Questions to Ask When you Interview Handyman

Questions to Ask When you Interview Handyman

ok, I've been interviewing handymen to do my out of state rehabs, and here are the questions that I've been asking when I interview them; anyone has anything to add?

1. Do you live in town where house I want to rehab is located
2. How many rehabs have you done in the past; how long in business
3. What are you currently working on
4. How long does it take you on average to rehab a house
5. Will you provide a written estimate
6. How do you estimate your costs
7. How soon can you start
8. How will you communicate with me during rehab
9. Are you licensed; if yes, for what
10. Can you provide references/photos of work done
11. Do you require a deposit, if yes, how much.
12. Do you mark up your supplies/materials
13. do you guarantee your work; come back to fix if there is a problem.

__________________

Valerie

“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!” ― Dr. Seuss

"I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends; I am surrounded by angels, but I call them friends" - Unknown

My journal: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/59110/...


You have some good ones already.

I'd love to hear what anyone else had to add. But I'm curious, what do you mean when you ask if they "mark up" their supplies/materials? Thanks - your friend, Steven.

__________________

Steven Skinner
President/CEO
SLWS, Inc


INSURED

make sure they are insured. They may burn the house down.

Steve skinner: contractors get discounts on materials/supplies and mark the price up for added profits and charge for the time to p/u.

__________________

Mike
https://tvallc.isrefer.com/go/RehabLite/renvestr/ Free tools


Steve

some contractors will purchase the materials, and instead of just charging you the cost that they paid for them, they will add 5%, etc.

Thank you Mike; yes, that's true, even though one will (should) have the house insured, we want to use contractor's insurance instead of our own.

__________________

Valerie

“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!” ― Dr. Seuss

"I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends; I am surrounded by angels, but I call them friends" - Unknown

My journal: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/59110/...


Val

How about bonded?

Will he do the work himself or sub it out?

How about getting a copy of his driver's license or some sort of ID? Especially if most of this is all done by phone and email, etc?

Karen

__________________

"You're never too old to be what you were meant to be!"

www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/59128/day-for...

"Shining Like a Star & Dancing on Sunshine"

"Shoot for the moon! Even if you fall short, you'll still land among the stars!"


Request to see Copies of Documents

Although most of this string is related to first interview questions, before completing a contractor's agreement with an intended contractor you will want to see the documents on their license, insurance, and bonding. I would also recommend that you check consumer review websites and focus on finding the superstars who always receive very high ratings. Angieslist.com is such a site, and costs about $20/year for a subscription.

__________________

Dallin Wall
Real Estate Training Team
Forum Blog Location--A collection of my
"Best of" posts:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/blogs/dwall


Great points Karen and Dallin!

this is exactly what this site is all about! sharing knowledge and ideas is priceless!

Karen, I especially like the tip to get a copy of his D.L. because even if we ask all the questions, some handymen will LIE!!!!!

Dallin, great tip; I had a handyman give me his license #... it didn't exist!!!

__________________

Valerie

“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!” ― Dr. Seuss

"I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends; I am surrounded by angels, but I call them friends" - Unknown

My journal: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/59110/...


Happy to Help

Valerie: Always happy to assist, I think it is great that you posted the list for people to add to. I'm going to post a similar list of questions for wholesale cash buyers either today or tomorrow, inspired by you. I got into the lists that we have already in the program and found that they just don't include everything that is needed to effectively go shopping for these cash buyers. If we are going to provide a service in the marketplace, we need to gather the information necessary to do so.
I'd like to issue a challenge to anyone else who wants to accept it to create lists of questions and steps that are comprehensive for people to use. Also, if anyone has a particular way that they explain something to sellers, agents, attorneys, etc., let's list those items as well. I constantly find that people feel lacking in verbiage to express what they need to other people.
Once again, thanks for an inspiring post.

__________________

Dallin Wall
Real Estate Training Team
Forum Blog Location--A collection of my
"Best of" posts:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/blogs/dwall