I've dug very deeply into this in Massachusetts and according to the State Board of Registration in Real Estate, you cannot engage in wholesaling (assigning contracts) unless you actually own the property - and that's more often referred to as "wholetailing". 

I’ve thought about googling GCs and offering them a small incentive ($50-$100) to offer me a ballpark figure that I’d be able to reference once I send the properties to my buyers.

And are you referring to a lease option?

<==Now if anyone gets this reference you get extra points and a smile!

References of current investors can be supplied.Tim

@Joseph Hammel A landlord has no obligation to provide a reference at all.

Hi,My friend referred a contractor to me (who is her high school friend) and they are relative new but they have done a few new builds and additional, renovation. etc.

Its better to ask other investors who they use and go off of references.

This can make or break a project - so get references and due your research on what you can reasonably afford - you'll get what you pay for!

Reference this video below- Broker Scene from "The Big Short".