Ever wish there was a manual that you could go through that would show you all the ways that my team and I find our great real estate investment deals? Perhaps a book that included links to the sites we use, details on each and even some real life case studies? Well guess what – THIS EXISTS! And, it’s FREE!
I am giving away my newest report, “55 Simple and Powerful Ways to Find Killer Real Estate Investments,” just click here to download. There’s no catch and most of these methods are completely free to use. This guide could be the quick-start you need to jump into the exciting and rewarding world of real estate investment.
I’ve been keeping a growing list of these methods for a while now and I’m happy to share them with you. Every time I meet with my Maverick Mastermind Group, we discuss new ways we are finding deals and thanks to them, the list was up to 55!
14 Simple Methods to Find Qualified Contractors
Another big road block that many of my students come to in the process of rehabbing a property is finding good, quality contractors. It’s tough to find a crew that will be reliable and do good work for you. I have a great group that I regularly use now that I’ve flipped over 700 properties, but I remember how hard it was to find good contractors at the beginning.
I’m going to discuss 14 Simple Methods to Find Qualified Contractors to help eliminate this issue for you.
- Home Depot Contactor Desk – Hang out here early, between 6-7am in the morning to spot contractors that are motivated and ready to work.
- Real Estate Investor Associations or Clubs – Find your local REI club and network to gather business cards and references.
- Scope the Parking Lot – Check out the parking lots at Home Depot, Lowe’s or your local REI to spot the nicest work trucks. Look specifically for clean vehicles with a company name or logo on the side for advertising.
- Look for Other Local Rehab Projects – If you’re driving by a house that is getting work done and see a contractor’s truck, check it out and see what their specialty is and if the crew is available directly for hire.
- Look for Fundamental Groups – In my area of Ohio, there are a lot of groups of Amish who may be available to work on rehabs.
- Municipal Department - Go to your local municipal department and ask for a list of approved contractors.
- Craigslist – Put an ad on Craigslist look for qualified contactors, carpenters, plumbers, etc. Ask for a resume and past work examples.
- Material Supply Houses - Visit places that sell in bulk. They always have a list of installers and see if they are willing to give you recommendations on who to use.
- Builders – Home Builders Association have contractors that they can’t keep busy and are looking for side work.
- Realtors – Especially realtors that work with foreclosure properties.
- National Association of Remodelers Industry – org has all of the investors and contractors who are members listed on the site.
- Angie’s List – You can pay $2 to become a member and you will be provided with lists of local businesses and their ratings.
- Home Advisor – com has lists of professionals that have passed background screenings and you can get quotes for the job.
- Yard Signs – Look for signs around your neighborhood that local contractors have put down after completing work to advertise their company.
To listen to and download this entire episode of Strategic Real Estate Investing Radio, click here.
Rehab Punch Lists
To keep on the same topic of rehabs, contractors and flipping investment properties, I also want to cover rehab punch lists. The actual definition of a punch list is a list of usually minor tasks to be completed at the end of a project.
The property in the video below is 2313 Iota Drive in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and we bought it for $53,000. The renovation budget is $31,000 and we were set back about two weeks because once we opened up the walls, we realized the entire property needed new plumbing and electrical.
Let’s take a walk through the house:
You can see that we’re wrapping up our projects, we give ourselves two weeks before the property launch to make sure everything in perfectly in place. I like to be the one to do the walk-throughs because I can look at the property as an outsider and see things through the buyer’s eyes. There should be NO reason why a buyer would pass on your house. It should be move-in ready and the buyers should be able to walk-through and be able to picture themselves living there without having to do any work.
We ended up listing the property for $139,900 like we had planned and it sold for our asking price!
I hope this blog post was helpful to you. Just one more reminder, once you download my e-book, 55 Simple and Powerful Ways to Find Killer Real Estate Deals, please jump on our Facebook page and let me know what you think. Your feedback helps me to know what’s working and what we need more of.
Be Daring,
Josh
CEO Strategic Real Estate Coach
CEO Freeland Ventures and Freeland Lending
CEO Yellow Jacket Properties
Become a “SREC TV” You Tube subscriber here and learn free video lessons on real estate investing
Connect with us on:
