Top 3 Ways to Find Good Rehab and Repair Contractors – Part 3 of 3: Driving for Contractors
This is the last article in this series of my “Top 3 Three Ways to Find Good Rehab and Repair Contractors”.
The first one was referrals. The second one was obtaining a list of licensed contractors from your city.
The third one is what I call “Driving for Contractors”:
intentionally driving around looking for contractors actively doing rehab and repair work on houses, and being prepared to stop and talk to them, and get their contact information.
Even if you don’t “intentionally” drive around looking for contractors actively working, you may stumble upon them “coincidentally” and take advantage of the opportunity to talk to them and get their contact info.
Here in Columbus, Ohio, we have four seasons. Spring and summer are good times when there are a lot of rehabs going on, and it’s a lot easier to drive around and see contractors working, especially in areas where there’s a lot of investor activity.
Of course you can use this method in the fall and winter, too. It’s just easier in the spring and summer since there is more activity, and you don’t have to deal with the cold weather, snow, and ice. However, we want to make money year round, so there are no excuses for not taking action!
You simply stop off at these houses where you see people doing work and be prepared to get their names and numbers. Take a picture of their business card, if they have one, or a lot of these contractors will have their name and their contact information on their truck, so you take a picture of their truck.
If you drive around enough in the right areas, you’ll pick up quite a few contractors that you may be able to work with.
Typically, when I stop and talk to these guys, I’m going to find out who’s the boss on the job. Because the guy you happen to be talking to may or may not be the boss.
Even if the guys you’re talking to aren’t the boss, they may be looking for side work. So basically, the more contractor names/numbers that you can get out of this one stop, the better. Just be careful and respectful, though, because you don’t want to disturb the job and you don’t want to get anybody in trouble.
If they’re in a position where they’re going to get in trouble, they’re just simply not going to give you their information or they’re going say, ‘Talk to my boss,’ or whatever. So, usually don’t have to worry about that, but just keep in mind that situation does exist.
One of the advantages with this method is that you may actually be able to see the quality of work they do immediately by inspecting the current jobsite… especially if you’re talking to the general contractor, or the boss.
Now they may or may not be at liberty to walk you through the jobsite… i.e. if the property owner is around and would frown on such a thing… but if they are able to walk you through, then that’s a definite plus!
Also, if it’s fairly close to you, it may be convenient to drive by periodically to see if they tend to show up for work regularly, if they show up for work early, how many days they’re taking off, etc. Ideally you can stop by periodically and get periodic full tours so you can see the work progress through various stages.
So now let’s recap my “Top 3 Three Ways to Find Good Rehab and Repair Contractors”. Number one was referrals. Number two was a list of licensed contractors from your city. And number three was driving around and looking at repair jobs and stuff. Every time you see a repair job, ask the contractors who they are, what kind of work they do, and get their contact information.
Ready to step up your game?
Check out my step-by-step real estate investing courses for both beginner and advanced investors.
Are you looking for a 1-On-1 real estate investing mentor?
Check out my Monthly Coaching and/or Hourly Consulting Programs.
This is the last article in this series of my “Top 3 Three Ways to Find Good Rehab and Repair Contractors”.
The first one was referrals. The second one was obtaining a list of licensed contractors from your city.
The third one is what I call “Driving for Contractors”:
intentionally driving around looking for contractors actively doing rehab and repair work on houses, and being prepared to stop and talk to them, and get their contact information.
Even if you don’t “intentionally” drive around looking for contractors actively working, you may stumble upon them “coincidentally” and take advantage of the opportunity to talk to them and get their contact info.
Here in Columbus, Ohio, we have four seasons. Spring and summer are good times when there are a lot of rehabs going on, and it’s a lot easier to drive around and see contractors working, especially in areas where there’s a lot of investor activity.
Of course you can use this method in the fall and winter, too. It’s just easier in the spring and summer since there is more activity, and you don’t have to deal with the cold weather, snow, and ice. However, we want to make money year round, so there are no excuses for not taking action!
You simply stop off at these houses where you see people doing work and be prepared to get their names and numbers. Take a picture of their business card, if they have one, or a lot of these contractors will have their name and their contact information on their truck, so you take a picture of their truck.
If you drive around enough in the right areas, you’ll pick up quite a few contractors that you may be able to work with.
Typically, when I stop and talk to these guys, I’m going to find out who’s the boss on the job. Because the guy you happen to be talking to may or may not be the boss.
Even if the guys you’re talking to aren’t the boss, they may be looking for side work. So basically, the more contractor names/numbers that you can get out of this one stop, the better. Just be careful and respectful, though, because you don’t want to disturb the job and you don’t want to get anybody in trouble.
If they’re in a position where they’re going to get in trouble, they’re just simply not going to give you their information or they’re going say, ‘Talk to my boss,’ or whatever. So, usually don’t have to worry about that, but just keep in mind that situation does exist.
One of the advantages with this method is that you may actually be able to see the quality of work they do immediately by inspecting the current jobsite… especially if you’re talking to the general contractor, or the boss.
Now they may or may not be at liberty to walk you through the jobsite… i.e. if the property owner is around and would frown on such a thing… but if they are able to walk you through, then that’s a definite plus!
Also, if it’s fairly close to you, it may be convenient to drive by periodically to see if they tend to show up for work regularly, if they show up for work early, how many days they’re taking off, etc. Ideally you can stop by periodically and get periodic full tours so you can see the work progress through various stages.
So now let’s recap my “Top 3 Three Ways to Find Good Rehab and Repair Contractors”. Number one was referrals. Number two was a list of licensed contractors from your city. And number three was driving around and looking at repair jobs and stuff. Every time you see a repair job, ask the contractors who they are, what kind of work they do, and get their contact information.
Ready to step up your game?
Check out my step-by-step real estate investing courses for both beginner and advanced investors.
Are you looking for a 1-On-1 real estate investing mentor?
Check out my Monthly Coaching and/or Hourly Consulting Programs.