Well I never......

Well I never......

Investor · Little Rock, AR · Member since 2010 · 628 posts · 251 votes

My current rehab is my first real experience using contractors. My wife chose one that I didn't like right away. He is too pretty and flashy. But, never the less; I have to sleep with her. So, we hired him for roof and siding and my choice to do the inside. We got quotes from both for the exterior work and pretty boy was considerably more expensive. I could spend all day telling you why my choice would have been better. But, I don't gloat and brag when I know I have lost money.
I wanted to post about what happened last Sunday evening. Pretty boy's crew has taken a solid month on a two week job. During this month I brought my choice in to start the inside. They worked circles around the first crew and cleaned up after themselves every day. Just blew them out of the water on performance. So, Pretty Boy brings in some hill billy subs to help finish the exterior job. They worked for about a week then disapperared leaving a sheet metal break and several tools on the grounds. I figured they were in jail by the way they left. After a couple of weeks, one comes back at dusk on a Sunday evening to retreive his tools. The only ones still around are the ones I took inside out of the rain a week or more after they left them. He kept saying that since I moved his stuff inside, I must know where his missing break and ladder were. We got belly to belly. But, before we came to blows, his mother called him down. Then he told me the tools were his grandfather's and "he will do what he has to". I told him that him and Paw Pa need to come back with the sherrif or They will meet my buddies Smith and Wesson. Pretty Boy's other crew has finished their part of the job. I have a punch list for the hill billy's work. He has not called, emailed, or sent word that he needs the second payment of the contract.
So, much for a flashy contractor.
Don

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Lexington, KY · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
14y

That is quite a story Don, and I am sorry you had to experience that. Contractors are the same as people from any profession, there are great ones, and there are absolutely worthless crooks. It sounds like you did do some basic interviewing of the contractors but you may have to take things a step further next time to ensure something like this does not happen again. Did you get references and talk to previous customers? Did you ask to see examples of work they have done? It is not like people cannot find ways around these things (ie giving their friends as references) but the more work you make them go through the more likely they are to decide to find someone else to rip off.

With contractors you just have to keep going until you find good ones and do your best to hang on to them. Good luck Don!

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  • Investor · -, IL · Member since 2010 · 409 posts · 616 votes
    14y

    I feel your pain. I fired a contractor on my current rehab because he was slow and sloppy. So he comes back, breaks a window, steals some lumber and cuts the copper lines to the a/c. The only witness is the crazy lady across the street. (I am talking CRAZY, like call the phone company so much that they finally came out and "tested" her line to make sure someone was not tapping it like she thinks). So in other words good luck getting the guy prosecuted. Good contractors are hard to find.

  • Real Estate Broker · Quezon City, Metro Manila · Member since 2008 · 8 posts · 1 vote
    14y
    Originally posted by Don Hines:
    My current rehab is my first real experience using contractors. My wife chose one that I didn't like right away. He is too pretty and flashy. But, never the less; I have to sleep with her. ...

    Your first line made me laugh and I understand your situation! The price we have to pay for love and peace.

    Like what Ryan mentioned, it is really hard to find decent and trustworthy contractors in any part of the world (including here in Manila). What I suggest is to make a report to the police in case they do come back and try to get even. For contractors, I would always ask for referrals and licenses to make sure they are legitimate. I would also get copies of valid IDs of those who will be working on the project so that I can have something to hold on in case something happens.

    Good Luck

  • Lexington, KY · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    14y

    That is quite a story Don, and I am sorry you had to experience that. Contractors are the same as people from any profession, there are great ones, and there are absolutely worthless crooks. It sounds like you did do some basic interviewing of the contractors but you may have to take things a step further next time to ensure something like this does not happen again. Did you get references and talk to previous customers? Did you ask to see examples of work they have done? It is not like people cannot find ways around these things (ie giving their friends as references) but the more work you make them go through the more likely they are to decide to find someone else to rip off.

    With contractors you just have to keep going until you find good ones and do your best to hang on to them. Good luck Don!

  • Investor · Little Rock, AR · Member since 2010 · 628 posts · 251 votes
    14y

    James Vermillion
    Pretty boy was recomended by a neighbor. This neighbor used him years ago. It is anybody's guess why the wife insisted he was hired. The neighbor was even disappointed that the same sub was not on the job. I also found out the neighbor has been paid $400 for referal fees in the past. Pretty boy has been on sight maybe twice in the past month.

    Jovi Tupaz
    I liked your idea of collecting the ID of those on the job. Then I remember the hill billy wanted that info.

    I haven't seen or heard from him or his Paw Pa since Sunday evening.

    don

  • Lender · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2012 · 714 posts · 169 votes
    14y

    Once you find one you like, stick with him. I have a real estate investor who has worked with his current contractor so long, that the contractor doesn't even call him while the rehab is being done. He knows exactly what paint to buy, what carpet, the type of padding for the carpet, etc. This is worth its weight in gold!

  • Real Estate Broker · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    14y

    Feel your pain Don......

    As a contractor, with an investor only G.C. company as well, best rules to ALWAYS follow!!!!!:

    ASK FOR REFERENCES, NOT PEOPLE, PROPERTIES AND JOBS COMPLETED.

    CHEAPEST IS SOMETIMES MOST EXPENSIVE IN THE END. FACTOR TIME, WHAT YOUR GETTING, THEN COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES.

    ASK WHERE THERE MATERIALS ARE SUPPLIED FROM. MENARDS AND HOME DEPOT ARE NOT CONTRACTOR SUPPLY YARDS, THEY MAY USE THEM BUT EVER REAL PRO CONTRACTOR USES CONTRACTOR ONLY SUPPLY YARDS AND CONNECTIONS, EVEN MANUFACTURER DIRECT SUPPLY IF THERE GOOD ENOUGH. THOSE WHO DON'T, THERE IS A REASON AND IT IS NEVER GOOD.

    I bet if pricing were opposite Don, pretty boy were cheapest and the other crew the more expensive, you would have been happy and proud to have paid the more to the skilled pro guys and gotten things done right and timely.
    Odds are, pretty boy is a salesman with a G.C. license. Knows how to sell but not crap on the trades.

  • Investor · Little Rock, AR · Member since 2010 · 628 posts · 251 votes
    14y
    Originally posted by James Hamling:
    Feel your pain Don......

    Odds are, pretty boy is a salesman with a G.C. license. Knows how to sell but not crap on the trades.

    BINGO!!!!

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