All Forum Posts by: Christopher B.

Why are you getting upset or feeling insulted? It's just business, move on to the next person. 

So many takes and nobody is wrong. It's a personal and professional decision. I worked 8 months at a job I HATED after college. Finally left it with no money, a duplex to my name, a letter of recommendation, and offer to comeback anytime I wanted. I got a job for $10/hr for 20hrs a week at an apartment complex and bought my 2nd property (first house to sale) about 10 months later. The duplex allowed me to live below the poverty level and a private investor had faith in me for my rehab. I rehabbed my duplex so had a small resume but it still was a risk for the investor. The project was a success and they gradually invested more money. I have been full-time ever since. 

The way I figured is if I failed I was young enough to recover. I took, and still do take, very little out of the business. I don't go without but I live a simple lifestyle. I don't think there is a wrong choice, just make sure you're willing and capable of making the sacrifices, and have a plan. Good luck. 

Lena, just don't renew their leases. Getting new tenants will allow you to thoroughly screen them (hard to screen for crazy though) and establish expectations upfront. Make the rules and procedures clear, written, and signed.

I once told a tenant I would pressure wash their porch right after they moved in. I sincerely forgot, totally my fault. Over the next 3 months they had a couple maintenance requests that I handled quickly but never mentioned the porch. One of the issues they made the situation worse and it cost me an extrs $200 to fix but I didn't charge them for it. During this time I was in a bad accident so hadn't been to the property much which is why I hadn't thought about it again. One day he contacts me and starts calling me a liar, this and that. I acknowledged my mistake to him and tried to defuse the situation but he would have none of it and I don't put up with that junk so encouraged them to leave and they did. Funny thing is I had noticed the porch a few days earlier and scheduled it for a pressure wash and it was done before they moved. The next tenant has been fine, 1 maintenance request in 9 months. I walk the property inside quarterly and outside 1-2x's per month so no issues. Moral is don't put up with bad tenants. Desperation or fear of losing 2-4 weeks of rent from a turnover is what ultimately drives people out of this business because they put up with the bad tenants. Those expenses should be accounted for when you buy it. Good luck. 

As mentioned, discuss this issue with a lawyer and move on with another contractor. This business can have expensive lessons but don't feel bad, we've all got scars. Keep grinding, you'll get through it. 

For those that haven't made this mistake or are just getting started, this is exactly why you don't pay contractors upfront and why all the contractors on here or anywhere else who argue differently should be ignored. Not all contractors are bad either and they have to protect themselves too but you must be careful not to put yourself in position to be taken. 

Agree, GC's at the level you are mentioning are a different story. Considering the OP was asking questions for his first flip that level of GC is irrelevant to him. So when I give advice to him I don't consider the level of GC you are talking about because that isn't the reality that he is going to be facing. 

I totally agree with you and understand GC's don't like working with flippers. You have outlined precisely why I have moved forward with plans to do the same. Makes a lot of sense. 

On the design we can just agree to disagree. I've not met one GC that has any real skill at design. Now I meet a lot that think they do haha. Just bcause they are around houses doesn't make them good at designing them though. It ultimately has nothing to do with repititions in my opinion, some people just have a better sense of style and taste than others. I find 99% of GC's do not and that's probably because their focus is more on the mechanical aspect of building/remodeling.

NAHB is great if I am building a custom home for myself. Finding a GC for a rehab there isn't practical though. Rehabbing houses people can't afford the most expensive contractors in the city. Which supports your argument earlier, a vertically integrated GC that is doing rehabs themselves has a distinct advantage. 

 There's many ways to skin the cat. It depends on your level of job. There is a big difference between managing and organizing a multistory project vs a $30K-$100k residential rehab. There are highly organized contractors, the type that work on those larger projects and the type that will work on a smaller residential rehab. How you work with them will be different.

I think you've gotten some sound advice in here. Eike is spot on and lays out a lot of what I was going to say so wont bother with the redundancy. 

Yes, if you hire a GC to manage the entire rehab let him do his thing. After all that is what you are paying for. I do suggest you pick all finish materials yourself. I've yet to meet a contractor that can properly design a house. Talk to them, if they want to handle all materials they can point you in the direction of where to look at samples and you just picked the design and they take care of the quantities and related materials needed. 

I will say this. If rehabbing were as easy as finding a GC and saying GO then everyone in America would be doing it. It seems everyone thinks it is that easy and are trying too but it is not. Finding a GC like they mention is very tough and a project that has the margin to afford them and you to make a good profit even harder. At least that is my experience and it obviously depends on what your target returns are. I think it is good to create a base, or standard design that you can work from. This will make projects easier on multiple levels and if you can more easily adjust your selections to fit each house and it's style vs creating a new selection sheet from scratch on each project. Just work through things as they come-up and in-time you'll find your strategy.

 Everyone is different, I had this convo with an agent today. I don't like dealing with people and their desire for change orders so only pre-market when it's 90% done but no showings until finished. 

The OP asked how quick to close though and that is always ASAP

You have the mindset. As Jeffrey pointed out there are a lot of things you wont know. However, I wouldn't encourage you to learn all of these items. You don't need to care what subfloor adhesive they are using, type of nails, brand of OSB, etc. That is, and should be irrelevant to you. Now over time you will learn what these costs are and can figure them in your budget. Even if you are managing the job yourself let your subs determine what they need with rough materials, focus your time on picking the finish materials. You can easily determine these materials and quantities for the most part. There are some specifics you will learn but that is what your subs are there for. 

Lastly, I am going to 100% disagree with Jeffrey here on one thing. Most contractors DO NOT run sophisticated and highly organized businesses. In fact, it is laughable that someone is implying that they do. There are some that do, and I hope you find one in the beginning to help you work through some items but over time you will likely find that you are in fact much more organized and detail oriented then 98% of the contractors and subs you encounter are. 

ASAP

Great idea! This is the best way to get started. Mix it with the BRRRR method and you are off to the races