Finding a general contractor

[Daniel Ramirez]

Hey BP community,

So I'm really interested in moving forward with my first rehab/flip. I've done some prelim analysis and spoken with a couple of contractors, but have not pulled the trigger on a deal yet. My biggest fear is working with a lousy general contractor (takes money and runs, shoddy work, slow, cost overrun, etc.)

Would anyone be kind enough to share how they approach this? How do you arrange payments (partial upfront, with balance at completion)? Do you buy materials separately yourself or pay contractor for both labor and materials? Finally, does anyone use sites like Angie's L- for sourcing contractors or is it strictly word of mouth. 

These are only a couple of many questions that come to mind. Any insights are very welcome!