Newbie question on rehabbing

[Sean Brennan]

Is it common for succesful rehabbers and or flippers to hire a general contractor to get all the work done? Or is it too difficult to profit this way? I am an appraiser and think my strengths are in analysis, financing, and the business end but no experience in construction mgmt.

[Abbigail Brown]

Hi Sean,

I am new to house flipping but not to construction and building. I have a wonderful contractor who does great work and I can trust him to manage my projects while I continue with my full time job. I plan on working for my current employer for the next 6 months or so, until I have a couple of house flips under my belt, and then will assume more of the contractor responsibilities.

I've ran the numbers for different house flipping scenarios. By having my contractor, I will be spending about 8-10% of the renovation costs on his management of all the subcontractors and making sure that the project stays on schedule. Once I assume these duties full time, then I can use him for more subcontracting work (he's a carpenter by trade) and I will be managing all of the different companies for the projects.

One thing that I would like to note is that it is beneficial to have a contractor running your projects but you really have to find someone that is respectable and that you can trust. Hiring a bad contractor will make your life miserable and very stressful if you are funding/managing the project from a distance. Especially if you have a day job other than flipping houses.

Abbigail