A contractor that is an expert at renovating is essential in house flipping. Finding the best contractor for your flip project can make all of the difference in your real estate investment’s profitability, especially when you’re looking to buy and flip an investment property quickly for a profit.
How to find a house to flip? – What do I need to flip a house?
Here is our house flipping checklist that you can follow:
Finding a contractor you can trust will help the renovation project go smoothly and successfully, but it’s not always easy to find a great contractor. In fact, finding the best contractor for your flip houses can, at times, seem like looking for a needle in the haystack.
Experience in the Real Estate Market is a Key To Success
With over 20 years of experience in real estate investments, we’re often asked, “How can I find the best contractor for my flip houses?”. To help answer that question, we put together a contractor vetting checklist that includes the critical information you need to learn before signing the contract for your next rehab project.
Contractor Vetting Checklist:
How to Find the Best Contractor for Your Flip Houses Project
8 Tips to Ensure a Profitable Real Estate Investment Renovation
This Is Our Flipping A House Checklist
1. Determine the contractor’s experience with renovations requiring similar skills
If you want to find a contractor with experience doing flipping house project(s) you need to be completed.
Ask the contractor about other similar projects that they’ve completed. Always ask for photos and get a few references to call and question how the project went from start to finish.
2. Project plan with a house flipping project time frame
Ensure the contractor can outline a reasonable plan that will enable them to complete the renovation & flip the house on time. Ask if there will be a project manager assigned and what their experience is with the type of renovations you will have done.
When calling on references, ask their former clients about the contractor’s ability to deliver on time, on budget. Remember, the longer the project takes to complete, the higher your holding expenses are. If the project goes over your preferred timeline, more of your time will be needed to oversee the status.
3. Number of clients maintained at one time
Always ask the contractor how many projects they will be working on while your project is in progress. Also, ask the references how many tasks the contractor was balancing when their work was completed. You want to ensure the contractor and his/her staff can manage your project along with their other projects promptly. Your real estate investment and return depend on it.
4. Money down pre, during, and post-project completion
Rule number one, don’t pay upfront. This can be a challenge for the contractor and you, given, that both parties are new to each other and have not yet established a level of trust.
To help bridge the gap, let the contractor know you will pay for materials as they are needed. Always ask for an outline of what was spent and receipts.
Also, note you will pay labor by the job completed or in weekly disbursements based on completion. Never pay labor in advance. One too many real estate investors have been stuck with a project underway and no completion.
Money is the one thing that will motivate your contractor to perform the work/house flip and provide high quality in the timeframe you’re looking for.
5. Experience with permits
The permit process can be a timely one, and you want to make sure that you and the contractor agree on the permits that will be pulled when required. You should also check that the contractor performing the renovation is registered with the local municipality, so they can pull the permits.
6. Certifications
Always ask the contractor what certifications they have for their scope of work. Make sure they have the specific certifications your project requires and that they are current.
7. Insurance
DFW Hard Money Lender requires builders’ risk insurance for any hard money loan or construction loan. We recommended that you also check that the contractor has a general liability policy for their company & flipping houses. Always get proof, don’t merely rely on their word.
8. Customer testimonials
You can never do enough due diligence. Reach out to customers the contractor refers you to, and ask the questions referenced in the flip house checklist above. Make sure the customer is legitimate and not a friend or family member of the contractor. I can’t stress the importance of this step enough.
Review photos of past work they completed and ask many questions about specifics and what the working relationship was like. Find out how the contractor handled issues or challenges that came up. Also, ask for past approved and completed permits showing they complied with all requirements.
When you invest in real estate, you are putting your money and borrowed money on the line.
Making sure the contractor you hire meets the above requirements will help your renovation project/home flipping go smoothly. Their scope of work & experience is key.
Without a doubt, you’ll come upon issues, and that’s why having a contractor that’s professional and experienced is critical to the success of the renovation.
More importantly, will yield success for your renovation, whether you’re flipping the house, commercial building, or maintaining it as a rental.
Flipping A House? – Get Expert Help
Finding the best contractor for your fix & flip project who is also an expert and can complete your project without issues is critical to an investor’s success. DFW Hard Money is an expert private money lender providing honest and simple loans for real estate investing & house flipping in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Money Loans To Start Flipping – We Will Make An Offer
We specialize in 24-hour funding with competitive terms, no appraisal, and no predetermined down payment required.
Whether you want to fix and flip, or need funds for commercial, transactional funding, developments, or you’re a first-time or experienced investor, we’re here to help. If you have been looking for information on what do I need to do? then we hope you found this house flipping checklist useful and wish you luck in any house flipping you undertake.
Contact us with any flipping houses questions or for a free consultation call (817)200-7575.