Would You Pay Contractors For Bids?
HI;
Well,well,well....it's been about four months since I started my real estate career and I feel like I have a made a THOUSAND mistakes!! One thing I definently need help with is estimating repairs. (I can think of a million marketing ideas, but I suck at the nuts and bolts of repairing a house)It has cost me two deals; I offered too much because of a bad repair estimate(one because of sheer stupidity and another because I underestimated the severity of a cracks in foundation) But i have made friends with two contractors in the process and an idea occurred to me. Maybe I can pay contractors a nominal fee to come to a property and help estimate repairs(and teach me something in the process) I think I would have to pay them because I am not a rehabber and could not promise them any business. Any thoughts? Yes, I have the Ron Legrande course and use it as a guide, but I need more help. I have also considered taking courses at a local re school......Suggestions? 
I'm a contractor and a rehabber.You would have to pay me for bid.
So your right ,offering to pay,especially if there is no chance of a ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's***st of us guys in the remodel business don't do a lot of work for real estate ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's***here are a lot of unlicensed handy people out there who will do a passable job,for less money.Use them,and watch your step,and good luck!
I think there is a catch 22 to your thinking.
1) Any contractor who you would want to do the bid because they know what they are doing is going to charge you so much for their time that you won't be able to afford it.
2) Any contractor who charges you a fee that is affordable to you means he is new or he sucks at his job and has too much time on his hands and therefore someone whose estimate you shouldn't trust.
Well according to all of the previous advice you are just going to have to stop, look and learn how to do enough of all those little tasks to be able to proceed with your life's path.
Of course you could go on line and find a program of estimation. They come on Cd's you put the CD in the slot and after awhile some stuff comes up on the monitor. Now I know you can take it from there.
To enjoy it even more you might go to the Building department and pick up some of their little booklets. Some of them have a sample frame of a house with all the little parts having names and even praise the lord the correct dimensions. In this way you too can tell a Lintel from a Header and come to realize that a Jack Stud is not a heavenly endowed super male. I mean my god man, this is not rocket science. Just buy a book on basic construction at Home Depot, get a little educated, use the CD. Learn to chew tobacco, spit with fantastic aim and use a chop saw without detaching your more important fingures. Go out on building sites, stay out of the way. Do not go out with a business suit on and a hard hat. You may never be able to cut dovetails freehand or kick a corner into line with one blow of your strange looking boots. But you will learn just by observing the trades and trying to duplicate some of the functions. And dear friend in time you will grow attached and actualy learn that the hammer is used to strike a nail with the thick end not the curvy one.
Cheers I love it. Lucius
Last post was good ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's*** to Google,type Hometech for Remodelers.
Their estimating books are about $75,and are used by professional ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's*** get the system for a lot more ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's*** have been a carpenter for 30 years and refer to their system often,it works.
Thanks a lot for all of the suggestions. I will make a visit to Home Depot to pick up the book you suggested and maybe even purchase the CD
Lufos: You'll be pleased to know that I do know what side of the hammer to use--I'm not that bad--yet!! If so, I would quit this business all together!!!
I'll keep all of you posted.
If it is for a home that I own, I absolutely would not pay the contractor for a bid. But if I'm out trying to find a house to make an offer on and I want a contractor to evaluate all of my homes before making my offer, I'd consider paying them.
I sometimes recommend that a beginner pay for an itemized bid on a property that needs a lot of work and then use that bid as a point of reference for determing repairs to other homes they are considering.
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