New to Real Estate 路 WI 路 Member since 2022 路 35 posts 路 7 votes
I am based out of Wisconsin and have recently started to invest into realestate. Seeing as how I have background in construction, I obtained my pre-dwelling contractor license and am looking to get fully licensed in a few years to work on bigger projects. I am asking the BP community on what they think or wish every general contractor would do or know. What are some things or practices that I should have in order to be that 5-star contractor?
Banker 路 Minneapolis, MN 路 Member since 2017 路 257 posts 路 143 votes
4y
Do what you say you are going to do. If you tell someone you'll be there at a certain time show up at that agreed upon time or communicate if you need to reschedule/running late. Under promise and over deliver. Communication is my number one thing.
Banker 路 Minneapolis, MN 路 Member since 2017 路 257 posts 路 143 votes
4y
Do what you say you are going to do. If you tell someone you'll be there at a certain time show up at that agreed upon time or communicate if you need to reschedule/running late. Under promise and over deliver. Communication is my number one thing.
Lender 路 Texas; Arizona 路 Member since 2019 路 276 posts 路 282 votes
4y
Have to start with a detailed scope of work, the more detailed the better, have as much itemized as you can, will keep additional work orders and change orders to a minimum. Something contractors hate to put together or commit to is a project timeline. I have a template I use and list out the whole job when each item is supposed to get done, it changes a bunch but its something to at least try to keep them on schedule
New to Real Estate 路 WI 路 Member since 2022 路 35 posts 路 7 votes
4y
@Brandon Plombon
Thank you! I will definitely try to be on time if not early to everything I schedule. I will also make it a priority to make sure communication is one of the top priorities when it comes to dealing with the customer.
New to Real Estate 路 WI 路 Member since 2022 路 35 posts 路 7 votes
4y
@Andrew Bang
I will be sure to incorporate as much detail of every job I do and make sure the investors or customers know exactly what they are paying for and when they will be able to have everything completed!
Wisconsin: Eau Claire and Rapids 路 Member since 2019 路 93 posts 路 58 votes
4y
@Nick Grewe
Hi Nick...where in Wisconsin are you?
We are in central WI and finding good contractors is tough.
Our bar is right now: if you communicate with me, I'll give you a chance. Too many have not shown up when they said, then were surprised when we moved on. For instance, our current electrician had covid and delayed our project by weeks. Naturally we let him reschedule, because he called us to let us know. The plumber, who just didn't come and didn't answer phone calls for days, was replaced.
Contractors are in short supply now so you're likely to be busy no matter what.
New to Real Estate 路 WI 路 Member since 2022 路 35 posts 路 7 votes
4y
Hi Rebecca! I'm sorry to hear that you haven't had good luck with contractors as of late. I know most of the contractors I talk to are swamped with work, and they often pick and choose who and what jobs they want. I'm around the fox valley in Wisconsin.
Investor 路 Milwaukee - Mequon, WI 路 Member since 2010 路 5k+ posts 路 7k+ votes
4y
Communication skills are the number one differentiator.
One of the biggest challenges contractors face is managing client expectations - investors and homeowners alike can sometimes be impossible to please and often not because they are unreasonable people, just because they don't understand.
And even nice people take a lot of energy to manage - and that is on top of managing the job. You will also spend a lot of time talking with people about different options and then pricing them out detailed and itemized and then they tell you they expected a $5,000 job and not $25,000 - you just wasted two days for $0.
Personally I would do this: Free estimates are a verbal range only and I would strictly limit my time to 30 minutes on site. If they ask you to spend the better part of the day on a detailed written estimate someone has to pay for that.
Contractor/Investor/Consultant 路 San Diego / Phoenix 路 Member since 2021 路 12k+ posts 路 15k+ votes
4y
Main thing I found in decades of doing that was that few GCs have/use the necessary and appropriate paper work. That leads to misunderstandings and will get you in trouble.
You need: 1) a solid, foolproof way to estimate so you actually make money, 2) a comprehensive and exhaustiveScope Of Work, 3) a good looking Proposal, 4) a legal Contract for your state that protects both you and the customer, 5) Change orders that document both cost and time increases, 6) professional invoices and receipts, 7) all the appropriate lien releases etc.
Actually knowing to be the perfect carpenter comes a distant second......
Communication skills are the number one differentiator.
One of the biggest challenges contractors face is managing client expectations - investors and homeowners alike can sometimes be impossible to please and often not because they are unreasonable people, just because they don't understand.
And even nice people take a lot of energy to manage - and that is on top of managing the job. You will also spend a lot of time talking with people about different options and then pricing them out detailed and itemized and then they tell you they expected a $5,000 job and not $25,000 - you just wasted two days for $0.
Personally I would do this: Free estimates are a verbal range only and I would strictly limit my time to 30 minutes on site. If they ask you to spend the better part of the day on a detailed written estimate someone has to pay for that.
That's a great point! Having a verbal price for a free short walkthrough will definitely be implemented into my business practices!
You will also spend a lot of time talking with people about different options and then pricing them out detailed and itemized and then they tell you they expected a $5,000 job and not $25,000 - you just wasted two days for $0.
Personally I would do this: Free estimates are a verbal range only and I would strictly limit my time to 30 minutes on site. If they ask you to spend the better part of the day on a detailed written estimate someone has to pay for that.
Yes! Doing a complete detailed estimate takes over a week and dozens of hours of yours and your sub-contractor's time. If the customer wants a exact number for his budget, you need to charge for that, like $500+. I spent so much time doing 'Free Estimates', don't fall into that trap.......
Main thing I found in decades of doing that was that few GCs have/use the necessary and appropriate paper work. That leads to misunderstandings and will get you in trouble.
You need: 1) a solid, foolproof way to estimate so you actually make money, 2) a comprehensive and exhaustiveScope Of Work, 3) a good looking Proposal, 4) a legal Contract for your state that protects both you and the customer, 5) Change orders that document both cost and time increases, 6) professional invoices and receipts, 7) all the appropriate lien releases etc.
Actually knowing to be the perfect carpenter comes a distant second......
A lot of the paper work and legal forms are very new to me. As I am just starting to transition from employee to employer, I see that being the one to do all of the work is 2nd priority to being the person that manages the business. One of the main hiccups I'm having is making sure I understand all the legal requirements and business papers that are important to the business.
I am based out of Wisconsin and have recently started to invest into realestate. Seeing as how I have background in construction, I obtained my pre-dwelling contractor license and am looking to get fully licensed in a few years to work on bigger projects. I am asking the BP community on what they think or wish every general contractor would do or know. What are some things or practices that I should have in order to be that 5-star contractor?
Don鈥檛 show up on time, if at all. Dont bother letting the customer know you won鈥檛 show up
Tell the customer you will have the project done two weeks later than you think you will
if you are like most contractors you will still miss that date, give them a lame excuse why you missed it and piss them off. But don鈥檛 worry with the shortage of co tractors you will still have more work than you can handle
Investor 路 Boise, ID 路 Member since 2014 路 3k+ posts 路 3k+ votes
4y
Thank you for asking this- I was just talking to a colleague about how bad (or even just "okay") contractors are the most expensive part of investing.
To me it's simple- show up when you say you will, charge what you said you would and communicate along the way. That's really all I expect. The problem is most contractors show up late or not at all, keep increasing the price along the way because they didn't take the time to write a thorough bid and then they overshoot on their timeline.
I look at EVERYTHING I do as a partnership- I don't work for you, you don't work for me. We work together to win together. If you are my GC- I expect you to charge me what you bid and generally adhere to our timeline and communicate along the way.
Sure- sometimes you'll have surprises along the way during a job and not make as much money as you planned. Me too. But there will be plenty of times that things go as well or better than you expected and you'll make more money than you planned. Me too. It all evens out over time in a true partnership, but the problem is most contractors immediately want to charge their client for every surprise they get during a job- that's a two way street. If you give me a bid and then upcharge along the way, don't I have the right to renegotiate the price down along the way if things are going smoothly? Probably not....We win together and lose together, that's how is should work.
Side note- I am not talking about learning that a house needs to be rewired along the way or there are foundation problems that we didn't anticipate, but little issues like "there was a sheet of OSB we had to replace, so I'm gonna charge you another $150 above my bid." Please don't do that on a $25k rehab.
Haha...I guess I'm weird, but I used to show up early and sit outside. When the clock hit the exact time, like 3:00, I would ring the doorbell. Seemed to make an impression on the customer for some reason......
The problem is most contractors show up late or not at all, keep increasing the price along the way because they didn't take the time to write a thorough bid and then they overshoot on their timeline.
Of course a GC should present a detailed SOW/Proposal and stick to it. But there are always unknowns, and they need to give you a detailed Change Order with both a price increase and a time increase. (I'm not talking about little stuff like an extra sheet of OSB either)
I found in my lengthy career that cost and time over-runs were almost always the fault of the customer. And then they whine at the GC about it......
Thank you for asking this- I was just talking to a colleague about how bad (or even just "okay") contractors are the most expensive part of investing.
To me it's simple- show up when you say you will, charge what you said you would and communicate along the way. That's really all I expect. The problem is most contractors show up late or not at all, keep increasing the price along the way because they didn't take the time to write a thorough bid and then they overshoot on their timeline.
I look at EVERYTHING I do as a partnership- I don't work for you, you don't work for me. We work together to win together. If you are my GC- I expect you to charge me what you bid and generally adhere to our timeline and communicate along the way.
Sure- sometimes you'll have surprises along the way during a job and not make as much money as you planned. Me too. But there will be plenty of times that things go as well or better than you expected and you'll make more money than you planned. Me too. It all evens out over time in a true partnership, but the problem is most contractors immediately want to charge their client for every surprise they get during a job- that's a two way street. If you give me a bid and then upcharge along the way, don't I have the right to renegotiate the price down along the way if things are going smoothly? Probably not....We win together and lose together, that's how is should work.
Side note- I am not talking about learning that a house needs to be rewired along the way or there are foundation problems that we didn't anticipate, but little issues like "there was a sheet of OSB we had to replace, so I'm gonna charge you another $150 above my bid." Please don't do that on a $25k rehab.
You make an excellent point! I do believe that if I have or know that I will be doing a bigger job or know I will be doing repeat business with someone, I will for sure take small hits to profit if it means that the partnership continues and will make both parties happy in the end. Like you said, the partnership is worth more than a sheet of OSB.
Investor 路 Greenville, SC 路 Member since 2016 路 5k+ posts 路 13k+ votes
4y
The repairs and maintenance business is ripe for disruption. Sourcing and managing contractors is inefficient, stressful, and highly uncertain for the owner...and also inefficient with serious service quality challenges for the contractors. I don't what the business model looks like that is going to disrupt it, but it's out there for the taking.
The repairs and maintenance business is ripe for disruption. Sourcing and managing contractors is inefficient, stressful, and highly uncertain for the owner...and also inefficient with serious service quality challenges for the contractors. I don't what the business model looks like that is going to disrupt it, but it's out there for the taking.
That's why I'm going straight to the customers/investors. Seeing as how there is a demand for 5-star contractors, I want to do my part and try to fill that need. This is a very daunting task and I know I'm going to mess up along the way, but I do want to give it my all in order to further both the community and my personal goals.
The repairs and maintenance business is ripe for disruption. Sourcing and managing contractors is inefficient, stressful, and highly uncertain for the owner...and also inefficient with serious service quality challenges for the contractors. I don't what the business model looks like that is going to disrupt it, but it's out there for the taking.
You're correct. The current market is allowing unprofessional, unlicensed, under-qualified companies to make a good living. This aberrational situation is causing them to believe that they're doing things ok when they are not by normal standards.....
The business model that will put things back to normal is easy...it's the old tried and true way of doing things that has been with us forever: 1) Show Up every time, on time. 2) Be courteous, be honest, have manners. 3) Be well trained or better. 4) Expect and demand excellent workmanship from your crew and all the crews under your control and on your jobsite. 5) Run your business like a business. 6) Expect and demand the same from your customers.
New to Real Estate 路 WI 路 Member since 2022 路 35 posts 路 7 votes
4y
@Bruce Woodruff I agree. I can uphold 5 out of the 6 criteria, no problem. Number 3 will be the one where it will take time and years of working on my craft in order to meet the standard I want to uphold.
@Bruce Woodruff I agree. I can uphold 5 out of the 6 criteria, no problem. Number 3 will be the one where it will take time and years of working on my craft in order to meet the standard I want to uphold.
You need to have a pretty good - very good knowledge of the game before you start running big jobs. Too many moving parts. Do you have to have provable experience in your state to even apply?
@Bruce Woodruff I agree. I can uphold 5 out of the 6 criteria, no problem. Number 3 will be the one where it will take time and years of working on my craft in order to meet the standard I want to uphold.
You need to have a pretty good - very good knowledge of the game before you start running big jobs. Too many moving parts. Do you have to have provable experience in your state to even apply?
Yes, I am a registered electrician within the state. I have been doing small jobs for family members that do not include electrical. My brother is also a carpenter, so I have a direct path to another form of construction. I also talk and watch other trades on jobsites as I am working along side them. As I am just starting out, I have a lot to learn, but I want to make sure I start off on the right foot.
Also, Wisconsin has a Restricted Dwelling Contractor's License that allows me to work on projects smaller than $5,000. Anything above that requires the full license. I want to make sure I take baby steps so that i can cross my T's and dot my I's. I am working towards the restricted license first and when I feel I have perfected my processes, I will transition to the bigger jobs.
Contractor 路 Hopedale, MA 路 Member since 2020 路 31 posts 路 29 votes
4y
@Nick Grewe
Honestly. You should probably avoid investors/flippers until you get better at what you do. Get a few home owner projects under your belt. Test out your sub contractors before you get in over your head with investors. (Most times) they have a system in place and if it goes sideways or south which I can guarantee you it will sometimes. You will ruin that relationship/referral. Real estate investors don鈥檛 pay good at all, but their rich friends do. Keep that in mind