All Forum Posts by: Brent Zande

Thank you in advance for any assistance.  I am looking for a Vacation rental agreement that is simple.  If anyone has  one that is concise I would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.  With Gratitude!

@David Avery. I appreciate it.  What you have added is excellent.  I think its funny you put vehicle value on there.  I tell people to beware the big truck and the beat up van.  The big truck is generally a very self motivated individual and the beat up van guy will want payment every 30 minutes to keep going.  I am not a believer in the labor only deal though, so we differ there.  I tend to think any GC that would do that is shorting themselves and losing control over the project.  I understand the other side of it where a GC could substitute lesser products than spec, but that all can be handled up front by specifications.  As an investor that is scaling do you really want to be making trips to HD and Lowes to pick up stuff when you could be finding your next great deal?  I don't!

I read a Facebook post recently in a Real Estate Investment Group that was asking for advice about suing a GC that took the investors money and did not perform the work. This is a fairly common theme in these groups, GC is bad, doesn’t show up, goes bad etc, and the investor is stuck with unfinished projects in various stages. I think an ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure, so here are some simple steps you can take to improve your odds with your next GC.

Make sure they are Bonded, Insured and Licensed. Folks, this is basic 101 stuff here. Bonding insures your project gets done, insurance Work Comp and Liability (Yes BOTH) prevent you from being hung out if something goes wrong, and licensing insures that a minimum amount of knowledge exists to be a GC.

Skills test- go and see a finished project, see one under construction too. It’s a real plus if you can see a project similar to the one you are asking the GC to undertake. Does it look and feel like quality work? Is the site looking good? How happy do the subs seem to be?

Speak with current and past clients. Ask these questions:

How did the GC do on timeline?

How did the GC do on budget?

How did the GC do on communication?

What surprised you in this project?

Will you use this GC again?

Ask the GC about their processes. Do they have any written processes? Do they proactively communicate? How will they show you what work has been done on your project? How do they bill? Where and when will they need your involvement?

A GC with processes in place is going to also be a GC that has experience and is making the effort to maintain consistency.

By doing these four basic due diligence checks on your next GC you are much more likely to have a good and profitable outcome and hopefully you find the GC that helps you scale your business to great success.

What are some things you do to check out your GC before the work begins?

At Slate Building Group, we recently completed a steel structure duplex and we are beginning on a second single family home in the next few weeks. We were very excited to have the opportunity to try this method of construction with a smaller home product and we learned a great deal along the way.

The Skinny! Steel is a more efficient build, less theft, fast (though not much faster even panelized), straight and solid, substantially less waste, and things are well planned for mechanicals. There are savings here too as compared to lumber, I would say with current pricing steel may be close to 30% less. We also found some negatives in the process. First, trades aren’t too anxious to try something new when there is plenty of work in good old wood. Second, the companies that offer steel framing are often working with really large businesses (not us), so getting the attention a company of our size needs, was tough. Third, the county inspections department really struggled with what to do on this type of structure and we had to jump through many more hoops to get approvals on inspections. The lack of familiarity was tough for everyone as you can imagine. It is a really interesting alternative to wood and I think some builders will continue down this path, but I am hesitant to endorse this as a long term solution and I feel steel will likely fade as the shiny new object often does over time.

What do you think? Is steel the new lumber? https://slatebuildinggroup.com/

This keeps feeling like a massive supply chain issue. If builder starts are down 12% and we can assume that production was temporarily hit by the pandemic, then shouldn't we be back to where we were? 

If we are now importing more at less cost from Canada, shouldn't we be where we were? This is essentially the "toilet paper" issue we dealt with last year but in construction. 

Our focus for our clients has been to find ways, alternatives to keep their builds going. The added cost is not fun but adding time hurts our clients ability to find their next big investment. 

We have gone to lightweight steel construction on a few projects and we are excited to be able to offer that and its speed to our clients.

Material availability is becoming a serious issue. Shortages are impacting not only costs but lead times, too.

I've been finding some success in regularly communicating with my manufacturers and distributors as early into the project as possible, but I'm curious about how others are handling this?

What have you found to work during this odd and chaotic time?

I think its so much easier to learn from others mistakes than it is to learn from others successes. Failure seems more traceable, easier to see where something went wrong than where everything went right. The onslaught of new investors in SFR has made me consider this a lot lately. What happens when there is a hiccup in their strategy. Some may be fine but I suspect many will be financially damaged for a long time. I hope you get something out of this and avoid these mistakes. Analyze what you are doing now. Is your risk tolerable if something goes sideways?

I get it – the pandemic has triggered a surge in Do-It-Yourself home improvement projects since everyone has extra time at home these days. In fact, consumer surveys by the Home Improvement Research Institute show that 60% of homeowners reported starting a DIY home project, and that number grew to more than 80% just two months later.

Now I’m all for doing some much-needed TLC on your home, but what worries me are those who take on projects that require a professional. After all, you can diminish the value of your home easily with a DIY project gone wrong.

How do you figure out what you can handle yourself versus what requires a professional’s help?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/diy-renovation-projects-offer-the-best-return-to-homeowners-but-theres-a-catch-2020-07-23

The new year marks a time for setting goals and measuring growth - but it's also a time to prepare for the months ahead.

We have been working hard on our strategic plan for 2021 and while 2020 was unpredictable at best, especially within the housing and real estate markets, there are a few interesting things to be prepared for in the new year ahead.

We see huge potential for growth in new construction as well as rehab.

What do you feel is on the horizon of the new year?

#newyear #realestatemarket #investingtactics #taxseason

Is it possible for the real estate market to get too hot?

No one could've predicted we'd see such a dramatic increase thanks to COVID-19 - in fact, a lot of people thought prices would even fall in 2020.

But now everyone's starting to wonder - is the housing bubble about to burst?

What do you think?