Where are the good Contractors in Baltimore

Question

Had a roofing contractor come to property with insurance adjuster to assess roofing problem. I had one contractor come and give a quote beforehand the adjuster came in under what the initial contractor had given for a quote. Now this is where it gets crazy. The contractor who came with the adjuster so she could access the roof had said he would do the job at the adjusters price. He came back two days later trying to fast talk and not agree to do the work in the scope, finally he agreed to the complete scope of work and was set to start the work the following day and wrote a proposal up. He rushed off and I over looked the  proposal and the was no license number. This guy claims he's been doing the work for 20 years, I asked for his license number and he says he left it home. Red Flag!! And would bring everything to get the contract signed. He then called the next day and said he didn't want to take the job because I was telling him how to do his job. Once i asked for the license, he backed away.

Michael Kevorkian · Answer

@Steve Morris a lot of great comments here and I will tell you that even though I’m not a licensed contractor, I rehab and flip a lot of houses. Recently we have restructured my entire business model to the point where I am acting as a general contractor for my own projects.I have more horror stories than I have the time or patience to write about.Working with a general contractor seems to be the easy route and when you are connected with the right one it is definitely helpful and a relationship who want to nurture over time.

I had a couple of instances where I hired a general contractor, he hired sub-contractors and never paid them although he was paid for their work/contract work and the sub-contractors liened my properties.

Getting lien waivers from the general contractor is useless and worthless unless you have subsequent lien waivers from his or her sub-contractors as well.

I recently had a general contractor come out and look at a job for a gut rehab of a two unit building in Chicago. He gave me a price of $165,000 the next day.I called him back and said, “I asked you to remodel the place not build new” and he said….. over the phone….. “OK, how about $110,000”?Needless to say, I didn’t bother carrying on the conversation much further after that. I look at it like this, if you have that much room in it and this is our first set of negotiations, it’s probably not going to be a good fit.

What I’ve started doing in my company now is hire two project managers who handle between five and seven projects each instead of trying to get a general contractor to run the jobs.Effectively the project managers act as a general contractor, they call 3-5 companies/people from each trade to come bid on the job.We like to have all the contractors show up at the same time so that they know there is competition.

Typically we call five people and only three show up, we then tell the three that are there that we need their bid within 24 hours and from there we will usually only get one or two.

The point is that this is qualifying the contractor as to whether or not they are somebody that can work with us or not.If they don’t show up or don’t deliver the bid in time that is an early enough warning sign for me to say they are not going to perform the way I need them to when it comes to time frames and budgets.

It is a lot of legwork and a lot of phone calls but once you get the system down and some relationships built you won’t have to go through it for every trade.Licenses, insurance, being bonded and partial and full lien waivers are a must and we have found that this method actually works a lot better than using a GC because effectively all of the trades are self managed.

The electrician goes in, does his rough, takes his partial payment, signs the lien waiver and comes back later to do the finish and trim work and get a final payment.He is not trying to do the electric then go hang some drywall, build a deck and replace the roof on your property.

I’m not saying that every GC is like that however in my marketplace it is very common that the general contractor will use the license of a friend or coworker for a specific trade like plumbing or electric and then pay one of his guys $12.00 or $15.00 per hour to do the work.Theoretically he is making more money that way but in reality the entire job is slowed down drastically because you have an experienced “generalist” worker performing work that should be done by the licensed professionals.

Best of luck to you.

Keith Belzner · Answer

In Maryland a licensed contractor must put his license number on everything he touches. Contracts , advertising,  business cards, Everything. They can have insurance without a license but no license without insurance. As a former contractor myself there are a lot of procedures you must follow. Most people do not know a contract can only ask for 1/3 down payment. I would suggest going on the DLLR web site and looking at the laws for contractors.

Keith Belzner · Answer

I can only provide information pertaining to Maryland, so here goes.

There are 3 levels of licenses for home improvement work.

1. General contractor (GC) - is the only one that can enter into a contract with client. his licence supersedes all others. Can pull permits, not including mechanical (unless he's licensed in that field).

2. Sub contractor - can only be hired by GC. cannot enter into contract directly with client.

3. Salesman - Can only sell the job.

As @Andrew K. said, if you are buying the materials then you are not getting a GC but rather a laborer. Make sure you know for what position you are hiring someone. There are a lot of GC that dont do the work but rather hire it out to subs and manage the job. So if you act as the project manager you need to hire the right people for what your after. But they should still be licensed no matter what.

• Some states say that if you knowingly enter into a contract with an unlicensed contractor, you are not allowed to use the fact that the contractor is unlicensed as a defense for non-payment. Note that an unlicensed contractor can still file suit for fraud and deceit.

Keith Belzner · Answer

I wholeheartedly agree that an MHIC license does not translate into quality but it does affect accountability. Many on craigslist are quality tradesmen doing work while slow or on the side. As long as you are researching and qualifying them and your ok dealing with unlicensed , uninsured there are many good people to be found. It comes down to what do you as a business owner want your name associated with?

Account Closed · Answer

oxymoron

Andrew K. · Answer

@Christina R. @Steve Morris

As a contractor myself, these conversations always drive me nuts. It's not just you guys, it seems to be all investors "can't find a good contractor." Good contractors are out there. They are. It's not rocket science to find one either. You should be able to tell pretty much off the bat if they present themselves professionally/ get you a bid in the time frame they say they will/seem to know what they're talking about. Biggest thing: Check referrals!! If you find a good contractor, treat them well and they will do the same in return.  It really comes down to the "you get what you pay for." Investors seem to be notorious for wanting the lowest bid guy they can find. Getting better at being realistic about what good work costs will do wonders for you. The contractor's that last know what the job requires of them and the business expenses they incur (overhead such as licenses, insurance, etc) and must charge accordingly. I say this to potential clients all the time. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples when comparing contractors. No 2 contractors have the same expenses and overhead that's why you will see a range of numbers. The good ones are not in the business of making a quick buck on you and riding off into the sunset.

Regarding deposits, this all comes down to trust and professionalism. It makes me sick to my stomach to hear all these horror stories of contractors taking a deposit and running. Again, know who you are hiring. Do your homework. However, refusing to give a contractor a deposit ahead of time is just breeding unnecessary problems from the start. It basically says "I don't trust you" right off the bat.  My unofficial policy is anything under 2500-3000 I don't ask for a deposit, but anything above I ask for the requisite 1/3rd down. @Keith Belzner  is absolutely correct, in MD you can't ask for more than 1/3. I also have all my client's sign contracts that describe the exact scope of work, payment schedule, and other exclusions and qualifications. That way everyone is on the same page. There is a legal, binding, very clear document that spells out everything should a dispute arise. The deposit doesn't just help with the contractor's cashflow, it also signifies that you the client are serious. It's a commitment that you will follow through with the job and aren't wasting anyone's time. This contract is a safety measure for you as well as it binds the contractor to do what they say.

Keith Belzner · Answer

Unless the job is small, under $1000, most contractors will want a down payment of some sort. Saying that you will not give a payment until work has started will have any good legitimate contractor telling to have a nice day and leaving. From a contractors perspective there are red flags that will chase good reliable ones away fast. Don't say " if you give me a discount/break/wholesale prices I can give you more work in the future"they know 9 out of 10 times this is b.s. and just away of trying to get things  cheaper. If you want good pricing negotiate after you've given them multiple jobs and trust is built between you both.You can call for estimate for price comparison but if you do this multiple times to the same contractor without hiring them , they will stop talking to you because they know you are jerking them around. There are very good contractors out there but they will cost money to do the job right. Remember YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Keith Belzner · Answer

To me it sounds like you hire unlicensed craigslist people. The reason I say this is almost 100% of contractors/ business men will not do the work with client supplied materials. They cannot warranty them. And if they do it means they are desperate for work and at that point you have total control of them. Just speaking from the trade side of it.

I am new into  the real estate investing field but I know that when I do start into the rehabbing side I will be using licensed contractors only. May cost a bit more but I know with proper research of them they will be easier to work with.

Account Closed · Answer

good guess, but false...though not entirely. Sometimes they're liscensed, sometimes not. Frankly, an mhic license says zero about ability. The materials i buy to control the costs of what i use in my places, while removing them from the contractor equation. Desperate is a relative term. The people i work with get consistent work and know they're getting paid, more then they can say from many.

Account Closed · Answer

i never ever ever front money to a contractor. I will sign an agreement, i will agree tomost payment schedules, and i pay for all materials. Contractors want work, those are the terms, Non negotiable. Ive never had a problem finding competant workers to work under these terms.

Where are the good Contractors in Baltimore

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