how to find general contractor?

Question

Greetings!

I'm about to make an offer on my first rental in Levittown Pa I went to see the house with a contractor but I'm not going to hire him, cause he was working for a guy took the money and never finish the job. now I'm looking for a licensed remodeling contractor in PA.

1) do you guys know any good licensed remodeling contractor?

2) how much should i budget for a complete remodel for a 1203 sp house? 3bds, 2 baths, living rm and dining rm. new everything. siding, appliances, cabinet, laminate floor for kitchen and all the rooms. I'll be doing some work myself if i have to like paint.

thanks,

Grant Rothenburger · Answer

@Reynald Jean Congrats on moving closer to having your first rental!

@Nate Burgher Gave great advice, a good realtor can be a great source for a lot of things beyond finding a property.

Nate Burgher · Answer

Hey @Reynald Jean, congratulations, that's exciting stuff!

Are you working with a realtor? If so, I'd ask him/her for suggestions on a GC. You can also use sites like Yelp, Houzz, etc. to at the very least look at reviews.

As for budget on a complete remodel of a 1203 sq ft home, I can't help you much there in terms of specific numbers because every region has different materials and labor costs. I find that where I live, flooring ranges from $1.50-$4.00 / sq. ft depending on if I have tile, carpet, or vinyl. Cabinets are $100-$175 per linear foot. Siding is $30-$100 per 8x4 sheet in my area. All of this doesn't include labor, so you have to add that.

Honestly what you should be doing is shopping around and finding the best stores for certain materials. For example, in my area I'd buy my windows, doors and cabinets from one store and my flooring and appliances from another store, because the prices between the two vary so greatly.

Your realtor is going to be one of your best resources for this info, assuming they've worked with investors before and assuming they're good at what they do and have been around awhile.

Hopefully this helps! Best of luck to you!