Protect Yourself From Shady Contractors

This is great advice! I have been smooth talked before by some really good contractors! I have made many of these mistakes personnally and paid dearly for not having this wonderful advice! Please understand that this advice is GOLD! I have been all over and have never seen a site like deans that give free advice so freely! Please all new investors take advantage of the opportunity here!

Great ideas on protecting yourself from "shady contractors" listed. This is important especially when you are getting started or doing deals on your own starting out. One thing you may want to look into is using contractors that are referred to you from companies like Home Depot and Lowe's. Both of these stores provide installation options for most of the products that they sell at their stores. Installation prices are less than you would imagine and there are also a few benefits that make working with them well worth while.

- All of their contractors have to go through background checks before they can do any projects for you. This makes a big difference and screens out any people who have been convicted of crimes. This peace of mind means a lot for people getting started out.

- Home Depot and Lowe's Stand behind the contractors that work for them. They also make sure that the contractors are bonded, licensed and insured in their respective field. You will always get qualified people helping you out with your projects. You also get the peace of mind knowing that if something happens while the project is being done or after it is completed, These stores will stand behind the work.

Again, this is a very simple thing that you can do to protect both you and your valuable investment.

Hope this quick bit helps!

Happy Investing!

Matt W.

Very good advice. I actually had a personal problem with the contractors from Lowes who installed my dishwasher incorrectly, when I told them and mentioned that I had talk to the city inspector, they refunded my money and I found someone more qualified to do the work. By the way, this person had a past as well, so be careful no matter who you get.

wish I had read this sooner...

I did pay my handyman more than half as a deposit before he started on my rehab-guess what? He went on vacation before he even started! and then ran out of money to buy materials for my property; then he started finding additional items that required repair and of course, more money! argh! hard lesson learned!

Learning and progressing every day,
Valerie

Thank you so much for the advise, me being new to ivesting this is great information, I would have never thought to proceed with a contractor in this way. Know I feel better about using one.

Besides clear and written communication concerning any price increases over the contracted amount: like there will be NONE concerning anything other than what is unforeseen. Increases in costs for paint, flooring, kitchen, bath, roof etc will not be tolerated! We won't pay! A lot of contractors will bid low to get the job than jack up their prices to get what they want once they start the job. My contracts prevent this. Give us you best estimate up front. You WILL be held to it!
We also require a written scope of work with TIME schedule. Man hours for each job and material costs.
Example:
Day 1: Roll offs in place, demo begins, Roll off $350. Two men 16 hours $10.00 hour
Day 2: finalize demo. Two men 16 Hours $10.00 hour
Day 3: Dry wall repair and prep. Popcorn ceiling removal. Three men, 24 hours $15.00 hour

So on and so forth for the entire job. That way we come in on day three and we expect them to be on dry wall, If not we need an explanation.
There are penalties for going over budget and schedule delays.

We have had many contractors that would not work for us! The ones that do have no problem meeting our requirements.
There are ALWAYS surprises!! We budget spare money and time for these! If there is a problem that there is no way our contractor could have known, we pay!

Controlling your contractor is every bit as important as buying the property at the right price. If you have money costs, getting done on time with no price increases is critical to the success of your rehab!!

Michael Mangham
MD Home Acquisitions LLC

It is called a signed lien release!!

Michael Mangham
MD Home Acquisitions LLC

What you said here...

"We also require a written scope of work with TIME schedule. Man hours for each job and material costs."

...Will save a lot of headache, heartache and bank acct ache!! Oh my ... I learned the hard way on a rehab where the team walked off the job - midway. Under bid and got overwhelmed. Left tools, never to be seen again! Lost big on the deal and kept me from RE for awhile, but .... I'm back and learning from you Pros!

Thanks as always for sharing such valuable GOLDEN NUGGETS!

I know we have our disagreements from time to time, but this stuff you wrote was solid. I must say I'm glad to have someone with sense to butt heads with once in a while

Wow I would have never thought of that amazing idea on my own! Thank you so much for posting that helpful information.

Useful tool I found on another thread. I thought it should be passed out some more.

http://www.get-a-quote.net/

I was a contractor for several years until I got to the point where I didn’t want to put on roofs and get into those small places and my body was telling me it was time to give it up. I now do home inspections.
I share this with you because I feel like some contractors have a good work ethic and some have other motives this gives the rest of us contractors a bad name. Every time a contractor gives you a bid he should be held to that bid. If something is added to the job, then there should be a job change order and a price should be attached to that change order sheet. The contractor and the home owner should sign and this just keeps things on the up and up.
I have said it before and I will say it again, all contractors or handy men should have their own insurance anytime they are on the job site and you can ask them for a copy of their policy. I always got a copy of my subs insurance policy or they would not come onto the job site. You can enforce this policy on any of your properties as well.
Find a contractor that understands your policies and if they cannot abide by them, move on to the next contractor, because they are a dime a dozen. Most will do as you ask. I believe if you set the standard right up front, they will conform to your needs.
Best of Luck

Hi and thank you for your post.

Could you please share with us the contract that you use?

Thanks a lot,

Haim Mamane Palman
Seeds for Life Properties LLC

Real World

show up on the jobsite, find them using drugs/drinking, sleeping or not even there and WAY behind schedule

Just got burned by a contractor I used to rehab my property. Paid him in full and now he's coming back to me with an invoice for work that I never agreed to pay for (bathroom vanity/plumbing for $400+). It's not in the contract so I don't have an obligation to pay him, plus the paint job is a little sloppy. He also went back on his words -- he agreed to put in a stainless steel fridge but he did not.

He and his wife keep coming after me with his lame invoice. Now I just want out from this crook. I'm thinking about reporting to BBB and filing a police report for fraud so no one else will run into the same trouble.

What would you do in this scenario? What's the best way to deal with crooks like them?

Thanks!

P.S. I've learned A TON from all these mistakes -- paid him in full before job was 100% complete, did not include the fridge in the contract, did not inspect during the day (when the sun is out!), etc...It sounds stupid when you think about it, I thought I 'knew' all these before, but until I actually did it, I didn't really know after all.