Reflecting on my first rehab. - Posted by Greg
Posted by Greg on May 22, 2003 at 10:34:41:
The sale of my first rehabbed home is finalized. The only thing that would make the deal fall through is if the buyer loses his job or CHFA finds that his finances are not accurate.
With this I reflected on my first rehab and tried to think about ways I can improve my business. I would like to learn how to manage/market my business and not have my hands into everything- leverage other people. I have read Gerber?s book. I also want to learn how to better control the deal.
The big area of reflection was of course the infamous contractors and handymen.
I have one 75 y.o. guy with two sons who enjoy demo work, yard work, and painting. The 75 y.o. works hard yet his sons are not reliable at times eventually they get things done.
I am concerned about liability issues with the 75 y.o. such as heart attacks and strokes. He has had a 4-way bypass already.
As I mentioned I want to be less involved with the hands on work. My guys seem to get angry if I am not participating in some of the work. He called at one point and said, ?Did you forget how to get here!? Now I am paying him, and his sons and I should not have to be involved with the work. I do not need to be there all the time. I want to focus on the business. Also I find that these guys are like children and need babysitting. When I am there they work even harder.
The other problem I had with these guys were issues with supplies and frequent trips to my local home supply store. They all have bad credit and not a strong employment history. Plus one care to share among them. Therefore I found myself going back and forth to the store everyday to get more paint or whatever. I thought of setting up a line of credit for them at the store. Or get them a credit card with a spending limit.
My handyman team needs some fine-tuning and they need to realize that I am in the business of buying and selling homes. I cannot spend hours doing work on a house. I should be spending time finding and working on deals.
I found a Plummer who does not turn his nose up when asked to do work in lower income areas. This seemed to be a problem with contractors. Many thought they were too good or busy to take work in such areas. Plus every one of them tried to rip me off. I knew my price limit. I also sensed that because I was an investor they wanted to charge me more.
I did not use contracts when working with the contractors. I need to view a few contracts that people use on this site. The contract would specify things such as price, dates of completion, and penalties for not completing. Will contractors sign these forms?
I have a good electrician who understands rehab work. Recommended by my agent.
I wanted to thank everyone for their help during the rehab of my first home.
Sincerely,
Greg