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Updated about 6 years ago on . Most recent reply
Met a contractor in WalMart
So I'm in Wally World minding my business and a guy comes up and down the aisle giving out business cards! Lo and behold he's a remodeling contractor! Don't know if it's a sign from God or not, but I have been looking for contractors for when I get my first property.
I give him one of my cards too. My question is, what kind of things do I need to ask him so that I don't come off as brand spanking new to this? Obviously I went and looked him up on social media, google searches, etc. Good work based on the pics. He is licensed and insured and works in my area!
When you are dealing with contractors what kinds of questions do you ask?
Most Popular Reply
Hey Aminze, I would recommend asking him these questions:
- How long has he been in business?
- How big is his crew?
- Has he ever done a full rehab?
- Can you get the contact info of clients he's done remodeling for? (He could've got pictures of anywhere, and claimed they were his remodeling projects)
- Can he provide his physical contractors license certificate and proof of insurance certificate ? (Many contractors claim they are licensed and insured but actually use someone else's license # to pull permits and work under someone else's permit)
- Does he GC the work out? or does his crew do all the work?
- Do they require a deposit upfront before starting work ? (If so, just hang up the phone. That's the easiest way to get scammed.)
- And when you call him see if he says his business name when he picks up, or if he does a shady " hello who is this?"
- Does he charge for estimates?
- How long does it take him to finish a rehab depending on the scope of work?
The reason I tell you this is because Well Known renowned contractors don't just go around giving out business cards because they should have business already attracting them. Here's a funny story, when I first got into rehabbing and flipping I put up a " We Buy Houses" ad on craigslist and a crooked contractor contacted me and gave me their business name and what they do. I said " ehh whatever I'll give them a shot." So I brought them out to a prospective property I wanted to rehab and this dude pulled up not in a contractors vehicle but in his family's jeep with his wife?! So I brought him through the property and he didn't even give me a business card or anything. So that's when I knew something was fishy. So after he finished the walk through he begged me for $50 to write the estimate and I was like " ehh whatever he didn't even mention this over the phone that he charged for estimates." So I was riding back home, and my partner said " Call him up and tell him stop at the next street so he can give you a business card cause I don't trust this guy." So I called the contractor, and he didn't even have business cards but had a estimate paper with his "logo" on it!? So I was real upset and make matters worse he took like 6 days to send the estimate from the UPS STORE! He didn't even have a computer or a laptop. He had to scan it to me from the UPS Store! The reason I shared this story is because Contractors put the CON in contractor and they cannot be trusted. Make sure you vet this guy to make sure you don't get screwed over.