Newbie from Seattle, Wa and First signed contract

[Josh Norris]

Wanted to throw out an introduction after following the threads for the last month. My name is Josh and I live in the Seattle area. I've spent the last year reading books, listening to podcasts, and researching the Internet for everything motivating and real estate focused. I have a pretty long family history in real estate investing but am very self driven and am trying to get started on my own, I am taking some family advice but also trying to learn things as I go.
I have not started any marketing campaigns yet but I did get my first contract signed yesterday, so excited. It was just up the street from the house I own and I had driven by it 20 times always telling myself I need to research it. Well I finally did and it turned out the owner had died with no trust or will and his mother had taken it in probate. No mortgage owed, house is a serious dump inside and 10' sticker bushes outside. We negotiated for about 3 months and I finally go her to agree to 88k with comps for same size lot and house in area around 240k-260k ARV.
Now my question is where do I start looking for contractors and how do is find the best price for good quality work. I have the bigger pocket books and they are great help with estimation but where are people finding their contractors? Craigslist, online, referrals, etc....
One last thing this website is nothing short of amazing. Very intelligent and successful people everywhere and I thank you all. The podcast is great too and has taken the place of all my other podcasts and is pretty much the only real estate podcast I listen to.

[Bryan R.]

Josh Norris

Congratulations on the pickup. 88k on a FMV of 240 is very nice. You have any idea what the rehab costs might be? If the numbers are right that could be a great flip or an easy wholesale.

Regarding finding contractors - as others have said referrals are your best bet. I run a full time crew, but when I need more guys I call my friends and usually somebody has some extra bodies they can spare. Craigslist can be real hit or miss. Another good option is to go to Home Depot or Lowes in the morning and start taking down phone numbers off the sides of trucks. Or even just driving around when you see somebody on site doing a rehab pull over and talk to them.

Licensing. City, County, and L&I are really on it now. If you are going to rehab with intention to resell you need to get your license. Likewise make sure anyone you hire is licensed and if they have people working for them check that they are paying their L&I premiums. Likewise anyone subcontracted needs to be licensed and paying L&I. All violations flow uphill to you.

Here are some links:

How to: http://www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Contractors/HireCon/

License and Complaints: https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/bbip/

Violations: https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/bbip/ViolatorsSearch.aspx

L&I: https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/crpsi/