Oklahoma City & Metro Contractor Recommendation

[William Keasling]

Hi all. I'm a new investor, and just completed my first flip. I learned a lot in this first flip, with the biggest take away being have the right people working for you....which I did not. The house was quoted to take 3 months, but took my contractor over 6 months to complete. Needless to say holding cost and overages ate my lunch. While the house wasn't a complete success it wasn't a failure either, because I won't lose money on the deal and have learned a lot. I won't let the experience detour or scare me out of REI. With that being said I am now looking for recommendations for a good renovation contractor in the OKC metro area. Also do you guys find it better to have a general contractor take care of most of the work, or do you have many contractors work on your properties (ie. dry wall, trim carpenter, painter). Just curious how other investors are using contractors. Thank you guys in advance.

[Cassi Justiz]

@William Keasling, I like a GC. I have tried different ways of doing it, but I'm using a GC now and not going back. I haven't done an extensive rehab without a GC, but I've done a few pieced together projects with handyman and assorted other contractors. It's a pain and I hated it. For me personally, I don't want to go to the job site everyday to see who showed up to work and who didn't. I personally hate overseeing contractors, so if I can find someone that is reliable, I'm more than happy to pay a little more if they'll keep up the day to day. I've found that with a GC and his crews they do stuff about 2-3 times faster than the handyman and saves me a ton of trouble. 

I would try to get out and network in the local meet-ups and other events to try to find contractors that are taking on new projects. Even if you get a couple of recommendations now, they may or may not have availability when you need a contractor.