All Forum Posts by: Aaron McGinnis

Volume be darned. Economy of scale doesn't tend to mean a lot in construction until you're building a whole subdivision of houses in parallel. Toilets and 2x4s cost the same until you're buying them by the pallet and bundle, and only then in multiples. Labor rates don't somehow compress just because you have a lot of work, only efficiencies from doing projects simultaneously or in immediate sequence.

If anything, taking a cheaper contractor and handing him 10 projects at once is a surefire way to make that contractor fail. A cheap guy likely doesn't have the systems or management in place to run a lot of work at the same time... those systems cost money, and as soon as you start adding them in any measurable way costs start skyrocketing. More labor begets more management. More management begets more systems. More systems beget more costs. 

The simple problem is that most flips can't pay enough to hire reliable help.

@Pete Manville - That mirrors my own experience to a T. The ratio of good to bad steadily got worse for me... and the resistance to refunds increased and increased. After awhile I was absolutely convinced that they were bot-generating leads based on bogus addresses. 

So I started to try and play smart and only accept leads that had good-looking information at the front end and not accept leads that had minimal or sketch information. This meant I was accepting fewer and fewer leads, and guess what... I started getting fewer and fewer leads and the ratio of bad to good just got insane. 

We have since moved to SEO and PPC to generate leads, we get fewer overall leads but better quality. I'm trying to reduce our dependency on PPC. In order to do that, you basically have to have a lot of content. Either you write it yourself or hire someone to ghost write it for you...

Carpenter wage = $xx/hr

Plumber wage = $xx/hr

Electrician wage = $xx/hr

And so on.

I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice - but my gut says that no release will be release-y enough if he slips and cracks his skull open. You're going to end up footing the bill.

Other precautions? Don't hire him. Hire a real installer who brings his own insurance, tools, and know-how to the job.

I wouldn't not hire him because of him missing a leg. A missing leg isn't really a big impediment to hanging cabinets.

I wouldn't hire him because he sounds like a slightly better than homeless dude looking to make a few quick bucks. My personal policy is that the only people working for me are construction professionals... period. I want people who do this day in, day out. Don't hire someone just because they happen to be standing in front of you claiming to be able to do what you need.

If this guy accidentally shoots a nail through his hand, or falls off a ladder, what do you think is going to happen? 

It's very hard to find a reputable and responsible contractor who will work with investors. You could try Georgia REIA as a starting point. Another place to look would be NARI. (Although NARI firms are generally more retail-facing)

Use the Georgia secretary of state website to look up contractor licenses, and there's an app called WC Verify that allows you to look up workers compensation insurance. Both are free resources that will save you a bit of time when vetting potential contractors.

Depending on the project and your goals, I may be able to help you in getting the work done. Please feel free to reach out. (Mods delete/edit if this is overly sales-y)

We run Exaktime. Expensive, but so very worth the money. Everybody gets a key, with a clock at each job. Automatic reporting on the hour. Communicates to Quickbooks/Paychex... makes payroll very accurate and very easy.

Just move on. If someone isn't motivated to send you a bid, he's not the person you want to work with.

Was the contract written in crayon? Move on. This guy isn't a professional.