All Forum Posts by: William Graham

Based on "hourly pay," the amount you calculate is how much you work in the business. For example, the profit (minus materials) of the project divided by the number of hours would give the "hourly pay". Assuming for a moment that it is $75/hour....Is it completely worth working as a handyman for, say, $20/hour? Working as a handyman may seem like you're saving $20/hour, but in reality, it is costing you $55/hour. Figure out what those lower-level tasks are that can be subcontracted out, allowing you to start the next project while a handyman (or GC) is doing the heavy lifting. To start out, perhaps he can hire a handyman or two and see how they work out. It is important to know the level of work and what they can do based on the licensing requirements for the state. Perhaps hire a CG that will deal with the grunt work. Everything you have mentioned—designing, bookkeeping, painting, and labor—can all be subcontracted. Finding the right people to accomplish those tasks for you is the most difficult, but it is the only way to scale. 

This is from the perspective of when I was a property manager at a storage facility in Phoenix, AZ. There, the homeless population can be a problem. I started working with the police and got to understand a little more about the laws. The first thing discussed was putting up no-trespassing signs. It seems simple enough; however, verbal words don't usually stand scrutiny in the legal system. The no-trespassing signs all over the place make it more likely that the homeless can be arrested for trespassing. As mentioned already, trail cameras can be mounted around the house and inside, covering all entry points, windows, and doors. I fully understand the setbacks that happen when property is damaged and the delay that takes place dealing with insurance and trying to get back on track for completing the project. The next thing I did was ask that when the police drive by, they specifically include my facility in their rounds. Just a couple stops per night on rounds made a difference, and I could see them on my camera system. You may be required to file police reports targeting damages, etc., and this can bring matters to their attention. I would say to get to know the laws of the jurisdiction where your house is located and the law enforcement officers. They can be your best resource. 

 I am rather curious about that as well. Following....

Yes! That's because these showrooms can control their margins and markups by carrying these RTA lines. If you had the volume, you could likely become a dealer of RTA for your projects.

 My wife is a Kitchen designer and she recommends you take into account what price point you're looking at for these flips. Most flippers she knows are using the ready to assemble cabinets because they are inexpensive and some cabinet manufacturing companies offer nice, modern and trendy finishes. If installed correctly, these ready to assemble cabinets can be made to look semi-custom(which are a higher price point). She suggests working with a showroom that offers these type of cabinets and that have designers that know how to think outside the box to get you a great finished look. It involves some legwork but will be worth it in the end.

I agree not all contractors are created equal however they still have to be licensed and bonded in most states. That in and of itself doesn't determine if the contractor is any good. They should also sell themselves to you as this is an interview process and your looking to build the relationship with the contractor. They should want to provide license and insurance. I believe your state should have a website to see the contractor standing through your states contractor licensing board. There is an place to put the name or license number and verify the contractors. That still doesn't mean they are any good. For that I would review previous work already done. Again trying to vet this contractor as your go to for your business. Last thing you want is to be holding the bag when the job isn't done to code or is shoddy work. Check the rules in your state for Handyman license as well. They can usually only perform up to a certain amount. 

As with Lowes and Home Depot, they will already vet the contractor so you don't have to...you are basically signing a contract with Lowes for the work to be done and Lowes provides the guarantees and warranty work. In that case I would keep all receipts and contracts from Lowes and not worry about licensing and bonding because Lowes covers that. I assume Home Depot is the same. The contractors work for Lowes or Home Depot and not for you the customer.

My humble opinion

My wife is a K&B CAD designer who worked for Lowes as both the Install Sales Manager and the Interior Sales Rep (also doing the CAD work). 

The main thing is that going this route, Lowes (probably Home Depot also) have vetted these contractors and Lowes has certain expectations of these contractors. The contractors must meet these expectations in order to continue being the subcontractor. Expectations such as the level of work, professionalism on the job site, appropriate insurances, licenses, etc. Again too many complaints from Lowes customers, Lowes will take action and I have heard of contractors being removed. I only know of the specific market my wife worked in but I would hope they all work that way. 

If going through Lowes, you are Lowes customer, not the contractors. The downside is that Lowes sets the prices of what they will pay the contractor to perform the work they are doing. That means it will not be industry rates to the contractor. 

Hope that helps 

I have a spreadsheet used to figure comps, which I save as the address of the property. Then I put that in a folder in Google Drive also titled using the property address (example: 123 Main Street, City, State). Then all files pertaining to that property go into that folder.

Make folders inside the main folder based on needs titling the folder like below

-Designs&Drawings

-Survey

-Financials (include the receipts, expenses and the spreadsheet of the comps  

-Legal (contracts etc)

-Contractor 

-Misc (Put anything here that is miscellaneous; however, if you have at least three documents related to the same topic, make a folder for them and put them in that folder. 

Using Google Drive will allow you to share the link for others to make changes if you wanted, plus so many people have access to Google making it easy but if you would rather use Microsoft that is great too. This is how I keep everything organized for my business.

My humble opinion

DM me if you have any other questions.