.A. about Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami, etc.
It could never happen in Vancouver. Could it?

[Outcast_Searcher]

Good discussion.

Some observations:

1). There are a LOT of relatively low skilled (i.e. no college, etc) but honest decent folks who have lost jobs in construction or in manufacturing, etc.

2). In my experience, many of these people are willing to put in a fair day's work for a solid middle class wage (say $20ish an hour) with no benefits. Seems like a fair balance to me if you want good work done and don't want to fiddle with government nonsense for simple jobs.

3). In my experience, you can hire a pro to consult on a job and get the layout of the rules, what needs permits, what is safe, etc. It might make sense to have the pro do the tough work, ensure your the contracter is there for the discussion, and let the contracter do the "normal" or "easy" work.

4). Let's face it -- the depression era folks are dying off now. Sad, but a fact of life. Many of these people (unlike the younger generations) HATED to spend money -- or were getting too old to expend the energy or endure the change that proper home maintenance entailed. So, one might be able to buy a good fixer-upper with excellent "bones", but needing 20 years or more of cosmetic, finishing, and update work to be safe and pleasant to live in.

5). Per item 4, one might be able to both help out some unemployed folk(s), and get the help they need themselves getting some good, honest labor done. In my book, everybody wins that way.

6). If I give my money to "charity X". unless I do a LOT of research or know the folks behind the charity -- I really don't know how much good as actually done, net. Even honest charities may have plenty of waste, administrative BS, biases, etc. -- I've seen it. Now, if I employ some decent out of work person for a decent living wage -- I can KNOW that I am helping someone, and not helping create another helpless or charity case.

7). It seems to me that with all the relatively cheap real estate there is out there that there ought to be some room to get some of these people some work. As long as one uses common sense and doesn't let people do dangerous work with no supervision or permits -- I don't see the harm -- even if they don't (for example) drive a truck with a giant contractor's sign.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '1')). There are a LOT of relatively low skilled (i.e. no college, etc) but honest decent folks who have lost jobs in construction or in manufacturing, etc.