Inexpensive, trustworthy, investor friendly contractor in Philly

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Inexpensive, trustworthy, investor friendly contractor in Philly

Eli Katz
Member since 2019 · 12 posts · 1 vote

Dear BP community,

Would you be able to recommend an inexpensive and trustworthy general contractor in Philadelphia?

I am a cash investor and I find it extremely hard to find GC who doesn't overcharge and doesn't lie.

Any tips on how to find one or referrals will be very appreciated.

Thank you all in advance,

Eli   

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Kevin MoyerBusiness Member
Property Manager · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2019 · 269 posts · 301 votes
6y

They are tough to find and it seems the decent ones disappear after a while. As they say in the legal world; 

"Quick, good, and cheap. You can only pick 2".

Otter Property Management4.8624 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
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  • Kevin MoyerBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2019 · 269 posts · 301 votes
    6y

    They are tough to find and it seems the decent ones disappear after a while. As they say in the legal world; 

    "Quick, good, and cheap. You can only pick 2".

    Otter Property Management4.8624 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    3Reply
  • Troy Sheets
    Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 902 votes
    6y

    What sort of scope of work are you looking to have done? I find the smaller and crappier jobs are the hardest to find reliable people for. If you want a full gut or new construction, no problem. Want a crappy lipstick on a pig rehab for $40k, you're dealing with people that generally don't take pride in their work to even do that level of rehab in the first place. If they had the skills to do bigger better jobs, they wouldn't be doing low end partial rehabs for peanuts. This is honestly why I don't play in that level of rehab as an investor and GC, I don't want to do that sort of work or deal with the types of GC's or subs that will do that level of work. 

    3Reply
  • Joe P.
    Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 824 posts · 1k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Troy Sheets:

    What sort of scope of work are you looking to have done? I find the smaller and crappier jobs are the hardest to find reliable people for. If you want a full gut or new construction, no problem. Want a crappy lipstick on a pig rehab for $40k, you're dealing with people that generally don't take pride in their work to even do that level of rehab in the first place. If they had the skills to do bigger better jobs, they wouldn't be doing low end partial rehabs for peanuts. This is honestly why I don't play in that level of rehab as an investor and GC, I don't want to do that sort of work or deal with the types of GC's or subs that will do that level of work. 

     A sense of nervousness descended upon Joe as he is about to close on his BRRRR, whereby a lipstick on a pig rehab was what he was planning... :D

    1Reply
  • Troy Sheets
    Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 902 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Joe P.:
    Originally posted by @Troy Sheets:

    What sort of scope of work are you looking to have done? I find the smaller and crappier jobs are the hardest to find reliable people for. If you want a full gut or new construction, no problem. Want a crappy lipstick on a pig rehab for $40k, you're dealing with people that generally don't take pride in their work to even do that level of rehab in the first place. If they had the skills to do bigger better jobs, they wouldn't be doing low end partial rehabs for peanuts. This is honestly why I don't play in that level of rehab as an investor and GC, I don't want to do that sort of work or deal with the types of GC's or subs that will do that level of work. 

     A sense of nervousness descended upon Joe as he is about to close on his BRRRR, whereby a lipstick on a pig rehab was what he was planning... :D

     It can be done, it's done every day! It's just not easy to find the right people to do that sort of work and to do it consistently. I'm an investor first but I'm also a GC and I wouldn't do a low end lipstick rehab as a GC even for myself because it hurts my soul to do crappy work, I have to do the job to the best of my abilities (not bragging here, I'm nothing special but hate cobbling crap together) and I'm not confident I could find someone to do a decent enough job. If I could find a reliable low end rehab GC I'd do more of those types of projects as an investor. I'm very lazy and don't want the hassle of closely managing something like this :) If I hire a GC I want to stop by a couple times a week, give a thumbs up, and go home. The few times I've done this sort of thing I end up hyper-involved or taking it over. 

    1Reply
  • Sheryl Sitman
    Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 478 posts · 362 votes
    6y

    @Eli Katz define what you mean by inexpensive and what kind of work? If someone charges less than market prices the first time you work with them than there is a reason. On other hand if you develop a relationship with someone and give him good amt of work you will get good pricing and reliability. My guys go out on the limb for me but that did not start on day one. Build relationship. Cheapest is often the most expensive from my vast experience.

    1Reply
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