Houston General Contractor Recommendations

[Mick Misra]

Hi All! I'm new to the Houston area and looking for a reliable general contractor. For my first acquisition in the Houston area, I want to buy a small multifamily building (2-4plex), renovate it, live in one unit and rent out the other units. I'm interested in the Inner Loop area and would like to start in the next couple of months once I get financing and a property squared away. I've spent a lot of time on the Houston Area Realtors website and a good amount of time finding lenders as well. So the only thing I need to close the loop is a good General Contractor!

Can anyone recommend a good GC who can help an owner/investor in my situation? I've already received one recommendation through BP and I'm hoping for a couple more. Thanks guys! Mick

[Phuc Hoang]

I just started flipping this year and had very bad experiences with the two GCs that I used. I don't have any good one to recommend at this point, but I'd make sure to avoid KL Construction and Bangitservices. The first, KL Construction will try and undercut the other bids you have and sell you on the fact that they won't nickel and dime you. Towards the end of the project, he did just that and would nickel and dime you, try to avoid work that was in the original scope, and stop really caring about the quality of work. Their project management won't check the quality of work for you so you'll have to be detailed enough to makes sure you catch everything. Unfortunately this was my first flip and I didn't catch a lot of things until inspection when it was sold. The second, Bangitservices, did a project that they claimed they can finish in 5-6 weeks. They ended up taking 5 month! Their project manager never communicates with you, ignores your emails and texts most of the time, and is never at the property to check the work. We had to point out several mistakes that were made, one of which they didn't address until we threatened to kick them off the project. I can go into detail if needed, but I'd basically avoid these guys at all cost. Pay a little more for quality contractors, make sure you get referrals, visit their existing projects, and negotiate a clause to complete within a certain timeframe if possible. I'd go with sub-contractors to if you're more seasoned and can manage it.