Where are the good good contractors HIDING!!

Question

Hello Fellow BP members im looking for some quality contractors that work in connecticut, preferably hartford county (new britain, newington, plainville , southington, berlin, farmington, avon, bloomfield, meriden, west hartford, east hartford, manchester, glastonbury bristol, middltown,. I need reliable guys that i can count on to get the job done in a timely fashion with reasonable rates. If any rehabbers or fellow investors have any they would reccommend can you please refer me to them. Im looking to close on a property within a month so i need a contractor that i can depend on. My last guy did a great job but man was it tough to get him to finish the job!!!

Travis Lloyd · Answer

Good contractors are not difficult to find... Good contractors that work at some of the cut-rate prices and shoe string budgets that many investors try to work with in this area, well that is another story... PLEASE remember people, we make money by buying at the right price, not by squeezing the contractors. If you find yourself having to get a new contractor every 2-3 jobs, you're not paying well enough. Reliability, loyalty, and speed come at a price.

Brian Mathews · Answer

I don't know about your state or any state. All are different. First I'd see if there is a licensing board for your state and check their website and only hire people off that. Then I'd ask friends and family. If those don't work, check to see who is pulling permits in your town as that is typically a sign of legitimacy if they go to the trouble of doing it right. After that, I'd drive around and look for signs of people doing a remodel. Stop and talk to the person having the work done, not the contractor. They'll tell you if the person is good or not. Look at Thumbtack, I get work off of it and I've used it to hire people with pretty good results. When you get a bid, don't necessarily hire the person who tells you everything you want to hear, hire the one who speaks the truth. If you have experience you know realistically how long it will take. Anybody who is 180 degrees from that is a liar. Everybody should be pretty similar in price. If one really jumps out low, then you know he's a liar. Look at jobs they've done in the past or references. Look at where they live and office. If they live in a single wide trailer with broken down cars around it. Most likely they aren't any good. I'm not saying they need to live in a million dollar mansion, but something middle class and neat Look at how they present themselves, are they somewhat clean cut and neat or are they toothless and chain smoking cigarettes? If you wouldn't trust them alone around your wife and kids, don't hire them. You can tell a lot about a person by how they present themselves

Brian Mathews · Answer

I'm a contractor and know several good contractors. If you're some cheap ass trying to squeeze me and becoming a hassle to deal with. I'll dump you. I'm not desperate for work. If you want the good guys, you have to pay. I run a legitimate business and employ high quality guys that want to be paid fairly for their skills. That costs money. If you're paying beer and cigarette money wages or hiring the guy whose the cheapest, you get what you get.

Melissa Gittens · Answer

@Luis Melendez PM and I will send you a referral of the contractor that I use for most of my projects. Good luck!

Seth Carlone-Hanson · Answer

Great info, thank you.And I agree, one should value a contractor like any other critical relationship.

Seth Carlone-Hanson · Answer

So @Brian Mathews, in general what would be the best way to locate quality contractors? REIA meetings and referrals? Is there a central regulator that lists all the licensed contractors for a particular region?

Brian Mathews · Answer

The problem with what I call remodelers I've found. And this may be regional. Is that they are typically so desperate for a job that they underbid and say it will take less time than it actually will. The problem is that if they bid the job at what it needs to cost and realistically estimate the time, they won't get the job because a person who underbids and underestimates will get the job. I'm an hvac contractor and I lose a lot of jobs because somebody comes in cheaper or does a crappy job. Several times I get called back after somebody else did the job and asked for help. Looking for contractors at Home Depot is a ridiculous notion, you might get the workers picking up materials or beer and cigarette guy. But the guy you need to talk to isn't picking up materials. I very rarely go to the supply house to pick stuff up, my employees do that.

Luis Melendez · Answer

thanks for the response David but even the unreliable contractors go there all the time. @travis looks like I struck a nerve by asking for a simple referral. I hope you realize my statement about unreliable contractors wasn't directed to you nor was it directed to every contractor as a whole. My last experience with contractors that do awesome work wasn't good.the guy who did my basement took 2 months longer to finish a job he said would be done in a month. Matter of fact the basement is still not completed. Good thing I didn't give him the full amount. But I agreed on his first quote. No hassle. I found out he was doing others jobs on days he was suppose to be doing mine. Another contractor He gave me a quote, we agreed on the price and we started the job. The problem was it took him 3 month longer than he quoted and it wasn't because materials took long to come in or bad weather. I would show up on the job site and he wouldn't be there for hours and there was always an excuse. It even got to the point where his partner on the project would threaten him to leave and call me to find someone else. It was very frustrating trying to stay on top of him. Sometimes he would tell me he would be there in an hour and wouldn't show up at all. The job finally got done but it wasn't the best experience. I'm willing to pay for quality but I also need reliability. i think a lot of contractors try to take on multiple projects at the same time and that's where they run into trouble. So once again anyone have a referral for a RELIABLE contractor.

Manolo D. · Answer

Travis Lloyd Now that's they key to it. And when IT hits the fan, they rant. lol. Everybody goes woowoo after that.

Travis Lloyd · Answer

Don't be sorry! You nailed it! We have to make money - contractors have to make money! I'm tired of people saying they cannot find good contractors... It is always a sign they are squeezing their contractors. If you want a lower price, do less work. If you want more work, pay more money. Simple. I don't work for cheap. How can I ask anyone else to do so?