Information needed from investor to contractor

[Scott Loud]

Hello, as a newbie to this game I’ve been reading all the books. They all have a uniform theme that contractors can be one of the trickiest members of your team find. David Greene’s book does well to describe the questions a would be investor should have for them, but I am curious about the other side. 

For the contractors that may be perusing this forum. What do you expect from your would be investor customer?

What critical questions or information do you need to hear first thing for a successful transaction to occur? What makes you feel good about the person who is trying to give you their business?

thanks!

[Kuriakos Mellos]

Hey Scott - if you are doing out of state you really need to align with a realtor (or someone you has their own rentals/experience) that can walk you thru as much detail as possible and let you know what truly needs to get done. Often times, they are aligned with contractors that do work for them already.  Try and talk to someone who is on the same wave length as you as to what you want out of YOUR property and what YOUR goals are. 

An inspection report is a great start - but I will tell you - as someone that legit just went thru this the last month and a half - things ALWAYS will come up. Have a as detailed as scope of work and agreed upon timeline for the items that you want to get done. Understand that sometimes, surprises and 'skeletons - as I call them', come out and will need to be addressed. Contractors can get annoyed if you are disrespecting their time and are making them go back for additional work that was not in the agreed upon price.

Also, for less stress, I always budget a little more for work - just to be on the safe side - at least 10 to 15% more on what is intially discussed - because again..those skeletons sometimes show up ;-)

NEVER PAY UP FRONT! Set up a payment plan for work as it is completed. Pay for as many of the materials as you can remotely.  It is not that hard to do - HomeDepot lets you put an authorized card on file and contractors can call you to confirm that things are being purchased. (I use HomeDepot for all my properties and have a PRO account which has quickly accumulated points and such.)

Once a job is complete, pay promptly - contractors are often having to pay out different parties - sub contractors etc; and often run a few jobs at once. Delaying in payment gets their team members stressed out, so a prompt payment shows them that you are a solid source of income and they are likely to come back to you for future projects - building rapport.

Respect their time, these people have families and lives outside of your project - texting them at 11 PM about a project is not going to go overwell.;-).  Hope this helps!