Investor · Santa Rosa · Member since 2022 · 14 posts · 4 votes
Hi all, I'm in the middle of stabilizing a duplex in Martin Drive and would appreciate it if you all could share referrals for electricians you've worked with and can recommend. Preferably independent contractors that don't sit under a larger service company. Thanks!
Vad, I don't have a Milwaukee name to give you, but the part I'd worry about from Santa Rosa is that you can't see what an electrician is actually pricing. So here's how I'd vet whoever you get.
- Check the license with the Wisconsin DSPS lookup before anyone starts, and make sure the electrician pulls the permit in their own name.
- Ask for the bid broken out by unit and by item: service and panels, any rewiring, GFCI and AFCI protection, and smoke and CO detectors. One lump number for "electrical" is hard to check from far away.
- In an older Milwaukee duplex, ask them directly whether they found knob-and-tube, ungrounded circuits, or a fuse panel, and whether each unit has its own service and meter. Those are where the cost jumps.
- Have them send photos of each panel with the cover off before work starts, and of open walls before drywall goes up. That's your walkthrough when you can't be there.
- Pay against finished work and passed inspections, not up front.
Whoever you end up with, those photos and an itemized bid will tell you a lot about how they work.
Hey Vad, we have a property management and rehab company in Milwaukee and we work with a few independent electricians on our turns. Connect with me here and I'll send you a couple of names.
A few tips for older duplexes like that: check the license on the Wisconsin DSPS website, make sure he pulls a permit with the city, and ask him to look for old knob and tube and an overloaded panel. That's usually where the surprises are on houses that age.