With housing headed downward
 

Shouldn't it be easier to get a home improvement contractor?:confused:

So how come I can barely get one to show up let alone commit to a contract?

I'm ready to pay a fair price for a job I can't do, so what gives?

Give it another 6 months.

Yep, most still think they can treat people like crap, charge very high prices, and still have people knocking down their door.

Ask me how I know... ;)

Don't whine!!!! :D At least it sounds like they showed up!

You should cry and whine for me since out of 15 contractors whom I called to do a 3-car garage driveway, guess how many called back?................................


0, zero, nada!


I was p!ssed!

So...any GCs on the board near me looking for a few $10K bills?

Nope. I'm still in the being blown off stage.

Learn Spanish.

If you were about 80 miles closer id have a look.:D What kind of work are you looking for.

the west end of my house needs a total foundation job.

Housing headed downward.

Yes, but there is still money to be made. I fly airplanes for a living, but on the side me and a friend own a company that buys houses around Fort Lauderdale and resells them after flipping them over. Bad real estate market? Hello? Last year we turned over every house we bought, and in the end our tax return indicated that our company made 6% on our investors money.

This year? Remains to be said. If everything that we think will sell does..we will be pretty close to last year. But one or two sales gone sour? We are in the red.

The long and short: There is ALWAYS a way to make money in real estate. Everyone...save the bum who lives behind the local Publix grocery store...needs a place to live. Prices going up? Money to be made. Prices going down? Money to be made. All it takes is research.

N

Congrats.

Does 6% give an attractive return/risk? A risk free investment (US govt 10 yr bonds) is yielding almost 5%. Is an extra 1% return enough to compensate for the risk?

I am not knocking your work and success, I am simply curious about this.

You tell me. Is it?

The point being...it's different for all of us. People with millions of dollars should invest in depressed properties in south florida right now. The long term investment portfolio based upon this looks like a swimming pool report. There is lots of water, and you are sure to have a kid swimming in it...pushing his pubic hairs aside. If he's smart he'll keep his mouth shut and and his options open.

Getting back to the pilot group....

N!

6% return for house flipping? Mercy. Please tread carefully. You're one bad flip away from disaster.
regards, jurgen

It would not seem like enough excess return to be attractive, to me.

This is too zen for me to understand . . .

How much have FL properties declined from the peak? I'd be inclined to wait until it is something like -40%, or until prices have been rising for a solid year, whicheve comes first.

I feel your pain.

There is a housing boom where I live, and it's become apparent that contractors will do every last new construction project until they'll touch a renovation job.

One guy laid it out pretty simple for me: renovation jobs take more time, are more likely to have complications, and have a lower margin... they are at the bottom of the list. It gets frustrating when you have $$ in hand and they won't even return your calls.

I need to have a foundation wall replaced on the garage, and have been trying for two months to get someone out to even give a quote.

It's getting to the point where I may say fk it and DIY the job with friends... (my dad has a wicked set of tools).

That'll be NFN's next thread: "Engine drop and foundation pouring party: cars, coffee, and cement"

Well, I remmeber when flatbutt was describing the foundation (or lack thereof) issues on the front of his house. Several people chimed in and siad they should do a "engine drop weekend" style work party. I love stuff like that; if I was nearby, I'd be in for something like that.

With enough friends, pizza & beer, just about any project can be taken on. Generally, you only need a couple smart people (good thing I have friends), and a whole lot of grunt. It's a great way to build skills & friendships.

When you can't get the pros to even call you back, the DIY option starts to look like an even better option. Especilally if the only contractors who will answer you calls have their phone number in blue masking tape on the side of their van.

The problems are two-fold:

1. You can get MUCH better rates of return elsewhere (especially given the level of risk) and

2. The barrier-to-entry costs are extremely high. To get into RE "flipping", you need about $50k to $100k to play with. To get into options, you need about $5k.

After the Northridge quake in '93, you were lucky to get a dishonest contractor to call back much less a decent one. I had to rebuild my garage and chimney, so having a background in construction I ended up doing it myself. So now, with a garage full of "killer" tools, every project from there on out has been DIY.

I've helped a lot of friends out with their own projects, due to contractors not calling back, job wasn't worth their time, or just plain not showing up.

This is not meant to slam all contractors, it's just that with the recent real estate boom, anyone with a hammer and a pickup truck jumped into the fray.

I'm with "the". Give it 6 months and they'll be down at the local IHOP, drinking coffee with the part time "soccer Mom" real estate agents talking about the "good ol' days".