Some Things I Have Noticed With General Contractor's In Cincy

[Sean Carroll]

My primary job is work as a firefighter/paramedic in the Bay Area of California and I dove into real estate wanting to spend more time with my friends and family and realizing my body is already breaking down from the tough conditions of my job. So this all started with just wanting to get 50 houses that each cash flow $200 a month. It was was a slow start at first with trying to figure everything out and seeing a lack of transparency among most General Contractors. One issue of transparency I noticed is how they came up with their labor pricing, I wanted to know how they did it because I wanted to be safe with my first investments. Every contractor has a price sheet to figure out what they should charge for a job.

The next issue I caught on to is if they ordered the materials there was some kind of markup on the materials which I did not find entirely fair because I would request a materials list and they would just say they have to order them because they go through a specific vendor or supplier.

Now an issue specific to my market in Cincinnati is the reliability with "small-time" GC's. The heroin/opioid epidemic is very real in the midwest and cheap general contractors are having a difficult time finding employees who do not use drugs. The "big time" GC's are just too expensive and charging prices such as $20,000 for a very basic bathroom remodel.

Well after seeing this and becoming worried I partnered with a general contractor named Steven and we began  to address this issues in the Cincinnati, Dayton, and northern Kentucky region.

I am not sure what I have enjoyed more, seeing houses come together or my team grow and become better every day together. What issues have you had with your general contractors or your subcontractors? 

[Joseph Cornwell]

@Sean Carroll

I agree completely. Cincinnati has a horrible reputation for Contractor services, I have dealt with some of the worst. I was lucky after having money stolen from me by my first contractor to find a decent group of guys who work for me now. Unfortunately, any decent contractor who actually shows up and does what they say they will do (very rare), is usually very busy, and moderately expensive. I have learned my lesson, I will pay for the more expensive contractor who is honest and shows up, vs someone who is cheap and terrible. It cost you way more time and money in the end.