How do you find and hire the right Contractors?

[Ben Feder]

When looking for contractors to fix up a piece of real estate that you bought, where do you look/how do you find the right people/companies to do the job? And are there people who can do pretty much everything so you don't have a separate contractor for flooring, another one for walls, another for windows, another for countertops, etc.? Basic guidance on the contractor hiring process. Thank you so much!

[Emilio Ramirez]

A general contractor will handle a construction project from start to finish. This is a simplified version of how they work, but Sometimes they simply manage the process, hire all the subs and buy the materials. Sometimes they do all the work themselves and buy all the materials. Sometimes it is a combination of the two where they do some of the work, buy some of the materials and subcontract some of the work. Sometimes they simply provide management. Sometimes they simply provide labor. and on and on and on... 

Some will be very rigid in how they work. Others will be more flexible. For example. Some will only want to hard bid a project. Give you a price and not break anything out. Others will be open to you buying some of the materials, have an open book accounting system and maybe even let you do some of the work. It all depends. There is no hard and fast rule. 

Biggest mistake an investor can make is assume a contractor is a contractor is a contractor. Just like all the different brands of soda, there are different brands of contractors. Maybe beer or cigarettes would be a better bad analogy!