Advice to find investor friendly contractors?

Question

Good evening BP friends. I have a deal in Savannah that I'm trying make work but at least two contractors I got estimates from are coming back w/ at least double of my estimates to repair a SFH. One of them up to $80k to renovate a 3/1 (basic rehab). I've read the book How to estimate rehab cost (new edition) and my rough estimate comes to $30k. Any ideas on how to find investor friendly contractors? Any help appreciated.

Evan Polaski · Answer

@Edwin Parrilla I have not read that book. And obviously have no idea of what amount of rehab you are looking to do. But, in general with all contractors you get to pick two:
Speed
Cost
Quality

For myself, one reason why I started paying more for better contractors is the headache you save, not to imply cost = professionalism, but in Cincinnati, to do a surface rehab for $30k you are dealing with unlicensed, uninsured, unprofessional people. They have no problem walking off a job midway, typically after taking a decent draw.

But 80k, in Cincinnati dollars, should get your a very high level job.  I currently am doing a 1300 sq ft 2 bed, 2 full bath, half gut with all new electric, new framing, mostly new drywall, move a structural wall with nice finishes for $80k.

As for where to find cheap labor, Home Depot, Floor and Decor, and just searching google and calling.  It is time intensive, but gives you a good reference when you are interviewing 6-7 plumbers and getting bids.  Also, any flipper meetups can help.  We got our electrician from a friend.

Chris Levarek · Answer

@Edwin Parrilla Find investors, property managers, agents or lenders who invest themselves in The location you are investing.

Chances are they know some contractors who they’ve used and recommend.

If you bring business to lenders, prop managers and agents, they should be willing to share the details without much reservation....

Aisha Duff · Answer

@Edwin Parrilla try Savannah Real Estate Investor group on Facebook. They have contractors in the group

Aaron Stuiber · Answer

@Aisha Duff Makes a great point! In Milwaukee we have a trusted Facebook group that's monitored heavily so that we can weed out the bad contractors, realtors and other pro's in the field. I'm sure there are a few referral groups for you to join that can help find the exact contractors you're looking for.

@Evan Polaski Also makes a really good point in that you only get to pick two of those options...  Uninsured, lazy , risky... All things that come with cheap labor. You'll end up spending more time managing them than anything. Take the time to vet your contractors and tour the job sites they've completed and have them show you actual bids they put together for those projects so you can understand exactly where their cost is coming from. Hopefully they'll blow you away with the amazing job they do and everything will work out great! Best of luck.

Advice to find investor friendly contractors?

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