Experience with Los Angeles general contractors?

Question

I read a recent post on real estate agents in the Los Angeles area being generally rude. I know that's a massive pool of people to generalize, but it seemed like a few people were agreeing. This brought to mind the question, is it a similar experience with general contractors? What has your experience working with general contractors and sub contractors been in the Los Angeles area with regards to them being rude? More common than in other areas? What do you think is the cause of this? Is it a reflection of the LA culture, or could it be because times are good now and it's being taken for granted? I saw someone mention there's a low barrier of entry for real estate agents in Los Angeles, is this the same case for general contractors?

I'm very curious to hear even a small slice of perspective from seasoned professionals such as are on these forums. Thanks for anyone that takes time to share their knowledge and wisdom.

George Griffeth · Answer

@Nabil Suleiman

Such a great answer, thank you. A few angles there I haven’t thought of. I love LA too, I should have said a reflection of any rude/self-absorbed aspect of LA. My favorite part of LA personally is all the layers it has, there’s no doubt a pompous layer, safe to say more than the average American city. But maybe me thinking that way is influenced subconscious by the reality TV shows and social media or something. I don’t have personal experience with I real estate professionals in Los Angeles but am hoping to in the near future.

Again thanks for your reply, it answered my question thoroughly and has been worth rereading a few times. Brought some new things to mind.

Nabil Suleiman · Answer

@George Griffeth

Hi George, I for one can say that with any field there will be people that provide terrible experiences, and within that we create the hasty generalization that the entire industry is made up of like minded individuals. You can apply this to many aspects of real estate. You can find people on here who have met great agents, and terrible ones. Contractors that walk off jobs, ones that take a really really long time but do beautiful work, and other where they have a full team of people that kill the project and (maybe) your budget. A lot of comes down to either working with people that have been referred to you and you having knowledge that someone you trust has had a positive experience with them, or doing your due diligence on the contractors portfolio, asking them for multiple references you can call and making your judgement from there. I for one am a big fan of the culture of LA, but because of our density you will run into all different types of personalities, work ethics and sheer desire to either help people succeed or help themselves succeed. It someone times feels like you might have to work through a lot of that density to find the good ones, but they are out there.

George Griffeth · Answer

I understand. Thank you. I’m actually in the construction field so I’m doing personal research. Your point works to my advantage, but I suppose the amount of bad contractors doesn’t effect how well of a contractor I am. Was just curious, trying to stir my mind for some thoughts and ideas. Thanks for your input.

Will Barnard · Answer

I agree with the above and will add that LA is a huge city with a melting pot of ethnicities, attitudes, and personas. Both agents and contractors - I think it is more common to find or run into more bad ones than good ones but it really makes you appreciate the good ones when you find them so just search and meet people and go from there is the best advice I can give in this scenario.