New to flipping: Tring to find a lender and a contractor

[Parrish J Anderson]

Been making calls this week trying to get some contractors to view and provide bids on a property I'm interested in flipping. If I get calls back, it seems everyone is a week or two out. Most of the contractors I called I got off BBB site or knew the name and reputation by word of mouth. Would love any advise.

Also trying to find Hard and Private money lenders, if anyone has any one they would refer for Az would greatly appreciate!  Also, one property I was interested in wanted proof of funds for an offer, but the lenders I have spoken to want me to have a property under contact...is one way or another more typical?  

Many thanks!

[Richardd Barran]

Quote from @Joe Norman:

Most contractors do not know the flipping business, I would not recommend calling off a BBB list. Get referrals for contractors who have experience working with investors by attending local REI meetings or calling Realtors who do a lot of flip transactions in your area.

This is a great point, and I really want to emphasize this as well. 

As far as hard money goes, my meetup is how I met my mentor and my HML, who is now my PML. With lenders, shop around. I am loyal to my one, so I do not have too much knowledge on nationwide-based HML, but if I were starting out new and had to earn trust, I would actually use a credit union and see what products they have for distressed properties.

Now let's talk about contractors.

Hiring contractors requires a sword and shield...metaphorically. or hell, literally if you feel cool enough lol.

Investor meetings help with finding out who shows up to work, sure. But more importantly, those meetings will reveal who you should stay away from. And honestly, that is a key factor that is not talked about enough. There are contractors who do crappy jobs, we get it. But there are also GC's/handymen out there who deliberately cut corners, hire the wrong people, or worse, will steal from you. And believe me, those people can hide behind all the LLC's they want, but they cannot hide their name and face from the people that worked with them in the past and got burned.

This defense is your shield

That being said, great contractors to investors are like rare pokemon cards you don't want to share or let go of. So don't expect anything too soon until you gain trust and can offer value. You can find great contractors in two ways that I use to this day

1.
◉ Go on Zillow/realtor/redfin etc
◉ go to filters
◉ type in remodel on the keyword
◉ look through the listings of renovations that matches your pursuits
◉ call the listing agent and ask for information on the remodeler, and offer the agent a listing if you can use that person and make a killer flip
◉ call the remodeler and establish a good relationship
◉ learn your numbers 

This is how I found the GC I have now. I love his work, he's honest, he's fair and the timeline is always in point.

2.
◉ Hang out at Lowes and Home Depot at 6-7am and find out who's showing up for work. This is how I met my specialists, like my plumber
◉ Ask the pro desks who they prefer, go to another Lowes or Home Depot, and listen for repeating names. 

This offense of your sword