Trouble finding a good contractor? Maybe it's not them...

[Derreck Wells]

I see post after post and hear podcast after podcast about investors having trouble finding and keeping good contractors. Did you ever stop to wonder why?

Well... It's because contractors don't work for you any more than you work for the contractors... but you both make money off each other. Weird, right? 

You are both self employed, you're both your own bosses, you're not the contractor's boss! I'm fact, in MA, every contract needs to, by law, specifically have verbiage saying that the contractor is not your employee. You don't pay worker's comp insurance or taxes on them, right? If you want to pay an employee, hire one and cut them a paycheck every week. If you want a skilled contractor with licenses and insurance, hire a contractor instead of the employee.

But always remember... the contractor doesn't work for you.

If you want a good contractor, there are several things you need to do; 

1. 1: Be a good landlord. Contractors don't want to work with slumlords. We don't like going to a job and doing substandard work because you don't want to pay for it to be done properly. Stop being cheap.
   
2. 2: Never tell a contractor that if he gives you a discount, you'll give him more work because you're an investor and will have more properties. We know you're just being a cheap prick at that point and will actually charge you more because we know you're going to try to screw us over in the end to save a couple hundred dollars. It actually works the opposite way... we give repeat customers better rates. Trust is earned, not given freely. If you want better rates, show us you're bringing us more work by actually bringing us more work, don't tell us you're going to.
3. 3: Always remember; Contractors don't work for you, we are self employed.
4. 4: When a contractor doesn't answer your call in the middle of the day, it's because they're working. Send them a text asking them to call you at their earliest convenience. Their time is valuable to the person who's house they're working on. Would you want a contractor to stop working on your house to talk on the phone to someone that isn't paying them? I personally don't answer my phone when I'm on a job unless it relates to that job I'm on... ever. Some days I work until dark, then often grab a burger at a drive through on the ride home, then I'm taking care of a kid and 3 dogs for the evening, I'm a single parent with some custody of a 14 year old girl. Stop expecting a contractor to answer the phone every time you call, and stop thinking their horrible at communication because they have lives that don't involve you. You are not the most important person in their lives... There will always be plenty of work for a good contractor, your job won't make or break them.
5. 5: Get a scope of work. A scope of work is very important. But don't ask for an itemized list and NEVER try to save money by getting the materials yourself. You will buy the wrong stuff, every time. And asking for an itemized list is telling us you want to use us to make a materials list and design the project for free but you're going to try to do the project yourself. Pay an architect if that's what you're after, or pay me a consult fee to do that for you. And if you're thinking you can save a hundred dollars by getting materials at different places, sure, so can I. But then you're paying me for the time and fuel to drive all over town and pick them all up. It will cost you more in the long run. My time is valuable and you WILL pay for my time, because trust me when I say, I have other things I could be doing. There aren't enough hours in the day as it is, I don't need someone wasting my time. I have a life outside of work, and if I'm not working, I'm living it.
6. 6: See #3.
7. 7: Don't try to negotiate a better price. A good contractor will never compromise himself. We are already giving you an honest bid... we're not used car salesman that pad up the number so we can give you a fake discount so you feel like you screwed us over and walk away happy. This is what it costs to get the project done right. Any less and it doesn't work. A good contractor doesn't add in wiggle room. We add in materials and an estimated labor rate, that's it. A good contractor's contract will have contingencies in it for cost overruns and change orders. Look for them, if you see them, you're probably dealing with a good contractor. My contract states "Homeowner agrees to pay up to $2000 in overruns, anything more than that requires a signed change order." This is simply to allow for an emergency situation such as a rotted sill beneath an exterior door. If we're replacing a door and come across that, we don't have to stop work and wait for a signed change order, we can just fix it and move on.
8. 8: Never expect or ask for a contractor to do something free because they're there anyway. "Can you fix this while you're here?" Time is money so, yes, I'll fix it, but it will cost you $XXX. 
9. 9: See #6.
10. 10: Pay your bill. Do you like it when a tenant doesn't pay? Well, you are just a tenant to a contractor. A good contractor has bills to pay. If you rip off a contractor, you're only hurting yourself and your fellow investors. Contractors distrust investors because they tend to rip off contractors more than homeowners do. This is why contractors will charge more. We also have our own version of Annie's List where we report on problem and non-paying clients. You don't want to end up on it, you'll never get a good contractor if you do.