The never ending cost of home ownership

Owning an old house is always an investment. It becomes particularly cumbersome when one has no real skills to fix things. I always feel at the mercy of repair men (OK they are always men) and carpenters. I hate feeling like an idiot, but lets be real other than putting in clothes, detergent, and turning a knob. I have no idea how a washing machine works. So the fact that I sunk a chunk of money into a washing machine only to have it permanently die a week later was just about par for the course.

So needless to say I am more than a little stressed with this latest venture. My house is in desperate need of a paint job. The paint (due to the age of the house, 1894) is assumed to be lead based (at some level) and needs to be removed by a professional. To add to it there are sections on the existing siding which are rotten and in need of repair. The stress for me is that I have spoken with painters and contractors. I have received advise and prices. So now it is decision time. But how can I be sure that this is not going to be another washing machine.

I wish there was some way to know if some one was being completely honest with you. I mean I know get different quotes and talk to lots of people. But sometimes that really isn't realistic. I mean I am a teacher. I can't spend hours a day calling people and I can't meet you at my house on my lunch break to show them the work. It is crazy. I have had people ask me if they could meet me at 11:00 AM on a Tuesday. It has left me wondering who can meet at 11:00 AM on a Tuesday?