Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
I am here to network and learn. I want to help however I can. I am a General contractor. Please feel free to ask anything about a project you have or are considering.
Fair Lawn, NJ · Member since 2017 · 38 posts · 16 votes
8y
Dude. You’re going to be the most popular guy here if you are willing to help anybody with a question. Although I’m currently in NJ, who knows, maybe if an opportunity ever arises in TX, at least I know somebody there. I too am just starting out in investing. I hope I can pick your brain sometimes if there’s ever a question that I can’t find an answer to.
Jose Schneider, it’s nice to meet you Sir. To be honest, I haven’t been to Houston to see the flooding. Quite a few of my buddies have gone though, they say it’s pretty rough. Ive done some fire and flood restoration. I restored a house that sat under 4’ of water for over a week. I think I’ve already touched on that in another conversation here. Anyway, repairing flood damage is not a big deal. It’s really just the same old thing. Tear out the old rock. Pray that the house has a fire break in the walls. Dry and remove mold. Rebuild. The hard thing about flood properties is the dreaded “mold remediation companies”. I do believe they are in cahoots with the “mold inspectors”. The mold remediation guys hire the best salesman to scare you into getting them in there with no price on the bill. Then the mold tester finds mold!!! It’s comical really. If I was going to Houston, I would skip the mold remediation and inspection companies and just put in the sales contract that the home was flooded (obviously if it’s Houston). It was restored and tested for mold by a third party company and wipe my hands of it there. The mold and insurance companies will tell you you can’t do that....but actually you can. They just don’t like it. That’s where the GC experience comes in. I’ve done it enough to know when they’re trying to bully me. When I have a new customer I always ask to be there when the inspectors there. 90% of the time they try to scare the customer into signing something making them use a remediation company. It’s sad really. As far as becoming a GC. Man it’s all about what you know. I’m second generation in this line of work. I eat, sleep and drink residential remodeling. I read city code in my spare time and do a ton of product research. If you can go into any situation, in any home, after all the other contractors have left it behind and say “I can do this, on time and under budget and make it better than it was before”. Then you may be on your way. I just wear so many hats...for example...I do the advertising, selling, hiring, firing, scheduling, payroll, taxes, product research, price negotiation, inspections, insurance meetings, insurance write ups, bank meetings, draw requests, and when I need to I can pick up any tool on any project and do the work better than the lead guy on the crew. That’s how I know I’m not being taken advantage of, or am not about to have bad work done. I know what all of the processes are for every step of residential building. And I know them well. I’ve spent my entire life going from crew to crew learning all of the trades, and my father taught me the business side of it in his company. I guess the point is. The GC is the guy everyone points at when everyone is freaking out, and the GC stays cool and has it back on track and makes it look easy. Man...what a rant...sorry about that!
What do you do about mold that has gotten into the structure? Replace that part of the structure?
Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
8y
Hey Cara Lonsdale. Stairs themselves are not typically load bearing. Now the walls around the stairs very well could be. On my company FB page (Pine Springs Homesteads) I made a video specifically for identifying load bearing walls. Go check it out. Moving stairs is the same as moving any other frame structure in a home. If they are load bearing you can always install a header. If you can sketch me a rough blueprint with the roof line I can tell you.
If you are totally replacing the water supply plumbing, unless local code prohibits it I would say to use PEX. If just doing small repairs, if existing water supply is copper it will look better to keep using copper. But even then I have used PEX.
Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
8y
Tae C, nice to meet you. Now this is strictly how I do business. Every contractor will be different. I ask for a 50% deposit and 50% at completion for jobs under $20k. If the job is bigger I outline what the work schedule is for the customer and let them know how long the work will take. We work off of a weekly draw system. I will not start work without a deposit big enough to buy the materials for that phase. I will not start the next phase until the customer has paid for the previous phase. It works really well for me. There’s a medium you can find where the contractor isn’t paying out of his pocket but the customer also isn’t paying too far in advance for work. The deposit is the bond of good intentions. The deposit upfront can scare people sometimes, but that’s where references come in. On the backside it’s scary for me though. Just last year a customer did great on all of their draws and then saw they they could stiff me at the end...and that’s what they did. God bless them, it’s rough to have people treat me like that. They should have just asked me if they need it, I would have let them keep it. Now they’re freaked out I’m going to sue them...lol. I really form friendships with my customers. But not everyone is crooked, and they’re not the norm.
What is the best way that me as a potential customer can prepare as much as possible to get the most accurate estimate from a general contractor before talking to any of them?
One thing you can do is determine what demo is to be done, and have it done in advance. That presumes that things to be demolished are not things you might wish to keep. But less experienced and novice people might be better off holding off on demo.
Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
8y
Cody Evans, I would find something that interests you, you tube it to death until you understand it and then go for it. Just take your time and focus on details. It’s the little things that make a good tradesman. As far as hiring a GC, get references from the previous customers and from the places he/she does business...AND CALL THEM! Use your gut too, if they say they’ve done big jobs and have a ton of experience but need an advance or just look like they washed up off the curb. Probably not a great bet. Plug into the culture a bit and get to know people, you will find someone. Don’t go with the low bid.
Real Estate Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 8 votes
8y
Cody Evans,
I second what Dalton has said, youtube is the best for learning. I bought my first rehab and didnt have cash for labor, so I decided to do everything myself without on hands construction experience. I youtubed everything and watch several other videos on the same subject. I also signed up on all the mayor DIY Forums, and posted pictures to get advice. I did laminate flooring, granite top installation, drop ceiling with can lights, install all the fixture etc. it took for ever, but I love the experience I have gained.
On another note, When I was managing properties for a rehabber, one thing that I would always like to do when meeting contractors at a job site is telling them what you like to have done and then keep quite, if you keep quite you can gauge the credibility, experience, honesty of the contractors. The more they talk the more you have a feel for them.
Real Estate Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 8 votes
8y
Dalton,
If you as GC become an investor in a new city and you started rehabbing, and you got 2-3 rehabs with a short term loan so time is crucial. How would you go hiring good contractors?
Would you hire a single GC for all the projects, and give him total control?
Or would you subcontract all contractors? Roofer, Electrician, Plumbing, Drywall etc?
How would you setup a reliable team of contractors in the shortest timeframe ?
Thanks so much for that insight - I am right in line with all of that. I think what gets worrisome for me is when I am always behind and having to front every phase in its entirety. Appreciate opening yourself up for these questions!
Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
8y
Anna M. It’s nice to meet you. There is no set price on how much a remodel should cost. It’s all about how much you can make at the end. I know you know that. I guess I would say a safe bet would be to use the hard money lenders numbers for a base line to judge houses by. They won’t loan over 70% of arv (example only). And they are in business to not lose. So when you look at a property see if the purchase and rehabs are over the 70% of arv mark. If it is, you may need to really check what you are about to do. Don’t make decisions based on emotions, make decisions based on numbers only.
As far as what to fix and the materials to use. Look at the surrounding houses and match the medium houses finish out for rentals and the nicer houses finish out for selling. One of the very first things I learned when I started working for investors was to not make the house personal. No one cares what your style is. No one cares how much money you’ve spent. Only put in popular, neutral and unobtrusive fixtures and colors. People need to see a pallet that they want to paint. With that said bathrooms and kitchens sell houses. I sold my house a long time ago in a bad market in 3 days because I had built a shower to die for.
Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
8y
Victor Mondragon, it’s nice to meet you. I am a builder, I do not know any builders in the Houston area. I wains say $110 per sqft would be a good off the hip don’t hold me to it number to guide yourself by if you have a very low end build. No extra excavation, or utilities or any other surprises. Get references on your potential contractors. Contact me if you want help, I’m sure I could help you get this done
Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
8y
Eric Percival, it’s nice to meet you. The best place to find local labor is at the local suppliers. If you know a lot about construction and have a lot of time to give to this project you could hire your own crews. I WANT TO SAY THIS TO EVERYONE THOUGH. EVERYONE THINKS THEY CAN RUN A REMODEL JOB AND HIRE CREWS. WHEN YOU HIRE A CREW THEY ARE GOING TO BE TESTING YOU TO SEE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW. WHEN THEY FIND OUT THAT YOUR FAKING IT OR ARE NEW THEY ARE GOING TO SKIMP ON YOU UNTIL YOU NOTICE. THEY KNOW HOW AND WHERE TO SKIMP SO THAT YOU DONT NOTICE UNTIL THE CHECK CLEARS. SO BEWARE!!!! That is where a good GC comes in, we are quality men and whistle blowers for the customer. Yes my bid is higher, but the work is quality when it is done. It is sooo much more expensive to fix a problem than to do it right the first time. I have literally had customers that passed on my services calling me crying asking me to save their job. Don’t do that. Do it right. Get a good plan and someone in your corner that cares about the final product.
Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
8y
Ok guys and gals I want to throw something out here. I legitimately want to see all of you succeed. So if you have a question and need some in depth advice, I am offering to do a one time FaceTime with you. If we treat each other the way we want to be treated then we will all get where we want to go. What’s in it for me you say??? Leave feedback here and other places and help me get the word out that in am looking for private investors and mentors to get this ball rolling. Let’s work together and help each other on our journeys!!!
Can someone tell me how to tag people so that they will know when a answer their question.
A few different ways.
You can do what I just did here, which is to "quote" the post; the three dots alongside a post are a menu, and one of the menu choices will be to quote.
Next way is to use an "at" symbol @ followed immediately by a question mark ? - that brings up a list of all people who posted in the thread, and you scroll along and pick the person you want.
Another way is to again use the "at" symbol @ followed by the first few (I think at least three) characters of the user's name; this can also allow you to tag colleagues to participate in a topic. One challenge with this is that some people only have a first initial given as their name, so the punctuation that appears next must be typed followed by any other numbers or letters. And then you have to pick the right person from the list of choices that appears.
Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
8y
Tae C. 50% up front covers materials for the contractor (this varies per job). So at least if he gets stiffed he can still survive. The second half of payment comes when the punch list is over and the customer is satisfied. It puts the power in the customers hand but doesn’t strangle the contractor. If the phase goes over a week or two give a weekly draw that is set to release as long as the job is on schedule. Please have a schedule agreed upon before you start.
Eric Percival, it’s nice to meet you. The best place to find local labor is at the local suppliers. If you know a lot about construction and have a lot of time to give to this project you could hire your own crews. I WANT TO SAY THIS TO EVERYONE THOUGH. EVERYONE THINKS THEY CAN RUN A REMODEL JOB AND HIRE CREWS. WHEN YOU HIRE A CREW THEY ARE GOING TO BE TESTING YOU TO SEE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW. WHEN THEY FIND OUT THAT YOUR FAKING IT OR ARE NEW THEY ARE GOING TO SKIMP ON YOU UNTIL YOU NOTICE. THEY KNOW HOW AND WHERE TO SKIMP SO THAT YOU DONT NOTICE UNTIL THE CHECK CLEARS. SO BEWARE!!!! That is where a good GC comes in, we are quality men and whistle blowers for the customer. Yes my bid is higher, but the work is quality when it is done. It is sooo much more expensive to fix a problem than to do it right the first time. I have literally had customers that passed on my services calling me crying asking me to save their job. Don’t do that. Do it right. Get a good plan and someone in your corner that cares about the final product.
I cant like that post enough. If I had 100 dollars for every time I have been asked to fix something someone messed up I could build a duplex in Austin.
construction · Nacogdoches, TX · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
To tag someone you use the @ sign and type the name after. No spaces between them. It doesnt work with my phone so when I am on the phone I just use quote. Highlight the three dots on the upper right and click quote.
construction · Nacogdoches, TX · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
@Dalton Smith Has your plumber used any Uponor pipe yet? I have one plumber that swears by it and another that doesn't like it. Both exceptional plumbers but you know how some of us in the trades can be set in our ways.
construction · Nacogdoches, TX · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
@Dalton Smith We can make that happen. I was going to go to the syrup festival this past year but didnt make it. Next time your my way or the other way around let me know.