Furthermore, contractor referrals would also be great!

Also considering asking questions regarding how much they currently pay, do they pay water, electric, etc.

I'm making my way into REI and so far, while the market is very competitive I'm my area (Hudson / Bergen counties in NJ), I'm finding properties which are worth, at minimum, analyzing well and making some offers.That said, I could really use some recommendations/referrals to general contractors and so I'm hoping the BP community could help!

I can coordinate CL-100 lettersI can coordiante many repair estimates based off measurements I take during the inspection and provide those to a variety of differnt contractors I deal with, without having to schedule them on-site.My reports come with a repair request tool for agents that really looks good, quick and easy to use In my reports I put into perspective the how severe an item found is or isn’t in attempts to aid in keeping the buyer from freaking out. 

@Tim Gathers I am a broker and licensed contractor here in Detroit dealing mainly with multifamily and 2 family flats.

Then I would fix & flip the property.So, There really are only two options I can think of. 1) Find an "off market" property that you can take "Subject To, on a "Wrap", or a "Land Contract" or a "Lease Option and proceed with either Fix & Flip or Buy & Hold or sell to a Tenant Buyer (my favorite).2) Find someone on the mainland that you can Joint Venture with in a market your finances can afford.Either way, you have to start somewhere.

Does anyone have any positive experiences with a good HVAC contractor in the Tucson, AZ area?

If you are only flipping a handful of houses a year, you can probably get by with a spreadsheet, but here are some important items you need to track/consider for tax season & business management:Tracking Project Expenses & Revenues to calculate your project Net ProfitTracking Assets/LiabilitiesProfit & Loss Statements showing Profitability of each projectTracking how much you paid each vendor/contractor for filing Annual 1099sActual vs Budget Tracking so you can see what repairs were over/under budgetBank reconciliation to make sure your accounting books match your bank statementsProvides a history of the business, so you can track financial progress or pull past financials in case of an Audit

I think BP is incredible, but real estate is still incredibly local and the networking events out there are often the best ways to meet local agents, attorneys, contractors, etc. 

I do most of my own work, so If I buy a house that needs new paint and roof, I'd be paying less than half of the repair cost just in material... and keep what I would pay a contractor... or pay a seller because they just paid a contractor.