Hiring a contractor for a rental? 4 checks before work starts

Good list. One thing that has saved people a lot of grief is snapping a quick photo of the wiring or plumbing before the drywall or flooring closes it back up, since that is the part everybody wishes they could see later.

Randy, Bunklow

Leo SteinBusiness Member

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Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 287 posts · 65 votes

[email protected]949-391-1019

Thanks, Randy. That is a smart one, since drywall and flooring hide exactly the parts everyone wishes they could see later. A dated photo also gives you a record if a question comes up down the road. Do you ask the contractor to send those photos, or do you take them yourself on a walkthrough?

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Jen Prestia

Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 4 votes

Solid checklist. One thing I add after the COI lands in the file is writing the expiry and renewal date on a calendar the same day. Getting it before work starts is the right gate. Keeping that date visible is what makes the gate still work next year when you hire them again.

Same habit for the license lookup. I jot when I last checked it so I am not guessing months later.

Rosina Persaud

Member since 2023 · 137 posts · 36 votes

Good list, Leo — the license, insurance, written scope, and photos are the right basics.

The piece I would add is timing. We do not find a contractor when something breaks. We find and test them months before, in small paid steps, so the first time we rely on them is not an emergency. A small repair first, then a turnover punch list, then bigger work if they show up, communicate, and finish clean.

That matters because turnover and vacancy cost more than most repairs. When a house sits empty waiting on a contractor we have never used, the rent loss adds up fast. We run a 21-day scheduling system for rent-ready turnovers, and it only works if the contractors are already tested.

Who do you call first when a turnover needs work on short notice?

Leo SteinBusiness Member

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Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 287 posts · 65 votes

[email protected]949-391-1019

Good addition, Rosina. Testing vendors in small paid steps before a turnover is a strong way to avoid paying vacancy while learning whether they show up. For short-notice work I start with a vendor already tested on that property, then keep a backup by trade and a written scope with an approval cap. What lead time do you build into your 21-day schedule for a vendor who fails?

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Leo SteinBusiness Member

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Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 287 posts · 65 votes

[email protected]949-391-1019

That is a good extension of the same gate, Jen. Writing the license and COI expiry dates on a calendar when they arrive turns a one-time check into a recurring control. Do you track those dates by vendor, by property, or both?

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Jen Prestia
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 4 votes
2d
Both, but the vendor is the main key. Each contractor gets one spot with license expiry, COI expiry, and when I last checked. If a policy is only good for one address, I add a short note under that vendor for that property. That way I am not flipping through five unit folders looking for the same plumber.
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John Cafarelli

Member since 2026 · 19 posts · 4 votes

Leo, this checklist matches how I learned to handle repairs on my first rental, especially the written scope. My early mistake was approving a verbal quote for a bathroom repair, then getting a much larger invoice when the contractor found extra work behind the wall. Nothing was dishonest, but we had never agreed in advance how to handle surprises, so I paid for the lesson. Now I ask for the scope, price, and payment timing in writing before work starts, and I ask what happens if they find something unexpected. I also keep the license, insurance certificate, photos, and invoice together in one folder for that property, with the date and unit noted on each file. That habit has saved me at tax time and during a turnover, when I could see exactly what was repaired, when, and for how much. The extra ten minutes up front is worth it.

Matthew Tregoning

Property Manager · Melbourne, FL · Member since 2019 · 561 posts · 189 votes

I’d add the access and closeout plan. Who is meeting the contractor, what does the occupant need to know, and who confirms the property is secured when the work is done? That matters a lot when you’re coordinating from another state. A completed repair still leaves a mess if the resident has no idea someone is coming or the next person assumes the door was locked.

Gelu Mergl
Contractor · Scotrun, PA · Member since 2026 · 22 posts · 2 votes
4h
Matthew, the access and closeout plan is the piece most owners miss, and it is the one that causes the most calls after the work is done. A repair that is finished but not checked is not finished.
Our closeout is short: the contractor sends dated photos of the finished work, we walk it ourselves when we can, and we confirm the door is locked, the tenant was told, and the area is clean. Anthony's point about photos during the work matters for the same reason — once drywall or flooring goes back, nobody can see what was behind it.
One more from our side: agree in writing what happens when the contractor finds something unexpected behind a wall. That one line has saved more arguments than any other.
Gelu Mergl · All Building Services LLC — Apartment turns & inspection repairs for property managers · renovatemyapartment.com · Since 1985
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Anthony Smith

Real Estate Agent · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 148 posts · 60 votes

23h

Good list, Leo. I'd add two from the landlord side. First: agree the payment schedule before work starts, tied to completed stages — not percentages of time, and never money ahead of the work. Most contractor disputes I see aren't about quality, they're about who owed what when, and a written draw schedule kills most of them.

Second: photos during the work, not just before and after — especially anything that's about to get covered up. Rough plumbing, electrical, subfloor repairs. Randy's point above is the one that saves people later: once the drywall is up, the photo is the only proof of what got done. I also keep a one-page record of who did what at each property, so when something fails two years later I know whose work it was.