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!

[Matthew Paul]

The General Contractor doesnt do the physical work . His tool of the trade is his phone . He will call subcontractors for just about every aspect of the job . He makes his money on the difference of what he charges you and what the subs charge him . 

Now , can you save money by calling all the trades yourself ?   You sure can . You will have to get estimates from every one of them ,  Then pick them , then get on THEIR schedule . You will then have to try and get them on your job in the right order . Naturally there will be waiting time in between .  The trades will charge you retail , since you are basically a homeowner . ( they dont care if you are a landlord) .

If you hire a General contractor , he has a relationship with the trades , he can call them and get things done on a MUCH tighter schedule .  A $22,000 job isnt big at all , maybe a week to a week and a half .  Call it 2 weeks to be safe ...

If you call the trades , figure on a month maybe 2 months , depending on the work .