Dealing with Contractors on a New Property

[Connor McGinnis]

Hello,

I am in the closing process on my first rental property duplex. The need help with some repairs including electrical, hvac, plumbing, and other cosmetic repairs like paint, dry wall, and laminate floor board replacements. There are other carpentry repairs too.

I have received 3 quotes from general contractors at two of them came in at around $17k without trade repairs included (electrical, plumbing, and HVAC). Only one contractor included trade repairs which brought the final total to $22k. I’d imagine they outsource this work I suppose they could do it in house as they are a larger company.

To get the best value on the work, is it better to contact tradesman directly for those repairs and then have the general contractor do the rest? I am looking to potentially do the painting myself to save money. My timeline is to close on April 5th and get the other unit on the market for rent by the end of the month. Hopefully landing a tenant in May.

I would appreciate anyone’s insight on managing contractors quote and how to manage repairs in a cost effective way.

Thank you for any insight in advance as I close on April 5th!