How to find a contractor?

Question

I own a 4 plex in Salem, Oregon and I am purchasing a single family home there.

I have a property management company on my 4 plex, but I am moving to the area and plan on managing it myself from now on.

I cannot, for the life of me, find contractors of any kind to do work. The only work I've been able to get done is the roof.

I tried to find a general contractor to completely remodel a unit. I called every contractor I could find a number for, only 1 came out to the property to look and he never got a quote to me. We ended up doing the work ourselves.

I tried to get a plumber to come out and do the plumbing work, no one was available. The ones that were wanted to charge $75 to $150 to come out, look and give me an estimate.

I had to have major electrical work done and I let the prop mgmt company hire the electrician they recommended. When I went to the property a week after the work was completed I found an uncovered junction box with about 10 live, bare electric wires sticking out in every direction. My property management company didn't even check the "completed" work. Now I can't find an electrician to do it correctly.

How do you find good contractors that are competent and reliable?

Is it normal for contractors to charge a fee to give an estimate?

One of my friends suggested I may be having issues because I am a woman, I would like to think that this is not the case. I am knowledgeable about home repairs and have no problem paying good contractors for good work. But I did decide to test her theory and had a guy friend who was knowledgeable call plumbers with even worse results than I had with GCs and electricians.

Ugh.

Moses Kagan · Answer

Your best bet is to drive around looking for buildings undergoing renovation, then go inside and meet the contractors. A word of caution, though: If you ask a contractor if he can do something, he will almost always say "yes". Demand addresses of previous projects and contact info for previous customers and ACTUALLY FOLLOW UP AND CHECK THEM.

Walter E. · Answer

@Brandi Carballo I manage a few large apartment complexes in NE Salem. I know quite a few talented people that live in the apartments that might be able to help you now or in the future. They have helped me here a lot over the years. We do all our repairs in-house except for challenging electrical work. I have hired Zap Electric for that and he has done a great job every time. @Rick Medina Let's get together one of these days

Randy (RL) Williams · Answer

Wow, several people from Salem OR here... Just wanted to say "Hello" to everyone.

Rick Medina · Answer

Hi! I live in Salem and also a small investor right now. Would love to connect and share ideas

Matt Slakey · Answer

I'm in Salem, too. I would expect free estimates for work to be done by pretty much everyone. I had a disappointing experience with 3R Construction. The estimator did not make it seem like this was a priority for him. Estimate was free but seemed really high. I couldn't get anyone else to come out in the time frame I needed.I have had a great experience with Zap Electric. The guy was fast, efficient, and good at communicating. He does a lot of work by text which was handy for me when I had a question about a breaker box. I texted him a picture of it and he immediately replied. I'll definitely be using him in the future.Shameless self-promotion: I work at Clyde's Lock and Safe. If you need locks rekeyed or something on a door is broken, give us a call: (503) 363-7918.

Manolo D. · Answer

And when I say local supply houses, I do not mean lowes or home depot, those are ugly sources.

Manolo D. · Answer

Most of the time, I hire state certified contractors. If my electricians are far and it is a small job, like a day or two, I would call state certified electricians and have them do the job, I can catch sometimes at $30-50/hr, they know what they are worth, so I do not really low ball them. At least it is certified worker, and the very minimum, they know the code. On other works, GC or specialty, it is a hit or miss scenario, I have pricey subs and they contact me to be in my list, so I couldn't really bring in any input on those.However, if you could afford to pay around $30-70/hr, you could hire those chain/franchise companies like servepro or something. Walk to a local plumbing/electrical/lumber supplier or a local supply house, they usually have a few biz cards laying around. Ask them who orders from them on a weekly basis or bi-monthly, it is a good bet, but don't expect they are the cheap.

Brandi Carballo · Answer

Thank you! I will contact one or both of them. I have several projects at 2 properties in Salem

Jacob Asher · Answer

I live in Salem and I know a couple of guys who would love to earn your business. Nick at Top to Bottom Property Restoration (503)602-5402Jim at Keith's Day and Night Emergency(541)621-0505Call or text me if you wish. (503)559-9050 I work with both companies frequently. I believe Jim might be available today to take a look and Nick is finishing up a project today. Let's talk!Jake Asher

Franklin Romine · Answer

@Brandi CarballoI will pay a premium for trust. Listen and see who sounds honest and pay them a premium.Frank