All Forum Posts by: Tony Gunter

@Ronald Allen Barney

Who exactly needs a permit for painting? What a lame example to use. Seriously.

I know what I’m talking about. I’m a licensed General Contractor in the state of GA. You have to sign an affidavit in GA starting it is your legal residence AND that you intend to live there for 2 years post work to pull any permits. Lying on a state document is a class B Felony in GA punishable by 3 years in the state slammer.

Go for it.

@Jack Orthman

Exactly why I charge for the design work. I spend 8-10 hours to come up with a 15-20 page SOW etc., that’s my work product. You don’t get that for free.

@Eron A.

You first need a structural engineer to look at it. Chances are you will have to upgrade the situation to carry the new higher weight and point loads of a second floor. Then you will need to build it as such. It’s just an issue of time and money, but it can be done.

@Mike Franco

People skimping on self leveling underlayment. What I’ve seen, if the floor is not 100% level, walking on it will pop open the seams with time.

@Femi Salami

When I meet with a potential client for a renovation they often ask for a “bid”. To which I reply, “okay, I need to see drawings, a complete scope of work, and a complete material schedule”. If you can’t supply those your not ready for a bid. You still have design work to do. I charge for that.

I’m set up to also design new construction and build it. Most contractors are not, or just wing it.

So that sort of lays it out. You supply all that info, or you pay someone to pull it all together for you.

@Eric James

That it is! Just look where we are discussing it for example. 😉

@Mohamed E.

Dawson GA is small town with one major employer. Golden Peanuts has a plant there. Dawson is in BFE Georgia. The closest town is Albany, which is a dump. The entire S-W of GA suffers from a lack of employment options. You can forget about having quality contractors there unless you pay for the best, and they stay busy. These are cheap for a reason. Be very careful is my advice.

@Brian

Watch out. The BP police will zap this thread. Mine was taken down for trying to discuss the exact same thing.

@Jon Stephens

No negative intent on my part…

Generally speaking, when I’m commenting I’m also thinking about the quiet lurking learners out there absorbing things that we don’t hear from. Food for thought as it were.

@George W.

Yes!

As an investor I don’t buy a property with no margin. As a contractor I’m not taking a job with no profit margin. There’s opportunity cost associated with this too. Contractors market only so they can turn down low margin jobs for the higher margin jobs.

Also, I recommend all investor drop the “investor friendly” phrase completely from your vocabulary. It’s not so code for “I’m a cheap SOB”. The words out y’all.