Becoming by own GC

[Johana Villamil]

 I am currently working on a whole house rehab. I had some problems with my General Contractor so I ended up buying my own materials on a great discount and have an out of state contractor who is a great family friend that I  will hire to do most of the work for me. I have a building permit with my old GC who I am no longer working with. The city put my building permit on hold until I hire a new GC. I would like some insights from investors who have been their own general contractors. I believe that if I become my own GC this property would have to be my homestead for a year and I actually wanted to sell it right away.  Is anyone familiar with the process of becoming your own GC for flips? I am in San Antonio Texas,  I understand I would need to take an exam and have liability insurance. Not sure if this will be worth the time and money it will take to get this certification and insurance policy along with whatever else comes along with it. I already invested a ton of money into this project and just want to get this going asap! 

[Andrew Postell]

@Johana Villamil thanks for the post!  Always great to hear from a fellow Texan. 

Now, in Texas, you don't need a license to be a General Contractor.  You can just be one right now.  Congratulations!  You did it!  Now that you are a GC...you'll need to learn how to apply for permits and insurance.  This is where your costs will come into play.  In San Antonio, contractors are required to register with Development Services and obtain liability insurance.

So, just reach out to the agency and see what they say.  You can also reach out to some real estate investment groups or contractor groups on San Antonio Facebook pages. There are several and many have hundreds of members.  

Hope some of that helps!

[Johana Villamil]

Quote from @Andrew Postell:

@Johana Villamil thanks for the post!  Always great to hear from a fellow Texan. 

Now, in Texas, you don't need a license to be a General Contractor.  You can just be one right now.  Congratulations!  You did it!  Now that you are a GC...you'll need to learn how to apply for permits and insurance.  This is where your costs will come into play.  In San Antonio, contractors are required to register with Development Services and obtain liability insurance.

So, just reach out to the agency and see what they say.  You can also reach out to some real estate investment groups or contractor groups on San Antonio Facebook pages. There are several and many have hundreds of members.  

Hope some of that helps!

 Thank you for your insight on my situation! I am a bit confused on how this works. I did reach out to the Development Services. They stated that I would have to keep the property for a year before I can sell it. I would have to call again tomorrow to get more clarification. Would it matter if I bought this property under my business name? Because according to the agency they are specifying that the property would have to be my residence. 

[Kevin Ivey]

I know in Washington state a home owner can do their own work including electrical and plumbing, but as you pointed out has to live in the property for 1 year after completion.

If you get licensed as a contractor (in WA state it takes some paperwork, filing fee and insurance/ bond, no test, no experience etc.. )  Then you do the work under you contractors license and no holding period needed.  Note you have to have a specialist license with testing and experience to get the plumbing and electrical license so you will have to sub that out more than likely.

  The out of state family friend may have to get licensed in Texas depending on how you structure and what they are doing.  I picked up my contractor license after 2 years flipping, for ease of dealing with permits. 

[Johana Villamil]

Quote from @Kevin Ivey:

I know in Washington state a home owner can do their own work including electrical and plumbing, but as you pointed out has to live in the property for 1 year after completion.

If you get licensed as a contractor (in WA state it takes some paperwork, filing fee and insurance/ bond, no test, no experience etc.. )  Then you do the work under you contractors license and no holding period needed.  Note you have to have a specialist license with testing and experience to get the plumbing and electrical license so you will have to sub that out more than likely.

  The out of state family friend may have to get licensed in Texas depending on how you structure and what they are doing.  I picked up my contractor license after 2 years flipping, for ease of dealing with permits. 

 Thanks Kevin I appreciate your response! I am subbing out my plumbing, electrical and HVAC, I want the family friend to do my sheetrock , floors, kitchen cabinets stuff like that. I might probably have to file the paperwork to be my own GC on this project. From my understanding Texas does not require General contractors working on their own properties to be licensed or bonded, I believe it's a registration process. Also I am a bit confused on how the building permit works, If I register as my own GC do I pull that permit under my myself?   

[Peter Mckernan]

Quote from @Johana Villamil:

 I am currently working on a whole house rehab. I had some problems with my General Contractor so I ended up buying my own materials on a great discount and have an out of state contractor who is a great family friend that I  will hire to do most of the work for me. I have a building permit with my old GC who I am no longer working with. The city put my building permit on hold until I hire a new GC. I would like some insights from investors who have been their own general contractors. I believe that if I become my own GC this property would have to be my homestead for a year and I actually wanted to sell it right away.  Is anyone familiar with the process of becoming your own GC for flips? I am in San Antonio Texas,  I understand I would need to take an exam and have liability insurance. Not sure if this will be worth the time and money it will take to get this certification and insurance policy along with whatever else comes along with it. I already invested a ton of money into this project and just want to get this going asap! 

 That seems like a strict requirement of needing to keep the home for a year to use the owner builder direction, but I would confirm that before fully going forward as the GC. 

[Andrew Postell]

@Johana Villamil yeah, I'm confused too...why are we talking to them about how long you will own a property?  We are just inquiring about being a GC, right?  If you have other questions about different things...please don't ask them.  They aren't a legal department.  They aren't title.  They aren't lending.  Yes, there are OTHER things to home ownership but we just want you to be a GC...right?  GC's work on all sorts of properties.  Not just their own homes. Try it from just that angle.  If you are still getting stuck, reach out to some San Antonio Real Estate groups and get with another GC or something.

And I want to be clear on what I am saying - I'm not saying what you want to do is the best way to do it.  I'm just answering your question - how to be a GC.  

Hope that makes sense.