What to ask potential general contractors

Question

What are some of the key questions to ask potential general contractors of your rehab flip?

Laura Stevenson · Answer

On a higher level: ask him how long his subs have been working for him?  Does he have task specific subs or guys who just "do it all"? Is he going to handle any necessary permitting?  Is he actually a licensed contractor? How do he traditionally structure payment plans? If permits are involved agree that he has to pass inspection before you make a payment for that task.  Just because he installed HVAC doesn't mean it's passed inspection yet. Does he want any money up front?  etc.

Remember to think of every single tiny detail and discuss it up front.  Things that initially come to my mind: who is going to select finishes (paint color, carpet color, etc), landscaping, no parking in the grass (we had one contractor get his truck stuck in a front yard, who is going to buy light fixtures (are you picking them out or the contractor) (we generally never leave those selections up to the contractor), tile selection, grout color, which pattern do you want for the tile (we had a guy run tiles the wrong direction before)

This maybe more detail than you wanted but these are things we have forgotten in the past.

Let me know if you have any more specific questions.  - Laura

Manolo D. · Answer

@Matt Katsaris Totally agree, there was one project manager of a hospitality chain that he is so pissed with his other contractor because the contractor wanted to charge him to install door bumpers (about 2 mins per door if you do it separately), and the rooms were only around 60, so about 2 hours. Then he says do another one for bathroom. If that were me, I will throw it in, keep the manager happy. Point is, client miss some things, and you need to know what is your limit for that cushion. If you want a bid that is skin and bones, expect changes, if we feel like you as a client don't know what you're doing, or will likely change your mind and don't want to pay it, I for one will give a healthy bid to cover my unforeseen expenses and I don't want to deal with the headache of a change order, throw in the cushion and pray that it will be enough to absorb client's needs, especially if they don't know what entails a change.

Matt K. · Answer

And it that case you would be able to show someone hey look, most my jobs are on budget/time. Part of being a "good" contractor is helping the client get exactly what they want, although like you pointed out it's not always possible. A one off change order isn't really going to be that big of a deal if you if it's the exception rather than the norm.

My word of caution was more to stay away from the GC that comes in with a super low price, lower than everyone else's by a lot. Either the GC and you aren't on the same page as what needs to be done or he's not going to be able to do it with out more money that'll he'll be asking for later. A job requires things to be paid for and while prices can vary for whatever reason there's usually a competitive range that you'll see through your own due diligence or when getting multiple bids. There are exceptions for this and reason can come up why a bid is valid outside of the range, but it usually will have a unique explanation to it.

Matt K. · Answer

How  well they can  stay on budget.... low  bids don't  mean saving money when the change orders come in non stop.

Laura Stevenson · Answer

Yes, but really anyone who has worked with him in the past would be good.  You could also ask him if he has any current jobs going on that you could visit and see his work.

Ryan Moore · Answer

These are great @Laura Stevenson thank you.  Like other professional vetting, I'm assuming that asking for references would play a large part in the initial conversation.  Would you say that I should ask for investor references who will be willing to specifically speak to me about the rehabs that involved that GC?

What to ask potential general contractors

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