finding a contractor?

[Melissa B.]

Does anybody know a contractor in the Chicagoland area who would be willing to act more as a consultant than a contractor?  My situation is this:

I am interested in a 2-unit property that needs some fixing up. If it makes sense, I'd like to purchase it with an FHA loan and include the cost of the rehab in with the loan, live in one of the units and rent out the other. But before I write an offer, I need to get a rough idea of how much it would take to fix up the house.

Additionally, what I'd really like to do is work with somebody who'd be willing to give me a fair amount of creative control in the renovation.  I'd like to source my own fixtures (vintage/ salvaged/ thrifted) and do some of the work myself/ w friends who are handy.  (I realize that a lot of things could go wrong, but for me, that's part of the learning process!)  But I believe most contractors want to hire their own teams and use their preferred vendors, am I right about that?

If anybody can make a recommendation, or let me know how to go about sourcing somebody that might help, it would be greatly appreciated!!  (And yes, I have plenty of ibuprofen!!)

Thank you!

[Account Closed]

is there a list of contractors on BP? there is one for hard money lenders. I don't know personally. good luck!