Hire a GC vs. Acting as own GC

[Ryan Reddy]

Hey Y'all, 

I'm looking to buy my first house flip in Denver, CO and I was wondering everyone's experience if it is better to hire a GC or act as my own when first starting out? 

The types of renovations I am looking at are primarily cosmetic an advanced cosmetic, the goal is to avoid any flips that require major mechanical / structural work.  

I see the pros and cons of both sides, while hiring a GC will help ease the entire process as well as have the construction expertise but I also see the GC fees eating in my profits as an investor.
I have read articles and books that say it can cost more by acting as own GC by making mistakes but also talked to RE investors in my market saying that acting as my own GC is the only way to make money. 

I have no construction experience and my current RE team has built their personal homes which could help provide some guidance but no one is a contractor.

I would love to hear about your experiences as well as if you have any nightmare stories from working with a GC / acting as your own and what you would recommend if you were starting out in my shoes with the knowledge you know today?

[Alex Craig]

@Ryan Reddy It depends on your experience level.  My first couple of flips I did mostly myself and found out that I was not handy and about electrocuted myself. After that, I hired a contractor and that is when I decided to never hire a contractor for my projects again. Nothing against contractors, but in my market, the good ones are doing better projects and the ones who are terrible at job management were left over to work in the investor space. While it took me years to get it down, I finally did and we have been acting as our own contractor ever since. If you are not doing moving walls, pouring concrete, redoing plumbing and electrical systems, rather then a fresh coat of paint, new flooring, new fixtures, landscpaing, roofing and other cosmetic details, either try it yourself or find a mentor who would not mind helping you, even if they charged a fee to train you during the process. I imagine Denver's economy is booming too, thus I imagine the good contractors are doing owner occupant, high end jobs. Whatever you do, never let the contractor get ahead of you with their draws, in other words, if they have done $20,000 worth of work, give him $15,000, not $25,000.  A contractor should also have some skin in the game. BTW, I am saying this as someone who held a contractors license.