All Forum Posts by: Ben C.

It is a full time job managing people, especially contractors. Expect to save 30% and take 50% more of your time. 

I am going to agree with a lot of what everyone else has already said.  But I have a caveat.  similar to financial mentors.  Like Robert Kiyosaki says and this is so true.  When you are poor Suze Orman is your go to.  When you are stable but don't have a lot of excess money every month Dave Ramsey is the mentor for you.  then as you become more wealthy you need to switch your approach again and build a team because rich people aren't scared of debt, they aren't scared of paying for expertise, because they realize that even though everything costs something on their bottom line the benefit that they get by hiring help is time, and time is our most valuable commodity.  

When you are starting every dollar you spend matters, but as you grow and mature in your financial freedom the dollars that you save by hiring others allows you to leverage your time in other areas that may be more beneficial to you and your growth. 

As far as your original question about LLC's and business operations goes. Separate them. 1 company for the REI, and a completely separate company including bank accounts for the construction company. and make sure to never mix funds directly between the 2 companies otherwise you have broken the "corporate veil" and now even though you have 2 companies in the eyes of the legal system they are 1 and can both be held liable and responsible for anything happening in the other company.

Also make sure that your insurance is up to par.  Construction sites are a high hazard zone and there are workplace accidents on constructions sites constantly.

This is fine if you are sure you have the necessary skills to run projects. You may have gained 'a lot of knowledge' but 4 projects is, in reality, nothing. So you will come across a lot of things that are new on every project...but hey, it's a good way to learn. :-)

The main things to be aware of are not really construction related, but more business related. 

#1 - make sure that everyone that sets foot on your site is covered under Workers Comp....have them all sign off on that. 

#2 - Check all Subs Contractors licenses and Liability insurance, get yourself listed as additional insured. 

#3 - Get Lien releases before you give anyone a final check.

@Bruce Woodruff thank you. All 4 have been new construction so thankfully more experience then minor rehabs. 

I've tried to GC my own projects, takes way too much time and keeps me distracted from the real goal. Finding deals, more power to you if you can seamlessly do this 

@Ben C.

Separate businesses. Construction company only does construction and development company development

If the permit has the contractors name on it then he can handle the inspection.

Yes it is a hassle when the window of the inspection can be 600 am to 400 pm.

If you are lucky enough to get a relationship with the inspector he may give you a call 30 minuets prior to inspection.