All Forum Posts by: Mark Bohstedt

Steven, my mistake, I thought you would order materials and they would pick them up. 
Determining who will warranty items and installation on products you purchase will still be an issue, and either you or your contractor will be making at least a few additional trips to pick up material that was missed on the original order. 

  I don’t think that experienced contractors will want to work this way. For new contractors that don’t have established accounts or the capital to purchase material this could work for them. 

Steven, here are some pros and cons from a GCs perspective, I spend about 20k per month on my HD pro account. 

Cons:

Unless you are very knowledgeable about the materials you need including small items like nuts, bolts, screws, straps, etc., you’ll constantly be having to run to pick these items up for your contractor. I prefer to order the materials myself and will seldom work with a client who wants to provide everything. 
Any material or fixtures provided by you will not have a warranty from the contractor, leaving you on the hook to pay for a reinstall if a faucet/sink leaks, etc. This is why a lot of contractors will mark up materials as they need to provide a warranty on them for you. 
I am not a delivery service so I will charge a customer for picking up items at HD, which will add to their material cost. 
 
Pros:

About the only pro I can think of is discounts. If your order is more than$1,500.00 you can have it run through the bid room, HD has this and I believe Lowes does also. You can typically get your order discounted 5% or more, on a $18,000 order last week we received a $2,100 discount off the order. My personal opinion is ordering and paying for materials yourself would be way more stress for you than it’s worth. 

Mitch,

Keep in mind I know zero about building or development in Florida, but I’ve been developing small parcels to build on for 30 years.. Here are a few due diligence items I always look into before buying any lots/land. 
Zoning, looks like you have already taken care of this. 
Contact the utility companies to make sure you can get electric, water and sewer service. Some subdivisions have a limit on the meters, etc. that they allow, especially if it’s on a community well or septic system. 
If it will be on its own septic system, check with a local septic contractor to make sure you can install a normal system. Alternate systems are expensive. I pay for a perc test on any lot I’m interested in before buying it. 
Make sure to review any covenants or restrictions. 
Ask your realtor to check if expansive soils are common in the area. 
Hope this helps, I’ve always done well on any land I’ve held for more than a few years. 

Chris,

It was several years ago but I rebuilt the same duplex twice for a client due to arson. I wouldn’t take this on as your first project, there can be a lot of hidden damage that will require a structural engineer to assess. 
I had to have the AC ducts replaced due to smoke, cabinets, plumbing, gas lines, flooring, and the list goes on.  Unless the damage is extremely minimal I would pass. 

My liability insurance would drop me like a hot potato and likely would not pay out if drinking or drugs was the cause of an accident on any of my job sites. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. 
Off the jobsite I have no problem with it, on my jobsite if I actually see a sub drinking they are off the job, not to mention clients don’t really like seeing empty bottles on their new homesite. 
   So far I’ve only had two issues in 30 years of building homes where I caught guys drinking. 

As a General Contractor my liability insurer would drop me like a hot potato if they found out I let subs smoke pot or drink on the job. I’m sure it happens but if I see it the sub is off the job permanently.  Not to mention it’s never a good look for a client to walk the job and see beer bottles scattered around. 
   If my subs want a drink then they need to drive off my jobsite, the liability is too much for me to risk. But, if you didn’t catch them drinking then you have no way to prove it, I would give the contractor a time frame to cure the issues or you’ll hire someone else and deduct the cost from their amount owed. 
  

Joseph, to help boost your new business you might consider purchasing a mailing list of homeowners in your target area and mailing a 4x6 postcard with your info and handyman tasks you can do. There are several online lead companies you can get lists from. Most companies let you pick zip codes and minimum home values so you can target your preferred market accurately.
  I recently moved from Arizona to Branson, Mo., postcards provided us two custom homes, several additions, and now we are getting referrals from previous customers.