When To Do Home Improvements Yourself And When To Call In The Pros (NAPSA)—Whetherit’s a cramped kitchen, an outdated bathroom or an ugly paint job, you don’t haveto live with your home’s imperfections. You may have considered tackling these home improvements yourself. However, there are many things to consider before you makethe decision to Do It Yourself (DIY) or hire a professional. To help, home improvement ex- pert and DIY Network host Amy Matthews offers homeowners guidance to make an educated decision when it comes to the choice between going DIY versus hiring a professional. WhatTo Consider e Experience and Training:If you have no experience tackling the home improvement needed, consider hiring an expert. Service professionals have years of training and may know how your home worksbetter than you do. eEquipment and Tools: Matthews recommendstaking into account the additional expense of buying any new tools that would be needed for the home repair you are considering. Keep in mind that if you aren’t experienced as a do-ityourselfer, you could end up spending more moneyfixing your mistakes than it would have cost to hire a professional in thefirst place. Know which projects you can do on your own and which are best left to the professionals. Commitment and Time: Extensive home repairs can take weeks to complete. Weigh the urgency of the repair and your own availability to take on a homeproject. Unfortunately, home emergencies can arise whether you have time or not. That’s when HomeAdvisor’s Home911 App can help. It lets homeownersget control of any home repair emergency by giving them instant access to service professionals, as well as to live 24/7 support with the Home911 Homeowner Emergency Line. The App is : ‘ al Y/7e> EL ~~ @Q For some home repairs, getting professional help may be less expensive than trying to do it yourself, advises DIY Network host Amy Matthews. available in iOS and can be downloaded in the iTunesStore. Whento Call a Professional Matthews suggests you know it’s time to bring in the professionals when the project is out of your scope of experience. If you decide to take the service pro approach, you will want to ensure you're hiring the right pro for the job. Prescreening your service profession- als is the best way to ensure you have a quality professional that will provide an accurate quote and follow through on accomplishing the project to your specifications. HomeAdvisor’s ProFinder is a free tool that helps connect homeowners with pre-screened and customer-rated service pros. Professionals in the network have had their backgrounds checked and reviewed so there are no surprises. Where to Learn More You can find more information about home improvement, maintenance and repair projects includ- ing project cost guides, emergency support and pre-screened professionals at www.homeadvisor.com.
