All Forum Posts by: Josh Cunningham

Looking for a roofer in the Kalamazoo/ Battle Creek area, quality work, reasonable prices, dependable. Your input is greatly appreciated. Thanks  

What kind of properties/ Investments  are you looking for?

My advice is to not give the whole job to one contractor. Let the flooring people do flooring, plumbers do plumbing, painters paint etc, you get the idea. Also, you need to be there everyday if possible, if not, a few times per week at least. You need to educate yourself on the process of how every job is performed so you can identify issues as the arise and correct it early before it becomes a big deal to do so.

Most times you do get what you pay for. If you go with inexpensive labor, be prepared to supervise a lot and be on the job every day. This can work out if you know how the construction business works, how to address the issue(s) and correct them. If you do not have the time, find someone that is fair priced, ask for references (and call them). Reliability seems to be my biggest issue as far as showing up when they say and finishing on time. I have offered paying a couple hundred more (depending on the size of the job) and taking off a certain amount from the quote if the finish time is not met (Unforeseen issues that come up do not count and deductions based on size of job).

Hope this helps.

I have carpet, plumbing, electrical, painters and some general "do a little everything" guys. If interested, message me of your needs. Thanks. I do not work with GC's anymore as I act as the GC and sub everything else  

you don't want headaches

So far so good. Not the best or worse neighborhood but payments on time. Prequalifing the tenants is key. ( time on current job and rental history) Recoup investment in 2.5 years, $950/mo

Well, I did find a father/son combo that seems to be doing fine so far but so I think ill keep them busy and buy more houses! I have found a few lousy ones too that don't show for appointments or call just before and say they can't make it and had a small crew begin work on a house and fired them 2 days later realizing they had no clue what they were doing. I act as the general contractor on all my houses and sub work to smaller groups or maybe start them on one job/part of the house and then if satisfied, have them bid out another part of the house etc (maybe paint, then windows, kitchen, flooring etc) Have had a couple bad experiences giving the entire house to one company because when they stop showing up because they don't want to turn down another job and one that may pay more, you are at their mercy and even if you fire them, you have to find another contractor who may see you in a bind and charge top dollar or charge more because its a pain trying to go back behind some else and finish what they started when that may not be the way you would have done things. I found the father/son crew on Facebook but there were 10-12 calls to others I interviewed over the phone and the ones that stood me up before I found them.

Have capital to start?

Write up land contract, get notarized, both have copies, do not file at register of deeds. Have taxes and insurance added to monthly payment and you make those payments yourself.

Hi JF,

Still heavily active. Have 4 full-time workers that have been with me for 3 1/2 years but have 8 out of 12 houses just sitting there waiting to be worked on. Working on a couple flips now, do land contracts, lease options and some wholesaling when they pile up but pay cash for all. Have 3 recommendations for contractors I will contact in the next day or two. Let me know what you find.

Thanks

Getting a bit busy and houses are piling up. Have 4 full time workers for the past 3 years but have 3 other flip houses sitting there and several more cash deals and other owner financing options. Looking for a good recommendation for a local contractor in Kalamazoo, Mi that is fair, reasonable and reliable. Have worked with several other contractors and a few with mediocre success and some not so much. Suggestions?