All Forum Posts by: Jarrid Dotterer

Thanks for the replies. Truly valuable info provided, by most,  and it's much appreciated...

I have clarified a few things and the 40% is his TOTAL overhead cost/employee.  All inclusive of workman's comp and the rest of the red tape. He is being hurt by the new license, Florida has a 2 year experience factor which doesn't help at the moment. We are about 6 months from the time that should ease some costs. 

SO, we are going to take a look at his rates and see if there are any ways to reclassify employees.  One thought I had was to hire 1 or 2 specific crews under his company to do the work within the lower limits of insurance and outsource the more "dangerous" jobs. I.E. Roofing.  

If anyone else has any suggestions, I am open to hearing them. 

I agree.  40% sounds ridiculous. However, I really don't think he would be BS'ing me. The 40% might actually include the other insurances and taxes. Need to clarify that for sure. However, from what I understand, workman's comp in Florida is expensive for newly licensed guys. It decreases over time with a strong safety record. When contract labor is mentioned, is that basically hiring a separate crew outside of your employees and not having them covered ? 

HI all, 

This is my first post for info. So I am excited to read the great responses that I know I will be receiving. Let's get started:

My business involves buying cheaper houses that need a lot of work and rehabbing them to specific standards to create a cash flowing rental property. These are not high end, and the margins are pretty tight all the way around.  I have just come across a great opportunity which will force me to ramp up significantly in all aspects of my business. Starting with buying more properties then rehabbing etc. I am excited to take this opportunity and run with it. 

My problem is for me to ramp up to scale, I will definitely need a contractor who can handle the projects. My best friend is a newly licensed GC, here in Florida, and is running a successful business already.  So it's not an issue of knowing someone. It's an issue of keeping his overhead costs low enough to work for both of us! He says that automatically 40% of every dollar he pays his guys goes to workman's comp. With that factored in to his bids, he puts himself out of the running. The thing is, other contractors can come in at the right prices, so why can't he? What are the other contractors doing to be able to come in at the right price? Is there a legitimate way for him to cut his costs? 

I know that investors and contractors can have a great working relationship but I'm not doing one house with a 50K profit, at a time. I do more houses with a 10K profit. So rehab budget is significantly smaller per house. This is where we are having trouble trying to figure out the numbers... Anyone have any ideas? 

Hello All,

 I am happy to be a part of this amazing online community. There is a wealth of knowledge and information available, and am eager to learn and share as much as I can. 

I run an investment company in St. Petersburg Florida. We specialize in providing solid turnkey rental properties  to investors all over the world, who are looking for great returns. Our properties are cash flowing for you from the moment of closing. 

I look forward to making some connections through this site, and fostering great business relationships. Feel free to contact me!