| The amount you pay contractors and laborers will be part of your cost basis. A good record of these expenses will be enable your CPA to reduce the profit on the sale of your cabin.
If you do the work, there is no cost incurred to you directly, and so there is no increase in your cost basis, whereas amounts paid to third party will add to your cost basis! Thus, the treatment will be different in the new scenario that you have presented to me, which clearly will lead to a lower capital gains tax liability. | 
