Managing subcontractors tips

[Nadiya Lonkevych]

My husband and i have successfully completed two flips with a help of general contractors. Two different GCs, one was one, the other was not. But with fairly good margins we were able to profit on both. So naturally we decided to up the game and manage our own subs. We are also focusing on building a rental portfolio and doing fewer flips. The challenge comes not so much to finding people willing to work on our terms (pricing, payment upon completion of a task and learning some time saving techniques) but rather being able to hold/keep them long term. We have an ability to provide continuous work since we have 3-4 houses under construction. Always pay on time, as agreed. Our guys seemed to be happy ... until one day they simply didn't come to work and stopped answering the phone. We try to communicate their challanges and make sure the process works for all of us. But still they leave and we don't know why. I would appreciate any tips from experienced GC on building teams that last longer then a few months. Right now we have some guys who like to be paid per day and some being compensated per task.

[Emilio Ramirez]

The trades market is booming right now. If you are beating down subs on their price or taking the cheapest labor that comes around. They're either going out of business or ditching your work for better paying work. Find good subs, don't beat them up on price and pay them quickly.