How to Vet a GC or Contractor

Question

Hello to all. Hope everyone is doing alright in this new world! So I am going to partner up with a business partner of mine to acquire and renovate a few properties. I have renovated properties in the past, but have never been happy with how I qualified and managed the contractors.

So when you are considering a contractor, what are your go-to questions/requirements to help you vet their level of competence? Appreciative of any suggestions that work for you.

Adrian
Financial Infusion Group

George W. · Answer

Best ways to vet:

#1 verify with licensing board that the contractors license is active and all necessary insurances are up to date. This can be done online easily in some places.

#2 see how long they've been in business. A lot of shady general contractors get sued and close their doors every couple years start a new one and change the name.

#3 Talk to their suppliers. If they shop alot at a particular supply house chances are they'll either come highly recommended or with a warning.

#4 your local building inspector might have an opinion on a certain contractor. Also they might help you verify license.

#5 the community: I'm from a small town and a company that has been active in the community and does good work will always come highly recommended if they are fair and do great work.

#6 size of the company. A one man show wont be able to do everything in a major rehab. A very large company might cost more than average. A medium sized company will have the proper man-power to get the job done.

#7 meet the employees. if a company has shady looking employees that aren't professional, the apple wont fall far from the tree.

Adrian Jones · Answer

Anson, thank you very much. I had not done that in the past. Relied too much on the word of the contractor him/herself. Will implement your suggestions. Much appreciated. Do you ever build in performance incentives for earlier completion and penalties for late completion?

Anson Young · Answer

What I like to do is to ask to tour a 1. past/completed project and talk to the owner/client 2. current project, how clean is it, is it on schedule, etc 3. go with him on a few bids to see how he operates.  Of course past performance is not indicative of future success, but its a pretty good metric.  I'd love to talk to as many of the past projects as possible, basically get reviews/referrals for the contractor from the people who already handed him money and expected results!  I'll also look up licensing info, insurance, and any online reviews/info I can find using the company name and the contractor's personal name.