How to Work with General Contractors
For those who don’t know me, I’m a full-time rehabber. I’ve learned how to work with general contractors and why they like working with me.
What does a Contractor Look for in a Real Estate Investor?
I think a contractor wants to know if the rehabber is a professional. He wants to know that the rehabber does quality work. Work the contractor wants to be proud of when the project is done.
How to work with general contractors?
- I never hire the cheapest contractor. I may get multiple bids for a project, but the cheapest bid gets thrown out. Usually, he will deliver unacceptable work or find ways to bill me more. “I have learned that typically the contractor with the lowest bid has underestimated the job, which translates to him putting your job second to other jobs and the work being sub-par.”
- Don’t always use the same contractor. I find I need a handful that I call on. If I use the same contractor all the time, the contractor tends to get complacent. Then things start getting slightly more expensive, your jobs start taking a back seat, and the work begins to become less quality. Competition is good.
- I always use a licensed and bonded contractor. Through my experience, licensed and insured contractors will be a little bit more expensive, but they typically do a better job and are safer at work. To me, it signals professionalism.
- I don’t pay contractors all upfront. I may pay 20% up front and the rest at the end or something similar. That keeps you motivated to continue the job and do it with excellence.\
More, how to work with general contractors.
- I have a detailed plan. When I first started out, I had some idea of what work I wanted to do on a house, but if I was, to be honest with myself, the majority of the time I was just winging it! I’ve learned, for the best results, I need to have an entire breakdown of the project, a 100 percent layout with general ball-park figures attached to the things needing to be done.
- I have a timeline. I have a reasonable timeline for the project. What I do is work out a completion date with the contractor, and then if they don’t make it, I begin deducting money from the original agreed price. For example, if we agreed that the work would be done November 10th, every day after November 10th, I’d deduct $75 off the original price until the work is done.
What does a Contractor Look for in a Real Estate Investor?
A contractor wants an alignment of values and a similar concept of quality they can be proud of.
Nu Start Homes LLC is here to help homeowners out of any kind of distressed situation.
We are part of a nationwide group of thousands of investors who help tens of thousands of homeowners every year. We may not be the “traditional” route, but we can help, and we can do it quickly.
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