Columbus OH newbie looking to screen GCs

[Mike German]

I'm a newbie in the Columbus, OH area and wanted to get some insights in working with with GC's. I have a few that have been referred to me and wanted to survey BP for the best way to interview/screen them. My strategy is to buy/hold SFHs-Quads. All of the properties I've analyzed seem to some work (more than lipstick on a pig) but I am avoiding the total gut properties Is it worth making initial intro/grab coffee to meet the new GC before I have a property identified? What are the best questions to ask them? How do you keep them on task and what recourse do you have if the consistently blow up the budget/ exceed timeline? Thanks in advance for your insight! Mike German

[John Horner]

These are all good questions and you are smart for thinking of doing this BEFORE you are in the mix of it.  Most people (myself included) have learned hard lessons from doing things the wrong way first.

I would wait until you have a property and then invite a few out to meet, talk about it, etc.  You can learn a lot by meeting him.  

- Does he show up on time?

-Does he look, act and talk professionally?

-Does he have a vehicle in tools in it?

On top of these in person observations, I would ask them the following:

Are you licensed, insured and bonded?

When are you available? (if they say now, that's not a good sign, usually means they don't have work or were just recently fired from a job)

Other things to observe are how he communicates.  When you call does his phone go to voicemail?  How long does it take him to get you the quote?  Does he ask enough questions to even give you an accurate quote?  Is he very worried about getting money up front.  So many contractors are living paycheck to paycheck, so they probably want money right off the bat because they need money to live off of until the first milestone (obviously, not a good sign).

If you get a bad vibe, go somewhere else.  

If there quote seems too good to be true, IT IS!