The problem:  I'm on contractor #10 in Southern CA and so far nobody wants to quote the project!!

Good luck Thanks bob you’ve explained how big your operation is and that’s wonderful and all but for us investors who have only a couple properties and can’t “give contractors as much work as they want” I’m looking for a solution.  

Or contractors only give me bids if I own the place? 

If you're a contractor a fixer might be better, if you're a marketer maybe an STR and so on.  

I’m a licensed real estate agent in North Carolina as well as a contractor here in the triangle.

Not everyone is a professional investor or contractor background.

The education and health services sector alone added 23,800 jobs in the past year, reflecting a significant expansion in these industries, particularly in healthcare and social assistance​.Proximity to Major Employment Centers: Greater Heights offers convenient access to key employment hubs such as downtown Houston and the Galleria area, which are major attractors for residents due to the short commute and abundant job opportunities​.Education: Nearby institutions like University of Houston and Rice University contribute to the area's appeal.Infrastructure Projects: Ongoing developments like the East Blocks Redevelopment and BioHub II at Generation Park enhance local amenities and attractiveness.Investment InsightsGreater Heights Rental Market Trends:Single-Family House Rentals:Median Rent: $1,350 for 1 bedroom, $2,695 for 2 bedrooms, $3,250 for 3 bedrooms, and $6,100 for 4+ bedrooms​​.Stability in rent prices with modest YoY increases: 2 bedroom rents increased by $195, and 3 bedroom rents by $250​​.Median Sold Price YoY ComparisonApartment Rentals:1 bedroom apartments saw a YoY increase of $305, 2 bedroom apartments by $667, indicating strong demand for these unit types​​.Available Rentals:High availability of both house and apartment rentals, indicating a robust market that can support new rental investments​​.Sales Market Trends:Median Sale Prices:Significant appreciation in home values, particularly in 1-bedroom homes, which saw a 190.7% increase from $215K to $625K​​.Other bedroom counts also showed positive appreciation, e.g., 2 bedrooms (5.3%), 3 bedrooms (6.5%), 4 bedrooms (17.4%)​​.Market Activity:Increased number of homes for sale and sold, suggesting a dynamic and active real estate market.

I don't think you even need to be a general contractor or subcontractor to set up an account there.They have a cool warehouse Northwest of Chicago.Otherwise, Home Depot's Lifeproof floor is pretty nice too, but not sure how it compares in pricing to what you saw.

Was it a licensed contractor?  

Honestly there are several career paths that will help (Renovation contractor, real estate agent, corporate RE analyst)  but depending upon whether you are looking for a career investing/flipping versus using your W-2 career income to build more by flipping, you can approach it better in my opinion by learning through doing.Flipping especially 1 at a time isn't a full time job and my thought is that you get help on your first, maybe first few flips.