If you’re short on time or don’t feel like tackling a small repair yourself, consider hiring a handyman. Handymen specialize in smaller jobs that aren’t worth calling a general contractor to fix. Unfortunately, the cost of hiring a handyman can vary widely. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect to pay for a handyman’s services: On a national basis in the United States, most homeowners spend between $185 and $626 for a handyman's services. The high-end costs for handymen run as high as $1,122, while the low-end costs average $75. HomeAdvisor found that the average reported cost for a handyman was $390. If you dive into these numbers a little more, you'll learn that there are a number of variables that impact the cost of hiring a handyman. The scale of work is one of the biggest factors in the cost of hiring a handyman. The larger a job, the more time it will take to complete and the more it will cost. Each handyman uses his or her own pricing schedule, but you can break job sizes down by time to get an accurate estimate:

HomeAdvisor cost analysis found that the average small job will cost you between $77 and $154. Medium jobs will run anywhere between $154 and $308, with large jobs starting at $308 and up. Most handymen work on one of two pricing schemes. Which pricing scheme a handyman chooses depends on the complexity of the project. If you hire a handyman to install a new ceiling fan in your master bedroom, it’s likely that your handyman will charge per hour. For larger projects, or those with unknown time frames; such as cleaning up and repairing items damaged by water, a handyman is likely to use a flat rate for the project. The amount of unknowns involved could drag a project out over the course of an entire day, at which point an hourly rate would become exorbitant. The average hourly rate for a handyman was generally found to be between $60 and $65, but professional handymen with greater experience can charge upwards of $125 per hour. The U.S. national average is $77 per hour for a handyman.

Lastly, the employment of your handyman is going to have an impact on the cost of hiring that individual. If you hire someone who works independently as a handyman, you're going to have to do some of the legwork on your own to check his or her background and qualifications. But you're more likely to be able to strike a bargain with them on pricing. At the very least, they'll be flexible with their prices. Licensed handymen that work for a company come with insurance coverage and standard industry guarantees. But the handyman as an individual has no ability to adjust prices for you, which can sometimes result in paying more for certain jobs. The true cost of a handyman involves several factors. The more familiar you are with those factors, the better you'll be situated to make a smart hiring decision.It pays to be handy — if you’re in the right city at the right time, and you charge the right rate. When his mother was alive, Brian Keith Schrier was her go-to handyman. “Even when I didn’t know how to do it, she had faith in me to figure it out,” he says.

“I would learn how to do it. When I was young, I used to take everything apart and didn’t always get them back together. I enjoy figuring things out.” He has worked in construction and owned a petition management company, which collected signatures for special interest groups to put issues on the ballot and, in 2014, Schrier, 45, found himself at a career crossroads. He signed up to work for TaskRabbit, the online marketplace that allows users to outsource small jobs to others that, along with other odd-job service apps such as Handy and Fiverr, partnered with Amazon Home Services earlier this month to offer handyman services. business for sale roma qldSchrier, who lives in San Francisco, spoke to MarketWatch about how he can earn up to $14,000 a month doing odd jobs. business for sale 3909

MarketWatch: How did you come to work as a handyman? Schrier: I had a friend stay with me who had moved to San Francisco from Missouri and he picked up TaskRabbit for some side work, he’d come home and brag about it. He showed me all the jobs that he could pick from and talked about it until it was actually a bit of an annoyance. MarketWatch: What do you charge? Schrier: I charge $150 an hour. businesses for sale 95959I used to do minor home repair and handyman things, but since my rate went up, mostly I do more of the specialized tasks that take a higher skill: Electrical plumbing, TV mounts and things like that. handyman service west palm beachSome of the other categories like deliveries and IKEA furniture assembly, most of the people who do those charge cheaper rates, so I don’t really get picked for that anymore. handyman services college park md

MarketWatch: What did you start out at? Schrier: $20 to $25 an hour. That’s quite a jump. Schrier: I was working between 12 and 16 hours a day and I was getting way, way too much work. I didn’t know how to say no to that work. I started raising that rate to meet supply and demand. I just wanted to reduce my hours. I enjoyed fixing a problem from scratch rather than putting together IKEA furniture. all service handyman vista caMarketWatch: Does it get complicated? Schrier: Yes, if someone wants a chandelier hung but there isn’t an electrical socket. Sometimes you have to reroute the electrical wiring for that stuff. MarketWatch: So how much are you making these days? Schrier: I have a pretty major project in my life right now. Normally, I will work 20 to 25 hours a week. I’ve been working a bit more this month. I think I’m at about $14,000 this month. MarketWatch: Did you say 14,000? Is that rubles or dollars?

Schrier: We have a way of checking on our app. It’s exactly $13,976 for 30 days. That must have been a particularly big project. You are clearly busy. I recently had a tasker who earns about $3,000 a month, but he only charges $38 an hour and that’s in New York. Schrier: They’ve given me a huge lift. I had to fix a door, sand and re-stain a banister and hang a chandelier. Podcast: These blue-collar workers make $100,000 a year MarketWatch: Yes, you really have to be careful, especially with expensive items like chandeliers. Does TaskRabbit pay you to do P.R. for them? TaskRabbit has done a lot for me and I’m more than happy to give back where I can. They’ve given me the freedom to work when I want to work, to take days off when I want, to pick and choose the jobs I want to do. I made a midlife career change that was really scary and it put me in a great place. MarketWatch: Do you have children? Schrier: I have three kids and they’re all grown, going to school and starting their own lives…

MarketWatch: Do people really pay $150 to mount a TV in San Francisco? Schrier: At that rate they get peace of mind that I’m going to get it done right. MarketWatch: How did you get so handy? And what’s the most common task? Schrier: I’ve picked it up along the way. I grew up on my father’s ranch in Eastern Oregon. TV mounting is the most common task. I usually get picked for one of the most complicated mounts. Drill into their wall and make holes. I get picked a lot more for those. MarketWatch: I am picturing a nice San Francisco townhouse and a Silicon Valley millionaire who can write complex computer codes, but doesn’t know how to use a hammer and a nail. Schrier: The tech industry is moving into this city, starting off fresh. I do get a lot of younger clients. As far as male and female, I think it’s pretty even. Schrier: Well, I think it’s slightly more female. MarketWatch: Has anyone ever hit on your or flirted with you? Schrier: I just had that experience a week ago.

It wasn’t the client, it was the client’s neighbor. As soon as the client left, she told me how lonely she was. It was really awkward. All I did was bounce across the house with different tasks. So I didn’t engage in that conversation. Afterwards, it was really funny but at the time, it was more, ‘Oh, boy, lady.’ When the client came back, I told her in a lighthearted way. I didn’t want the client to feel like she had put me in a bad position. MarketWatch: What’s the oddest job you’ve had? Schrier: I got hired to fold T-shirts for $70 an hour. It really blew my mind that someone needed to do that. It was a startup that needed them done right away. MarketWatch: Nice work, if you can get it. Schrier: For some of these jobs that I do, the only other alternative is to hire a contractor. They’ll say, ‘I’ll hang that TV, but I’ll charge you for half a day’s labor.’ For me, I can hang a TV in less than an hour or access behind a bookshelf to get to a phone plug and it’s still cheaper than having a contractor.

Many movers charge a four-hour minimum. MarketWatch: Any challenging tasks? Schrier: I will get a job when the client is really not in a good mood. That’s a little bit stressful. I’m kind of walking on egg shells. I’ve still got that job to do, but in the back of my mind I’m wondering, if their world is dark like that, if that is going to spill over to me in my review. MarketWatch: I still wouldn’t call $150 an hour cheap. Schrier: Maybe people have gone through some bad experiences and they’re just not ready to roll the dice anymore. I get as much work as I want. With this amount of work, I could raise my rate, but at this point I really don’t want to. I’m going to keep it where it’s at. MarketWatch: And now you have more business through AmazonSchrier: I have my first actual appearance for Amazon later today. The client’s RV has gotten some water damage. They want the roof of the RV stripped off and weather sealed and made strong enough so they can put some lawn chairs on that and hang out.