Recession? What recession?

Discussion in 'Repairs & Maintenance' started by James Bond, 6th Apr, 2020.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
Tags:
  1. James Bond

    James Bond Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23rd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    218
    Location:
    Melbourne
    If the media are to be believed, we have a situation where shedloads of people are unemployed or underemployed, companies are being paid to hibernate and retain staff during hibernation, the economy in general is stuffed.

    So why can't I get a tradie to build a new fence?

    I've called 5 companies. 3 have never called back. 1 has called back, said he'd come round and never come round. 1 has come round and given a quote which I have accepted, and now I can't get him back to do the work. It's a 43 metre boundary fence replacement in SE Melbourne.

    If I was an economist just arrived from Mars with no knowledge of the covid19 situation, I'd say this was a symptom of a booming economy, where everyone had so much work they could pick and choose jobs and they didn't care whether they got them or not.
     
    James Bond, 6th Apr, 2020
    #1
    HUGH72, iloveqld and Perthguy like this.
  2. housechopper2

    housechopper2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    5th Oct, 2016
    Posts:
    493
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Fencing - and a lot of trades - is super competitive in SE Melb. Most have a waiting list of a few weeks and many would probably be keen to get through their current workload before being shut down completely.
     
    housechopper2, 6th Apr, 2020
    #2
  3. Lil Skater

    Lil Skater Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,109
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Fencing contractors are the worst to get quotes from IMO.

    If you get stuck and need more options let me know and I can probably send you a couple that might not be as difficult ;)
     
    Lil Skater, 6th Apr, 2020
    #3
    The Y-man and craigc like this.
  4. shorty

    shorty Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    24th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,207
    Location:
    straya
    Do you like colorbond? DIY, it's a doddle.
     
    shorty, 6th Apr, 2020
    #4
  5. James Bond

    James Bond Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23rd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    218
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Yes I've done the front fence DIY myself in colourbond but I can't be arsed with the boundary fence and I'd rather the fencer be chasing the neighbour for money than me.
     
    James Bond, 6th Apr, 2020
    #5
  6. spludgey

    spludgey Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    3,523
    Location:
    Sydney
    My sister in law's husband recently engaged a guy on Airtasker to build a Colorbond fence and gate. $700 later, here's the result!
    IMG_20200331_100347.jpg IMG_20200331_100326.jpg IMG_20200331_100256.jpg IMG_20200331_100219.jpg IMG_20200331_100122.jpg
    Beauty!
     
    spludgey, 6th Apr, 2020
    #6
    wilso8948, Redwing and HUGH72 like this.
  7. James Bond

    James Bond Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23rd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    218
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Ooops. My front fence was 17m long and cost $1200 for the materials alone so $700 ain't gonna get you much!
     
    James Bond, 6th Apr, 2020
    #7
    Perthguy likes this.
  8. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    23,555
    Location:
    Sydney
    Paul@PAS, 8th Apr, 2020
    #8
    wilso8948, Lindsay_W, Redwing and 1 other person like this.
  9. Lindsay_W

    Lindsay_W Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    1st Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    5,065
    Location:
    QLD/Australia Wide
    Lindsay_W, 8th Apr, 2020
    #9
    spludgey likes this.
  10. mickyyyy

    mickyyyy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    26th Jan, 2016
    Posts:
    867
    Location:
    Sydney
    My mate had the same issue in WSyd trying to get a quote for a fence, its really strange...
     
    mickyyyy, 13th Apr, 2020
    #10
  11. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    23,555
    Location:
    Sydney
    Fencing isnt exactly a highly sophistcated workforce. Its one man contractor and labour. The social distancing rules can make it harder to get quotes. Probably the thing keeping many going is the pub and tab are closed.

    Stratco etc and a large contracting company will have subbies on hand to feed the work out. eg NSW = Dunn & Farrugia.
     
    Paul@PAS, 14th Apr, 2020
    #11