Handyman-Rates... What You Can Expect To Pay!

Handyman-rates will vary drastically based on several factors and you can expect to pay any where from $20 to $120 an hour based on these factors.

Let me ask you some simple questions....

• Do you have access to a handyman franchise or is it the neighbor down the street?

• Do you live in a small rural community, the suburbs or in a large city?

• Is your handyman legit with a contractors license and insurance?

• Does he actually call you back in a timely manner? Last but not least... does he have a good reputation of quality work and reliability?

I could keep going with this line of questioning but as far as I'm concerned these are the main factors. Let's start with location and it's impact on handyman-rates. Every state, city, or small town has a different cost of living. Basically what that comes down is what the average income is and what people pay for goods and services... or should I say, are willing to pay for goods and services.

If you live in small town in a rural community there's a good chance that a handyman is easy to come by. The problem comes when we add the professionalism factor.

Is the small town handyman full time or is he moonlighting on the weekends? If he's a full-time handyman you may get lucky with what I call the crucial trio. Quality of work, reliability and price. When you call, does he take your call right away? If he has to call you back, is it when he said he'd call back? If you get an appointment does he call a half hour prior to tell you he's on his way or may be a few minutes late? These little things believe or not can and will affect the price you pay. If you handyman answers his phone, makes an appointment, and shows up on time... you may pay a little more for that guy! There's a good chance he's a professional with a license and insurance which will effect his handyman-rates.

Now that we have the location factor figured out, let's drill down into the reliability factor of the crucial trio... Quality, Reliability and Price.

Reliability should probably be listed first. I mean if your handyman never shows up, how could we possibly now how good his work is? Reliability means that someone answers his phone when you call for service! He could answer himself or maybe he has an answering service that sets appointments for him. If he has to call back, does he do it in a timely manner?

I mean if you call on Monday morning and he hasn't called back by Tuesday afternoon... he's not professional! Let's say he's made an appointment and is 15 minutes late and hasn't called... he's not a professional! If a service professional is going to be late for an appointment he should call no later than 30 min prior to say he'll be late and he shouldn't be more than 30 min late. If he's going to be later than that he should call no less than an hour ahead and attempt to reschedule.

OK... your handyman has answered his phone and shown up on time. That's awesome! Now how good is his work? Does he explain how he's going to fix the problem? Has he given you a clear understanding of how his handyman-rates work? I mean does he charge a one hour minimum or a service charge just for showing up? If the job takes longer than an hour, is the additional time charged by the quarter hour, half hour or full hour increments? Once he completes the job does he walk you through the job's completion letting you inspect his work? Lastly, does he leave the area cleaner than when he arrived? Nobody likes a messy handyman!

What you're really concerned about... Price!

I mean when it comes down to it you want to know what it's going to cost you, right? When you're considering handyman-rates you have to take everything into consideration.

Let's say you have two handymen. The first is totally professional. He has a license, insurance and a nice neat looking handyman vehicle with his company name and phone number painted on the side. The second handyman is... well, let's just say is less than professional. He works mainly weekends cause he's got another job. He has the tools but he lacks a license and insurance.

Handyman number one has a handyman-rate of $100 an hour for the first hour and then $25 every fifteen minutes there after. Handyman number two charges $50 an hour with no other breakdown. The job they have to perform is a garbage-disposal-repair.

Handyman number one completes the job in 1 1/2 hours cause he has extra parts in his vehicle that he needs to complete the job. The cost to you is $150 plus parts. Handyman number two takes 3 1/2 hours cause he has to make a couple trips to the local home center for the parts cause he doesn't have a stash of replacement parts in his vehicle. He ends up charging $200.

What's the better deal? Handyman number one has a more expensive handyman-rate but he's prepared to get the job done quickly so he can get on to the next job. Less time spent in your house means you can get on to doing what you want to do instead of looking at some guys plumbers crack as he bends down to fix your stuff. I know... I know... I could have left that part out but hey, it's happened!

In the end, what you want is your job done right at the best possible price. If you have to call your handyman back cause it wasn't fixed correctly the first time, that cost you money! I mean your time is money right? Even if he doesn't charge you for the return call (which he shouldn't if the problem wasn't fixed) it's still an inconvenience to you. So, just because a handyman charges more doesn't mean he has a higher handyman-rate.