Rules of Renovation Reviews How To Hire An Exceptional Contractor
Remodeling houses is a big endeavor. You need someone with professional experience who can help you take a good deal and turn it into a beautiful, high-returning investment.
To pull this off, it requires an exceptional general contractor who will be by your side for the long-term and who is interested in creating a lucrative business relationship together. Find the right one who will make remodeling easy, and you will find the money follows.
Put On Your Investigator’s Hat
Start your general contractor search online, and you’ll quickly find yourself deep down the rabbit hole of sorting through hundreds of results. Instead, do a bit of work on the ground by asking other real estate professionals for referrals. You can get a lot of good leads this way if your sources are credible. What you don’t want from your sources are names of their personal friends or family members who are looking for work but not exceptionally qualified to do it.
In addition to referrals, do a little scouting of your own. Take a drive around similar neighborhoods to the ones you typically work in and be on the lookout for contractors and construction companies. This can be especially helpful if done first thing in the morning. After all, if a contractor can get his or her crew on the job and working early, it’s a good sign they are dedicated to their work and serious about getting the job done on time.
Look For the Right Answers
Once you’ve got a solid list of leads, you’ll need to start weeding them out. Do this first by making some initial phone calls. You want to introduce yourself and explain your interest in finding a general contractor to rehab a few homes. If the experience goes well on the first project, you will have a lot more work down the road. Be sure to convey that you are seeking a long-term, lucrative working relationship with someone you can trust implicitly.
If your goals are something that the contractor wants to pursue with you, the next step is to ask a series of interview-type questions. Listen for the right answers that are a good fit for your business.
Come up with some of your own specific questions relating to the type of professional experience you are looking for, but here are a few ideas to get you started:
- What is the general size of the job that you feel comfortable managing?
- How many projects do you typically work on at once?
- What is your capacity during peak construction times?
- Do you have a long-standing relationship with any subcontractor and/or specialist who you can bring to the job?
- Can you give me a list of references from previous clients?
Finally, after you’ve narrowed down your favorite contractors to no more than three, take the important step of meeting each of them in person. You’ll want to feel if there is a palpable connection and professional chemistry together.
Be Loyal and You’ll Receive a Response In Kind
After you’ve found the perfect general contractor, you want to keep them! That’s why one of the best things you can do for your home remodeling business is to be a loyal partner.
Take your contractor’s advice seriously. Listen to their recommendations. Don’t haggle too much on their rates. Continue to feed them more and more lucrative work. Remember, if you’re true and loyal yourself, they’ll reciprocate with high-quality work, finished on time, for a fair price.
If you find the right general contractor, you’ll find yourself in a long-term, mutually lucrative partnership.
