Are you thinking of hiring a general contractor? Your Landlord Tutor is a general contractor as well! So if you need general contracting services, here are the things to look for in a general contractor to take charge of your property renovations.
Why You Need a General Contractor
Now maybe some of you don’t need it. Perhaps your properties are brand new, and you don’t need to work on them. But in the city of Boston, getting a good property or one with good value will require some renovations.
You may have heard that general contractors sometimes aren’t responsive, are very expensive, or their guys don’t show up on time. Sometimes the costs go over budget, or the project goes over the timeline.
So how do you resolve that when picking out your general contractor?
What to Consider When Hiring a General Contractor
Here are some things you should consider when picking a general contractor to take charge of the work needed for your property.
1. Find a reputable general contractor.
When trying to find a general contractor, talk with several contractors. Check their references, go online, find some reviews, and even call up their former clients.
The key is finding someone you’re comfortable working with who will give you the service you need. You are probably spending a lot of money on it, so don’t just call one person who might claim someone is the best person in the world to do your work.
2. See their work in general.
If they know that they specialize in a certain area, go talk to the building inspectors even. Talking with them is a great approach to finding out how general contractors do their job.
If you’re new to the world of general contracting or just curious about the effect a change or delay can have on the process, ask them if they can provide a timeline. What happens if there are changes or delays? Do they get penalized at all?
The answers you get will give you an idea of how they approach their work and help you determine if they are the kind of service providers you want to work with.
3. Ask about their team.
How many people are they working with, subcontractors versus employees? You have to know this because they can control employees.
Most contractors use subs that are in their own world. When issues happen, they are not liable for it, and they are just going to pass that buck.
Furthermore, typical contractors bill by the hour. Many rookie contractors have never worked on a home improvement project before, so they have no idea how long it will take or how many people they need on their team.
You want a team that remains engaged throughout the entire renovation project to ensure that you finish on time and save money in the process.
How Your Landlord Tutor Can Help
Among my many certifications, I am also a general contractor. I can guide you through selecting one and looking through a renovation: seeing what you need to do, and looking at the numbers with you.
And if you’re in the city of Boston, I might be able to help you out because, at my property management company, we manage properties that we do general contracting on.
We only provide general contracting services for properties under our management. This allows us to control the timeline and the cost to know that the work will get done because we will be liable for more than just the renovation project.
The Landlord Tutor Promise
If you or anyone else you know is looking for help with renovations and guidance on selecting a general contractor, join the Landlord Tutor community and sign up here.
In today’s session, I will cover the top questions we ask during a landlord reference.
What is a Landlord Reference?
A landlord reference is when we call a previous or current landlord to verify a tenant’s qualifications.
As a property management company, we want to call two landlords. Why? Because the first current landlord, if you have a horrible tenant applicant, is going to say anything to get their tenant out of there.
“Yes, they’re fantastic,” or “Yes, they pay their rent.” With those answers, you will take them in, and then you will assume the problems that these people want to get rid of.
If we go back to two landlords, what ends up happening is that the previous landlord doesn’t have to deal with them anymore so they will tell you the truth. We always like to see a history of that.
Sometimes, it is not possible if they have lived there for a long time or are newer renters. But what we do, no matter what, is we check our references.
Questions to Ask Your Tenant’s Former Landlords
We ask previous or current landlords the following questions to check and ensure they have a good landlord reference.
Have the tenants paid their rent on time?
You don’t want to have a tenant that is late when it comes to paying their rent.
Have they paid all their rent, not just on time, but in general?
It is critical that you know when a tenant has gone above and beyond to pay their rent on time.
How have they been as residents? Has there been any neighbor complaints?
You want to ensure that the residents you are moving into your building aren’t causing issues for other people.
Do they take care of the property?
Are they treating it like a house, or are they trashing it? There is no point in maintaining curb appeal if your property is left in a mess by a difficult tenant.
Would you rent to them again?
And I think this is a huge one. And again, you want to hear from pauses. Everybody might say, “yeah, we’d rent to them again.”
That hesitation might mean something, so you should ask them, “Okay, what is it that you wouldn’t rent to them again? What about them would you change?”
Have they fulfilled every lease obligation or broken any rules and regulations?
And again, if there is any hesitation, you might want to dig further into it. And if not, great.
So if they get green flags and the right answers for all of these questions that we currently ask their current or previous landlord, then that’s definitely an OK to keep proceeding with the applications and approve them.
But if any of these are red flags, if you don’t get good answers, or if there is hesitation, issues, or problems that come up, you should consider their application and debate if you want to approve them moving into your house.
The Landlord Tutor Promise
To learn how to spot problem tenants in advance and not have to deal with them in the first place, join the Landlord Tutor community and sign up here.
Renovations usually add value to a property, so is it better to buy a newly renovated one? In this article, we go over the factors that come with buying renovated versus unrenovated properties.
Renovated or Unrenovated?
When buying properties, it depends on your taste and how much money you can pay out of pocket.
If you buy a property that is already renovated, you are paying your premium. You are paying the building and a premium for someone who has already done the work.
Whereas, you can put that equity in if you buy an unrenovated property. However, you will need an excellent general contractor, or you need to be handy yourself and know the process.
Because, unfortunately, sometimes renovations drag on. They go over cost and can’t be financed right typically unless it comes with a 203 loan. But in most cases, you will pay for those renovations out of pocket. You can’t loan it and borrow it as if you were buying the house.
So, what ends up happening is that sometimes these renovations go over, and the timing is messed up. Before you know it, you are already into the winter months and having a hard time renting out the property.
The Right Way to Decide
You want to figure out when to close your properties so you know how long it will take to renovate your property, get it on the market, and rent it out.
Personally, I love buying properties in January, February, or March, depending on how much work the property needs. I timeline out that work, get it on the market for the spring and summer months, and rented out at full cost. It doesn’t always happen, but again, it depends on the size of the renovation.
The next thing is picking out a team to achieve that timeline. As a real estate agent and general contractor, I help many clients and guide them through the renovation process. Even if they’re not doing it with me, I assist them in finding out how much it costs and how long it should take.
The Landlord Tutor Promise
To know more about buying a property that might need some work, join the Landlord Tutor community and sign up here.
