David,
“Greetings BP! I'm thrilled to be posting for the first time, as I'm in the early stages of getting started developing rental properties in the Washington, DC / Frederick, MD area, and have a question about when to include my GC.”
I generally bring in a GC a couple weeks out from closing. Having said this I have GC’s that I’ve worked with before and we have great working relationships.
Note: I don’t purchase a property unless I can start on rehabbing it the day after I close. To many things happen to properties that sit. Plus they start costing you money the day of close.
“To determine if a property is a potential good deal, I need to know the rehab/repair budget up front, so I can run the necessary calculations with the BP calculators.”
Maybe I’m reading you wrong but you come across as not having a general idea of what rehab cost are. Trust me, this is the quickest way, that I know of, to be over charged.
I also agree with what @Aaron K and @Grant Rothenberg have to say.
“Would this mean that I need to choose the GC prior to purchasing the property,”
You should be able to put rough numbers together so that you can make an informed decision. Obviously you won’t at first but you should strive to learn numbers quickly.
I always add $10,000 to any major rehab that I get involved with.
“or am I able to walk multiple GC candidates through each potential property, to get their bids and compare?”
Yes you can. Just know that once a contractor puts in a couple bids that aren’t accepted you probably wont be getting them back out. Also they tend to know each other and word will get around.
“I am focusing on developing a relationship with a quality, reliable GC in the area, and I'm working on getting referrals from colleagues now, but I'd also like to see comparison quotes from comparable GC's.”
I agree with you whole heartedly here. Finding a quality, hard working, honest, dependable contractor won’t be easy and rarely happens on the first try.
“I'd appreciate input on when to include the GC in the process, and any other choosing GC feedback you've got.”
-Never under any circumstances should you pay a contractor up front. The good ones will have funds to carry their crew plus they will be motivated to get it done quicker.
-Always make a draw schedule up front and stick to it.
-Always write up a scope of work.
-Be very careful when it comes to cheap bids. When it comes to contractors you get what you pay for!
-Don’t pay contractors up front.
It is not my intention to sound condescending, however if I come across this way to you please understand that this is not my intent. I remember very well how incredibly hard it was starting out and having to deal with contractors.
Hope this in some way helps, Ken
P.S. - Never under any circumstance pay a contractor up front!
