For the first time in 11 years, I am having to paint a vacant rental house (myself) only because I can't find any available people who are willing to work for $12.00/hour. It seems that everyone I have contacted is employed somewhere else OR sitting at home because they are getting a government check. And If they get a job, they may lose their government check (usually some fake disability they claim).

While buying paint at Sherwin-Williams and I started calling the painters who were listed on the bulletin board. Half of them were living at the Salvation Army and had no transportation and I don't provide taxi service either. The others listed on the bulletin board wanted $30.00/hour which is beyond my comfort zone for a total stranger.

In the past, I have had no problem finding people to work but these days it is getting impossible.

The up side to painting a house yourself is that you get things done the way you like it and moving a roller up/down walls all day long is great exercise! I am sleeping good at night now since I am so tired and beat when I get home.

Perfectly acceptable rant

With the unemployment rate dropping this may be the new norm for a while. I've noticed lately that there are 1/3 as many day laborers at the mission where I pick them up. I've had good luck putting up a help needed card on a board at the local community college but I'm sure that will dry up as they find less demanding jobs.

Don't look for a painter, but rather look for a cleaning lady and test her out on painting.

Same here, I'm painting a room soon. I just don't want to be bothered with looking for help.

I think what has happened is the 12 an hour doesn't work anymore. Is it 15 or 18...I don't know, but people can find ways to sit home and survive so they are not motivated by 12.

(I respect their opinion, but I also acknowledge that their skill level is far lower than in years past....so I'm not inclined to babysit).

econ 101, if you can't find anyone who will paint for $12, then you're not paying enough.

I'm painting right now! Punch list final day at a project.

$30 an hour in my pocket and some exercise.

Hi Roy, I hear ya! Good help can be a challenge to find for a reasonable price. Of course, "reasonable" is in the eye of the beholder. David has a valid point. Good labor commands a good wage unless there is a glut of workers in the market. You may need non-traditional strategies to find affordable help or continue to suck it up and paint it yourself, which as you say has some non-monetary benefits as well.

One strategy I used is hiring younger guys from my church looking for spare change/fun money. They work day jobs so are only available nights or weekends, so it may take 2-3 days to get the job done. I have to factor in the increased loss of rent due to vacancy vs. my cost of labor. So far, I'm coming out ahead about 40% over what I'd pay a "pro" painter.

My Class C shacks don't need the most professional spit and polish on the finish. As with all things, there is a level of "good enough for Class C" vs. "good enough for class B, class A."

To give you numbers...got 2 bedrooms, a kitchen (lots of cabinets to work around), and living room cut in, trimmed, and walls painted (approx 500 sq ft floor space) recently for $105 labor + $25 for a Paint Stick + a 5 gallon bucket of paint for $65 from Wally World. Total cost: $190, and I have about 1 gallon of paint left for touch ups later. Not too shabby. I can trust my guys not to steel my stuff or leave a job half done.

In the past, hourly labor types have always found me,..I never had to go looking for them. Things have changed.

What irritates me is the 25 year old completely healthy unemployed man living next door to my vacancy who would rather sleep all day and collect an Entitlement check. A week ago, he told me he was a jack of all trades and would be willing to help with anything I needed. Yeah really,...I have not seen that lazy S.O.B. since then.

Smoke: I have a cleaning lady who I pay $12.00/hour and I am the one who taught her how to remove soap scum off shower walls. It is ridiculous. (The secret to cleaning soap scum is using Easy Off oven cleaner (blue can) first, let it sit for 1 hour,...then wipe if off). Maybe I should be in the cleaning business!

In the past, I have been BURNED (its embarrassing) by people who claim to be 'professional painters' just because they have a business card and thus expect $30-$40.00/hour. After they were done,...it was obvious they were not professional painters and just a bunch of $10.00/hour hacks. When a painter does not remove the electrical outlet face-plate covers and just paints (not around them) but over them,...would you pay $30.00/hour for that? I do not want to go there again.

Now, there are some good pro painters in my town, I just have not found them yet.

I am about to leave here and go paint a bathroom. I will check back with you all later on when I return.

Sisco - My #1 handyman charges $25.00/hour and he is 75 years old. What is the point here?

Roy,

I feel your pain brother! Umm.. the worker challenge not your aching muscles!

Hiring is clearly different than a handful of years ago. When a layoff or the recession hit every guy with a hammer was instantly "in construction" or a handyman and his wife was now a cleaning lady. Whew! We weeded thru some doozies!

I will not pay a painter by the hour. I ask how long to paint a basic bedroom. They say 2-3 hours. (I can do it in 2 all by myself) I pay $60 labor to paint the room, add for closet, doors, etc. They overestimate their ability at 2 hours and figure out they will make $30 per hour.

I must admit even with that finding a decent worker who is not already working is difficult.

I have paid HVAC, electricians, plumbers $50/hour who turned out to be worthless.

I have"turned" a few cleaning ladies into painters. They understand CLEAN and NEAT, and usually have the patience for painting and desire to make things look pretty.

Try calling a few pastors for people they know who want part-time work

Side note: check out Idaho Painter on YouTube to learn how to paint FAST! I just trained a new painter by sending him 6 of these videos which he watched online at home.

BRAD

One tip I heard for a big discount with professional painters is the do all the masking, tarping, covering and electrical outlet plate removals yourself. Make the room ready so that they can immediately start slapping paint on the walls. Sure, you'll pay them $20/hr but you'll cut 2-3 hours off their time. Then when they're done, you can clean up afterwards. Saves them a lot of time and anyone can mask trim.

My rant: Paying my the hour ALWAYS costs more. We're paying them to figure out what to do, "getting ready", cig breaks, girlfriend texts, calls about their next job or quotes...

It's AMAZING how they suddenly leave their phone in the car when paid b the job.

LL: Can you paint this room in 2 hours?

Painter: Yes.

LL: You say you want $50 per hour. I'll pay you $100 to do this room and closet.

Same or cheaper than the $20/hr guy who spends 5 hours.

Thanks Brad20K and other for those helpful tips. I have a problem hiring total strangers at the Rescue Mission or wherever,...I don't want them stealing my tools which are scattered all over the house right now.

It has been at least 20 years, and probably longer, since I could get anyone to paint for $12 an hour.

What I pay per hour or whether its paid by the job,..is not the issue of this post!!! It is just finding a 'warm body' that is willing to work instead of sleeping all day and collecting a fake disability check. As you all know, painting a Class C house does not require the brain of a rocket scientist. Its requires someone who some common sense, can stay sober and has enough physical stamina to move a paint roller for 6-8 hours a day.

However, since everyone here seems to be hung up on money and how much I pay unskilled labor, this is how it works in my town. Here min. wage is $7.25/hour and many people here work for that wage on a daily basis. When I offer those same people $10.00/hour, they think I am Santa Claus that has come early! If I get desperate and offer them $12.00/hour, they will worship the ground I walk on and usually will quit their lousy day job just to work for me for 1 week. (They know they can always find another min.wage job usually within 24 hours).

Those are the people I am having difficulty finding right now. Again, in the past they always found me. When I go looking for them, all I am finding are the dregs at the Salvation Army rescue mission.

Roy, hey buddy. Have you tried places like the VFW, Firehouse, Boy Scout troops, etc? Places where they have people who are (generally) trustworthy and hard-working? I'm just poking the coals here...no idea where you have or have not gone and to whom you have or have not spoken already.

I think your ideal scenario would be to build a list of dependable folks who are available part time. Maybe have 5 or so. Then if Joe can't do Monday, and Terry is out Tuesday, perhaps Gary and Butch can come over and knock out the job.

One of my best temps ever was a youngster from our church college group. He was on his own and liked hanging out with friends, but for that he needed some $. I let him scrub down a nicotine coated house one time. He grabbed a buddy and knock out the entire interior in about 3 hours on night. Then later he repainted the inside of my roach poop house. I paid $10/hour, which is about where your wages are. I think the workers are there but may not know that YOU are there. This guy wasn't combing thru Craigslist and he had another day job. I just kept talking to folks until I ran across his mom one day during fellowship time (i.e. sub-standard coffee and donuts...we are Lutherans!) and she said he was milling around the house with nothing to do...practically begged me to hire him so he wasn't playing too many video games. Once he was given a task, he was plenty self-motivated.

I think the younger generation is like that: they need someone (like you or me) to "find" them. They are the aggressive "go getters" of days gone by.

Typo in my second to last paragraph. "They are NOT the agreesive go getters..."

Millenials can do good work, but they work on their terms. It's why more an more offices allow work-at-home / telework, and slacks and polos are giving way to jeans and t-shirts.

Same with rental workers. Gone are the days when guys lined up on the corner with "will work for hire" signs. All I see now are pan handlers with "homeless...anything will help" signs. I could offer those guys $30/hour and they won't budge once they've staked out their sweet spot. So you're right...it's not always $$$. $$$ HELP some folks, but you cannot motivate the unmotivated.

So the solution I think is to keep kicking over rocks. I know you are not a church-goer, but that doesn't mean you can't make some relationships with people who are. I guarantee you there are many good, honest, hard-working folks out there...but it's our job in this new economny to find them. Lots of college grads out there working as baristas at Starbucks. Maybe you go there one day for a coffee and strike up a chat with Tim as he's making your mocha-chino frappiato grande.

Roy: "Hey Tim, you look like a pretty hard working guy!"

Tim: "Yeah, I have these stupid college loans to pay back. Huh...get a DEGREE they said. What's a philosophy major to do?"

Roy: (shakes his head in sympathy). "Is this the best you've been able to find...a motivated person such as yourself?"

Tim: "It's a steady check. No one else will hire me."

Roy: (with his biggest grin). "Funny you should say that. I've got a house that needs to be painted, and I would pay someone $200 cash to get it done. Should take about 8 - 10 hours. You can do it after work, on the weekends, at night. But I need it done by next week Monday. You can wear old jeans and a t-shirt and crank up the music. I'll have a cooler of cold beverages nearby. I'll meet you there today or tomorrow to show you the job and get you familiar with the materials and how to do it right and fast. Bring a buddy to help you tape the trim and I'll throw in an extra $75 for him once I see that everything looks good. Interested?"

Paying by the hour is pretty low on the painter totem pole.

Pay by the SF or job.

I know people work for nothing down south but $12 an hour is low, that's paying a kid to sweep up around here. I pay my general handyman $30, skilled trades are all around $100.