All Forum Posts by: J Lee

Quote from @Kerry Noble Jr:

Connect with the ecnomoic development depart.....also find code violations and go after them yourself.....

Thank you. As for the code violations - definitely have been reporting them as I see. I will reach out the city economic development department. 

Have you acquired any property this way before? What do they expect when some investor calls them about taking over abandoned property? Do they have push back?

I recently came across some information on conservatorship in regards to neglected and dilapidated properties. I was wondering if there was a strategy or way to work with the city to take over high tax liable properties that have been neglected or seemingly abandoned? It seems the resources to continue maintaining abandoned properties (weeds, garbage removal, graffiti removal, etc...) would add up and the city would like to offload that responsibility to someone. 

I rather not go to sheriff sale, as I'm tied up in my current properties and don't want to drop large portions of capital on empty lots/building falling apart. 

But the premise is that, I being a responsible and code abiding investor will take over liabilities to the city so that all responsibilities will be shifted over to me. There is a lot of land next to one of my properties that has been apparently abandoned and definitely neglected that is a headache as it affects the appeal to my building and the rest of the block.

If anyone has experience in this, would appreciate any insight.

Quote from @John Mocker:

J Lee,

Have you consulted with your attorney.  I would see what they think of the following:

1. contact the master electrician if they have not been contacted.  

2. Let them know you will be putting in a claim to their insurance shortly and will be naming both electricians in the suit.  

Perhaps they can put pressure on the electrician to settle this.  Certainly they do not want their license and reputation tarnished by this incident.

 Hi,

so we got the master electrician involved by putting pressure on him to make up for the work that was supposed to be done. We did tell him that if nothing is done, we will be pursuing legal action against him. His response ultimately consisted of also abandoning the project, and hoping to bury his head in the sand. 

So by going after their bond/surety that means going after their insurance through a claim?

Quote from @Nathan Harden:

On top of what everyone has already said, I will add to this a little. 

Not all contractors are equal. Period. A good/reliable contractor is worth their weight in gold so that you do not have to deal with these issues.

Been on a bad string of mishaps. Definitely learned contractors are some of the hardest to find. 

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

Yes, was this a Licensed Electrician? I'm guessing so given the large scope of the job? If so, you can a) Call the State Contractors Board and file a complaint. No Legit Contr wants this as it will show up on their record forever. b) Find out who their Bond is with and go after that. That will get you $15,000 and once again a huge black mark on their record.

Who inspected their work? Usually with a Bank Loan job, there is a 3rd party inspection before any funds are dispersed. Is there something we're missing here?

He isn’t a master electrician himself, but we used another master electrician’s license. Both of them provided their insurance information. 

Does finding their bond mean contacting their insurance?  

Quote from @Scott Mac:

[1] When you call him and talk to him what does he say? Why did he stop?

[2] Did you use a state licenced master electrician or some guy off of craigslist claiming "electrical experience on the cheap"?

He is a referral electrician who did good work. He is not a master electrician but we used another master electrician’s license which he co-signed and provided insurance information as well.

At this point - he doesn’t answer calls at all. But prior to that it was excuses and long lapses of silence. When he did reappear he would say he had to do other jobs to keep him afloat.  

I had a large electrical job that I went through a construction loan to finance. The electrician was paid installments and draws mainly through our lender. We also paid directly for supplies and materials.

Come to find out most of the work that was to be completed has not been done yet. After chasing and following up aggressively (even involving our lender) the contractor has disappeared. 

We have the insurance information for the contractor and was wondering if anyone had experience pursuing a claim through the insurance company for an abandoned job? In addition, since there was loan money involved, not sure if those funds were used incorrectly for other instances instead of the job. 

Any guidance or experience that can shared will be great appreciated. 

Looking for any and all references of reliable handymen/small job contractors able to take care of maintenance, emergency jobs, etc in Philadelphia.

Please drop any contact info below, I would like to reach out to them!

I’m building a roster and would appreciate the references. Thanks!

Originally posted by @Matt Lewis:

@J Lee - Hey J!

It’s all about efficiency and systems.

Investors who do one rehab a year or less will have much slower project times than people who are doing one rehab a month.

I can do my own projects in about half the time as client projects.

Work with your GC and pay them for their time to help you come up with a plan to get it done as fast as possible.

Draw out the layout, schedule subs, pick out and preorder materials, etc.

You need to project manage your own rehabs until you have a repeatable system in place.

Instead of being the overbearing boss of your GC work under them as an assistant to help keep everything on track.

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the response. We did try ordering some supplies and materials, GC somewhat pushed back after the fact, insisting that is micromanaging the project was a bit too much. How do we counteract this?

Originally posted by @Victoria Pham:

Hi, I'm not a contractor or expert in this but as an agent working with investors and contractors, I can say that it depends on your project (light rehab, full gut rehab...) and your own contractor. A good contractor can come up with a very good budget as well as finish the project thoroughly for you. So, make sure you can find that type of contractor and you'll not need to worry much about time length for completion. 

Hi,

assume we're talking full gut rehab on a two story single family house (around 900-1200 sqft.) or 2000 sqft triplex. 

Our current contractor is good with his quotes and work quality, but delivery times can vary. Also just wanted to see if a general sense of a project of these scales should be 6-7 months of work or is that too long?