First BRRRR: Lesson Learned

[Tony Cimino]

Lesson Learned Working in my adult life, I have already read and seen the age old saying of, “Don’t mix family and business.” So, when I decided to jump into my first BRRRR property, that is exactly what I was going to do. Run this as a business, and not use my family resources. My father was a contract sales man for multiple large lumber stores for 30 years. He is now a project manager for a large general contractor. He has the knowledge and the connections of all of the sub-contractors in our area. So, when he offered to help, I told him thanks but no thanks. The only thing I wanted from him was a recommendation of a good, trustworthy general contractor. He gave me the name of a guy who had worked on my dad’s house, my grandmother’s house, and my sister’s house. From tiling, drywalling, roofing, plumbing, he did it all, with no issues. We close on our house, GC tells us he can start in 2 weeks, with a 6-week remodel. Great! Day 1 comes and goes, then week 1…. nothing has been done. GC explains that he was behind on other projects but wrapping those up and can then concentrate on our house fulltime. Week 2, egress window goes in, but that takes an entire week. The next week, some framing, but nothing substantial. I call GC who ensures that he will meet the 6-week timeframe. We then go on vacation and comeback to little progress. I call GC and have a pretty direct conversation and he again assures me that he will meet the deadline. Next week goes by and he is done framing, but that’s it, and he has 2 weeks left. The next week I have my dad walk through the house with me, and my dad is blown away at the shotty, sloppy, horrible work. At that point, I ask my dad for help. Within a week he finds a GC and now Dad is managing the project. Fire my first GC. My second GC has to demolish some of the framing and redo it. On top of that, the plumbing is not up to code. Dad gets a plumber in who has to also tear out old plumbing done by GC#1, and re-do it, this includes some drywall, and additional framing that then needs to be redone. We are now 2 weeks into hiring GC#2, and having dad manage the project. Plumbing is done, electrical is getting done (at a lower cost that GC#1), framing, drywall, mud, doors hung, and flooring getting put in this week. They have already started on the upstairs and are moving at such a pace that as soon as I get them materials, they are going it. ITS GREAT! Not having my dad manage the project from Day 1 has cost me about $2,000 in holding costs, and $4,000 to get someone to do everything GC#1 didn’t do correctly. Dad doesn’t know it yet, but we are going to pay him for the work he did for us. Next BRRRR house guess who we are hiring to manage the project? The lesson I have learned is that while you may not want to mix some family with business, some family you do. Besides myself and my wife, no one cares more about this project than my dad, and I am forever grateful for that.