Help With Mobile Home Repairs PLEASE!

[Account Closed]

We just got our first mobile home deal, and are looking for some guidance on working out the logistics of doing mobile home repairs. We are to instruct Contractors/handymen that we solicit to NOT include costs of materials in their bids, correct? So that means they are bidding labor costs only- based on the task. We (investors) price, buy, and deliver windows, siding, skirting, linoleum, carpet, floor boards, AC, etc. We then determine from repairman we hire what additional materials (nails, caulking, etc.) he needs per job and we buy those items and have ready at mobile home also? Bottom line: the investor buys all materials needed and delivers to the job site? And most importantly, we pay by the job, NOT the hour, right? Do we have this correct? All advice and tips are greatly appreciated!

[Celeste Fackrell]

Roslynn,

I am both a park owner and an engineering/construction professional.  I cannot count on all my fingers and toes the number of reasons that you do NOT want to buy the materials for your contractor. 

If you have a trustworthy contractor, then they won't take advantage of you.  They will buy the materials, make a fair profit on them, and install them.  If you want to ensure a fair profit and no more, then bid the work to 3 or 4 contractors.  Don't bid it to more than 4 because if they're bidding against 6 other contractors then "if I get the job I don't want it; I must have forgotten something".  More than 4 bidders is counter-productive.  

Now, if you do provide materials, and your chosen contractor is the type that will take advantage of you, you have provided that contractor uncountable ways of taking your money. A few Examples:

a) Material is not on site, through no fault of yours.  Your contractor doesn't care; they will simply charge you for their non-productive time.  On most mobile home rehab projects a few hours of crew time FAR exceeds any amount of savings you would realize purchasing your own materials.

b) If you provide the materials, are you going to be there at all times to unload them?  If not, you're going to pay the contractor to unload them.  Are you paying them to inspect them as well?  If not, and the contractor goes to install a window, or bathtub, or stove...and there is damage, the contractor will look at you with a helpless look and ask "Do you want me to put the broken one in?".  You can blame the contractor, but couple with another helpless look will say "Well, I didn't do it.  It must have happened during shipping, or storage, or the kids in the trailer next door must have done it." In any case, you're still paying for it, AND dealing with it.

c)  Material comes on site, it is perfect, it is not broken, BUT it doesn't fit.  Since it doesn't fit, Mr. Contractor will modify a few things to make it work......for a nominal fee.....AGAIN way more than you ever saved on mark-up for that item.  Your material not fitting is not the contractors problem, unless you were VERY specific and made the contractor responsible.  To save you grief, let me just tell you that you cannot be specific enough for a low-ball contractor; they will get you. 

d)  Walls have bows in them.  NOT his problem; you supplied the crappy lumber.  The         lumber yard didn't "crown" the studs so the Contractor installed what YOU supplied.  He can take it out and put clean, straight lumber in.........for a nominal fee.

e)  All your lumber, drywall, corner bead, sub-floor, deck materials were delivered to your home site surrounded by OTHER mobile homes, neighborhoods, etc.  As framing work comes to a close, your contractor tells you you're short, 22 studs, 8 sheets of OSB, 6 sheets of drywall, 2 buckets of drywall mud, and you have no base molding.  You KNOW you had these all delivered, but they are not there now.  MAYBE they are being used on his other job?

        *  Garbage disposal doesn't work after installation. NOT the contractors problem, all he did was install it. YOU bought it and it doesn't work.  YOU take care of it...and he won't charge you to re-install it if his electrician doesn't charge him.

*  Stove doesn't work; not his problem.

*  Dishwasher doesn't work; not his problem.

* Refrigerator doesn't work...Furnace.........windows don't slide, doors don't open, flooring doesn't lay right, faucet leaks, bathtub has a chip, , etc, etc, etc.

I'm guessing by now you get the point.  

Lets, for fun, run some numbers:

TOTAL Material cost for an average MH Rehab.....lets go with $7,000.  Lets say for example your contractor knows he has you on your heels so he puts an outlandish mark-up of 25%, for handling, off-loading, storing, INSURING,  and warranty on the material.

So you end up paying:

$7,000 x 1.25 = $8,750 for $7,000 worth of material.  Wow that is too much..............or is it?

In EITHER case, you have to pic the materials and specify what you want. (leave OUT size, make the contractor measure and be responsible for fit.)(i.e, you order 10 squares of roofing.

What YOU DON'T have to do:  Arrange, and be responsible for, delivery.  You don't have to coordinate with your contractor, the supplier, and the wholesaler. Lets say you have to order 20 items and get them delivered.  Say it takes 30 minutes each for "coordination, follow up, quality control, storage, etc.)  20 x .5 hours = 10 hours of your time.

Lets say there are 2 windows broken on site:  Did it happen during shipping, unloading, or storage.  You didn't buy them, so you don't care.   Instead of an hour long trip to investigate, determine cause, which will almost never be certain unless you were there and personally unloaded everything, and another couple of hours of re-ordering, re-coordinating, and following up, you get to say "take care of it".   Save another 3 hours.

Lets say something like this happens, or shortages, or wrong color, or wrong item, or wrong.....10 more times; Another 30 hours of your time.  PLUS your contractor doesn't get to charge you for delays.  11 delays x 2 hours/delay x 3 men x $15/hour = $990.

THEN....3 months down the road, the dishwasher quits working.  You can spend 15 hours dealing with it, or 3 hours getting your Contractor to fix HIS material.  (1 year labor/installation warranty)

I could go on and on, however lets just see where you are:

$1875 too much paid for material

-$990 from contractor delays = $885 additional costs

10 hours + 33 hours + 12 hours of your time (very simplistic example) = 55 hours of your time saved.

$885/55 = $16/hour you paid yourself to deal with this.  

Your time is certainly worth more than $16/hour, isn't it?

There could be more or less, but there will always be issued if you provide the material.  

Find a responsible contractor and let them do their job.  For those of you who "can't find a responsible contractor", you're either not looking hard enough or your demands are unrealistic.  There are on-line resources everywhere for finding good, reliable contractors.  

I have seen it every day for the last 30+ years of construction; you want $1000 worth of construction for $600 dollars.  Would you do $1000 worth of work for $600?  Whatever you do for a living, I guarantee I can find someone that will do it for 40% less. Should I use them without expecting some performance sacrifices?  Are they as good as you?

 In construction, as with most things, you typically get what you pay for.

DON'T STEP OVER A DOLLAR TO PICK UP A DIME!