How do I find a reputable contractor for my rental properties?

Question

Hello all,

I am new to BP and wish I had joined sooner! I currently own 3 investment properties (one 8 unit, one 5 unit, and a house. Being a single 32 year old woman who is not well versed in the world of construction has definitely put me at a disadvantage of knowing the industry and how it operates. I have several repairs and required maintenance and I struggle to find reputable contractors who actually follow through or are doing quality work. This is amplified by the fact that I love out of state and my property manager often uses her husband, a licensed contractor to do repairs on my properties. Please help!

Steven Trumpet · Answer

i've had some of the same issues. We could start a whole other section on dealing with Contractors as they are an interesting bunch :)

So out of desperation I turned to Angieslist.com. The contractors are better and they are there in mass so I call a bunch at once and see who responds. I love the real time comments and rating from other home owners. I can see who's responsive, expensive etc.

Every so often a contractor may still be challenged by showing up etc but they pay a ton of money to be listed so they fear a negative rating. I've had two experiences where after a no show, I gave the contractor a negative rating. They quickly responded, apologized and in one case did some free work in return for me removing the negative rating. Hope this helps.

Good luck!

Matthew Paul · Answer

Is the property managers husband a problem? Now when you find someone else you will be paying the manager to go out and give them access . Good contractors arent cheap , and cheap contractors arent generally good .

What type of help are you looking for?

Account Closed · Answer

Find a new property manager. You should not have to deal with this. Most property managers would gather bids and have good connections for a roof repair. For the fun of it, call a couple of the top companies that come up for that area on a google search and tell them how many units you own, tell them the situation with the roof, and ask how they would handle it and who they recommend.

This will be very educational and most likely solve your problem. You don't have to switch but you would know who to use when you do.

Char Prado · Answer

@Holly Nole "Hold your ground when it comes to contractors and you have a legitimate concern and "sounding picky" doesn't apply here!  What state do you live in?  Are you to far from the properties?  As a woman you can do anything!  You need to learn about how to take care of your properties so when you do have needed repairs you can handle finding the people to fix the repairs and know that you're not being taken advantage of. Ie when it comes to women taken their cars to mechanics they think they can overcharge and do a half a**ed job and we what know about it!  Not this lady...If you don't have a problem with your current setup other than your handy man is out of town, it is your PMs responsibility to locate the repair people, check their references, lic/ins etc. and give you their info, so you can decide who you'd like to go with and/or call them and interview them!

Good luck, Char

Manolo D. · Answer

@Holly Nole Roof repair isn't rocket science, if your PM's husband is out of town, and returns within 2 weeks, just wait for him, it might not be worth the risk of going with another contractor. They will be expensive, due to worker's comp for roofers, they go around 100%, so if a company is paying $40/hr on their worker, they had to pay $40/hr for worker's compensation, plus whatever their overhead and profit is. If they are a small company and are exempt from WC, then the figures might work.  Most cheap contractors can't produce what you are looking for, but they "might" know how to do the job, however, they couldn't generate a material list and give you a price that separates labor and materials. It should take a day with 2 guys to do what you are looking for, well, technically only 1 guy. $1,000 should be a fair price to pay for that, just do a turn-key and don't worry about it. Remember that if you sound really picky, contractors will run away and move to the next client, we do not need challenging clients, only challenging work.

David S. · Answer

@Holly Nole

After going through several half-a** roofers, some of whom were not cheap, I found a good one on Angies List.  I was very apprehensive for years about paying a subscription to find workers.  However, now that I did, I am glad I changed my perception. I go for the best rated contractor with many reviews. The roofer I found had unbelievable customer service and quality.  The rep showed up with copies of their contractor license, insurance, etc. They did, in fact, underestimate one job and ate the costs instead of trying to pass it to me.

I agree with @Matthew Paul about good contractors not being cheap and cheap contractor not being good.  Some exceptions there, but it is generally true.

Matthew Paul · Answer

First thats why they are called "estimates " . with roofing there can be hidden damage . You never know until you start removing shingles , then you are committed.  Thats the nature of the business .

Holly N. · Answer

Thanks for the reply! There is a lockbox outside the vacant apartment that vendors have a code to get into so I am not incurring any costs from PM for that .  Right now, I'm looking for help repairing a leaking roof. My property manager's husband is out of town this is why I am looking at other contractors to help me with the roof repair. It is hard to get the contractors to return a phone call or email. After one contractor emailed me an estimate of $800 to repair the roof, I started asking questions and was then told in a subsequent email that the estimate would now be $1000 pending no rotten wood was underneath the shingles. I don't like the fact that contractors can change their estimate without an actual conversation just through an email and when I called contractor to inquire about price change, I never got a return phone call. Another contractor quoted me $750 but did not provide in details what the repair would entail. I want to know what I'm paying for. I called asking about  getting an email or estimate in writing to detail the work involved and the contractor said his secretary was out of town and that she was better with the computer than he was, so i would have to wait to get an email from her! Just feel like I'm getting the run around....

How do I find a reputable contractor for my rental properties?

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