All Forum Posts by: Ken Grover

As an investor, there should be a major point to learn. Of the 3 parts to any project, you only get to choose a maximum of 2... Speed, Cheap, and Quality. If ANY contractor says they can get you all 3, they are lying. This plays into your relationship with the contractor - and I can tell you first hand that most investors don't want to sacrifice any of them. I loath when an investor wants to sacrifice quality.

I get the original question as I know what it feels like to have people skip out on your money/project and leave you hanging as I have been in both positions. I have been a contractor (or played the role of superintendent) since 2001. My initial starting requests were 25%, 25%, 50% - and only the overall price would change if the customer was buying the materials. It worked well (and still does if I don't know the person). I have been screwed out of funds by home owners and I have received "tips" from home owners so it all works out in the wash for me.

I prefer buying the materials (I get a military or contractor discount wherever I go) to sitting at the counter waiting on a call. I get the materials I need and am used to working with versus having to learn a new product that I can't guarantee. The fastest I have been out of the store with materials in hand when a customer had to be called for cc info was about 8 or 9 minutes. The longest was almost an hour before I just left to go do something else (they were in a meeting) and my time should be valuable too. Now, I have found the best to be an "escrow" type of account where I get a small deposit and turn in receipts before "refilling" that deposit. When the project is done, the deposit is returned unless otherwise agreed upon by the investor (which usually meant starting another project).

When it comes to work, weekly pay is best so I can pay who I need to pay. No pay usually winds up in finding another project that does pay (for me) - and I rarely don't answer my phone or call someone back (which is the first sign of someone ditching). It is all about a comfort level for everyone involved and it is usually uncomfortable until a couple months of a couple deals of working together. The biggest clue is watching how they talk about other contractors or investors. Multiple complaints usually means a red flag.