Re: Well, I know, but - Posted by Rob
Posted by Rob on August 23, 2003 at 05:48:38:
Rob,
Just for the record, let me explain why 3-5 days’ processing time is a big deal for me.
I can’t afford to use Sears’ remodeling to rehab my houses. The contractors I use are working and living on a shoe string. I would prefer to use the guys with the new trucks, uniforms and big bank accounts, but most rehabbers can’t.
When they complete a job, they want to get paid…today. When they start a job, they need some money to buy materials.
I can work around some of this by (like I said) ordering all the draws at one time for a job. When work gets done to earn a draw, I can just pull a check out of my desk and deliver it to the contractor. I just checked…today I have 7 Entrust draw checks for a total of $12k in my drawer. I used to order checks from Entrust that I expected to need in the next week of two, now I order as many checks as I can, as soon as I can.
So, when I contract with someone to work on a house, he says, “when do you want me to start?” I, of course, want him to start asap. Unfortunately, if he needs money for materials, I now have to tell him that “the checks are coming from California…they take up to five days to mail them, then we have to wait for the USPS to get them here”. That’s 1 1/2 weeks. Many contractors are just not able or willing to start a job and wait 1 1/2 weeks to get their first check. Some can, many can’t.
The other problem is when something unexpected comes up. The contractor needs to do an unplanned job and it needs to be done right away. As we speak, I’m waiting on two checks for a total of $1,800 for just this type of situation. Again, the problem pops up, I tell the contractor to please take care of it. He does, but then he has to wait 1 1/2 weeks to get paid.
Now that may sound to you like “someone has too much time on their hands or has over committed to their vendors”, but I think that’s life in the rehab business.
Ron Guy
rguy24@comcast.net