{"id":5,"date":"2010-06-25T20:51:12","date_gmt":"2010-06-25T20:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/?p=5"},"modified":"2010-06-25T20:51:12","modified_gmt":"2010-06-25T20:51:12","slug":"do-it-yourself-is-overrated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/?p=5","title":{"rendered":"Do-it-Yourself is Overrated"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am a home project, died in the wool, do-it-yourself fanatic, so I believe anyone can take on whatever house improvement task they set their mind to \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if they are committed. \u00c2\u00a0What people need to realize is that when I take on a project it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usually because I want to; when a home owner dec<\/p>\n

\"New<\/a>
For best results in a crunch, choose a professional contractor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ides to make an improvement it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usually because they have to fix something as they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting ready to sell their house. In this case it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no longer an enjoyable hobby, and the task can quickly feel like a burden rather than an escape.<\/p>\n

Many sellers are fine taking on a few things as they think about getting their house \u00e2\u20ac\u0153match-fit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to sell. At least until they get half way into the work and realize that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more than they bargained for when they signed up for it. I love the idea of painting \u00e2\u20ac\u201c only the idea of it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but many sellers feel that this is something they can save a few bucks on if they do it themselves. Nevertheless, once they get a couple of brush strokes into it they suddenly realize it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit more of a pain than a pleasure. At best, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more work than they had imagined. At worst they will seek therapy after getting through all of it. \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only this week we had a client email us as they are getting ready to put their house up for sale. There are a number of small painting projects that seemed manageable. They had committed to hire a professional painter to handle the big stuff, so a few little areas seemed reasonable. Half way into the five-foot square bathroom they were ready to jump out of the window. I believe they did finish, but needless to say the professional will be getting the rest of the house.<\/p>\n

Home owners rarely have the experience, tools, time, and of course the patience to take on the apparently \u00e2\u20ac\u0153do-it-yourself\u00e2\u20ac\u009d project, especially when they are under the gun.\u00c2\u00a0 A contractor or handy man comes to the job prepared; they usually don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to run out to the store every five minutes because they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t plan properly. They also have the experience to do the job in about one third the time it takes for the average home owner to do it. They look at the work as a job, and while you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re at the office doing yours, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re at your home doing theirs. When you get back in the evening the job is completed professionally, usually without the throwing of objects or the loosing of tempers. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not done correctly it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not your responsibility to fix it.<\/p>\n

I love to take on projects, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m the first to admit that when you are getting your house ready to sell, leave it to the professionals. Take a step back and let someone that does this type of work ALL THE TIME do it for you. Save your energy for the new residence, because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where you want to be anyway. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not sure who to get for the job then call your Realtor. They are a wealth of information with lists of contractor contacts and recommendations.<\/p>\n

John VanderSyde is an Associate Broker with Virginia Properties, A Long & Foster Company<\/em>, and is also a Licensed Architect. He and his wife Ann are business partners who believe that HOME is a lifestyle choice. You can learn more about Ann & John by visiting www.InSydeHomes.com<\/a> or by calling (804) 282-7300<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a home project, died in the wool, do-it-yourself fanatic, so I believe anyone can take on whatever house improvement task they set their mind to \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if they … Continue reading Do-it-Yourself is Overrated<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-and-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}