All Forum Posts by: Ed Canales

Fellow Investors, not long ago I had to fired two separate contractors on the same project. The first one was showing to the job daily the first week and then everyother day and then only a couple hours per day after I had a talk with him. I suspect that he might have been under the influence of something as I noticed some evidence of such , but not 100% sure. He kept asking me for more money since some order changes took place and at the end he took $4500 and fired him. He of course came back to sabotage my roof my driving long nails into it creating a leak that damage drywall. The second contractor , also started well and assured me that he had a license and since I was in a hurry to continue and complete the project I agreed without checking his license, it turned out that he had no license , which is okay , but do not lie,

that might have explained the poor quality finishes and lack of electrical knowledge. Control of material , quality of work control almost daily , work ethics, and detail scope of the job is key to projects. Also , I was not comfortable when this last contractor brought in his 14 year old kid to do tile work as it might be a violation of child labor laws in Maryland, not sure. Be amicable and friendly , but they are not your friends but your employees. Check licensing records and references of recent jobs. Make sure you include a time line of the job completion and when it would be completed , if they are not going to be on the job , they have to communicate this to you in advance. Keep job site as clear as possible as inspectors and investors come by unannounced to the site. Insurance on them and proper work gear gloves , boots , and safety glasses at minimal. Hope this is helpful. 

Hello Mike B. I am also have stumbled on this Freedom Funding with Josh Cantwell , the rate and terms are a high but in his webinar he identifies a discount if you are an experience investor. The catch is that according to his webinar today that he wants 30% of your net profit at the end of your rehab, which its a little much but considering this as a risk factor return it might be okay. I am a member of Do Hard Money which offers 100% financing , I had to pay $2000 to join , their rates and points are high but if you have no funds that is always an option. Any feed back is greatly appreciated to share...Ed C. in Maryland

As they say " Information is power" , appreciate the information shared on this Capital Rehab Group of Florida, I was not convince but willing to spend $47.00 , but now I wont. We are a small company MBC Legacy LLC ( three zero one) six four six twenty one forty three, in MD and have done rehabs and own a couple nice rentals , but need more capital to move to the next level on rehabs acquisitions. We would love to connect with a reliable , affortable private lender that could led $50K -$100K base on asset equity we have one of our rental properties. This is was the reason I was curious about Capital Rehab since they indicated in the promotional website that they had solid Private lenders, not sure anymore after reading these posting. Same old pushy up sale strategy. Thank you all

Pat, contractors in my experience are willing to do free estimates, however if you are just asking to give estimates on possible rental acquisitions they will not keep doing them free just to see if it fits your budget. There are some formulas out there that can help you figure out the cost of work base on square footage and geographic area to get a ballpark figure of the cost. These formulas help you figure carpet , HWF , roof, drywall , painting, siding costs. In terms of plumbing and electrical,,,, there is a base for the per hours of a job and the intricacy of the task , if a full panel update and plumbing if all new or partial replacement. Ask a plumber and electrician to come with you on site and ask them questions as to how they figure the cost and take notes , that would help you formulate your own estimates after speaking with several of them. Praise their skill with positive comments and their ego will pour more information that your can gather. Hope this helps you  Ed  

It is true , good contractors are hard to find. In most cases screening with a basic set questions might help you in determining if you are a match. References calling and pics of projects is a good starting point. In addition, just because an contractor has a license does not mean he knows residential codes, test them with a couple questions that you know the answers to it. In the agreement includes clauses of timeline completion with penalties for late completion and the fact that they need to communicate when they will not have at least 2 crew members working on site working and it can create conflicts with other trades such as electricians, HWF , carpet install, etc. Provide them tasks that are important to your scope to show progress to your investors and lenders to get funded. Hope this is helpful as I have learned the hard way and continue learning as I work on projects. Ed Canales, MBC Legacy LLC , Elkridge, MD.

Hello everyone.

I am looking for a good contractor to demo a SFH (light demo) tile , two bathrooms, floors and carpeting , some drywall in the East Baltimore , Maryland area.

Thank you

Ed Canales

I have a project that is about to start, a single property home in Maryland. After seeking the estimate of several contractors that mostly turned out to be less than professional , I have chosen the one for this project. Out of 5 contractors , with the most classic excuses for the delayed bid for 3 weeks or just not answering their phones and returning emails, which has been disappointed and frustrating. However , glad this disappointment occurred at this stage and not during the project. Now, I have done a couple flips before, and had no issues with the contractor payment schedule and cost. This time around , I want to improve my project management flow by having a more formal contract and estipulations as to the work quality , delivery expectation and payments. Where can I get a contractor agreement and how to structure the project to be beneficial for both me and the contractor working on the project. How much do I pay him up front , and how I can emphasis the quality finishes I expect. Thank you   Ed    [removed email address]

Seeking an licensed contractor with license and good recent positive references in Maryland for a medium size project 4-5 weeks time line starting in two weeks.

Ed   ezed1967hotmail.com

Finding a good contractor is hard and unfortunately a necessity in this business to get the work done. I have a property under contract and I have taken several contractors to the property to give me an estimate, 5 contractors to be exact. The first one took almost two week to get bac to me , the second one never call me back and when I contacted him the excuse was that his Aunt was sick but could recommend another contractor, never call me back. The third contractor took measurement and lots of notes but never call me back , I called  and texted him 15 times, but no answer. The forth one did not have a license and wanted me to bring in the material to the site , the price was not competitive and had barely taken notes when he visited the property with his wife and daughter??? The last one has not produce an estimate yet, in a nut shell this is frustrating and need to find someone fast since I am going to settlement October 9 and need to get the project moving. I am even considering becoming a General contractor my self if that would help , not sure. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.  Ed   in Maryland