1. Ask for referrals – at least three of them – and call all three.

2. Get at least three contractors to give you bids on the same project. Then decide.

3. Have a “written” agreement between you and the contractor specifying the date they will start, date they will finish the project. Ijlal Inner Circle members Dave Schmidt and Paul Mueller both came out with their versions. Both of them excellent.

4. Have the cost of the rehabbing in writing, on paper from all of your contractors.

5. Have a bonus for them if they finish on time – a per day penalty to be deducted from their final payout if they don’t.

6. Don’t give them the money to buy materials. Go to Home Depot or Lowes with them.

7. Have a timeline for the project – for the week – you should know what will get done Monday to Friday this week and the week after. You will catch delays immediately instead of waiting a month and finding out. My members use a spreadsheet that was developed in-house to manage that.

8. Tell them over and over again that this is just the beginning of a beautiful relationship – if they don’t screw it up. You intend to do more houses and give them more business if they show up and do what they are supposed to do.

9. For your first three deals in Michigan you should stay within $20,000 in rehab if you are doing or planning to do fixer uppers. Preferably under $15,000 or even less if you could. If you cannot find houses in that range they you probably are not looking in the right place.

10. You should know what needs to be fixed in the house. Asking a contractor what needs to be done in this house is like going to a restaurant and asking the waiter if the fish sandwich is any good? They have a selfish interest to make money; as much as they can and off course they will tell you more than what needs to be fixed.

One final note; if you are having trouble finding good people to work for you then try running a Help Wanted Ad in your metro area newspaper in Michigan. Last time I did that we got over 250 phone calls – references, licenses, resumes – you name it they bought it in.

There is no shortage of good contractors in Michigan. They pretty much all suck at marketing themselves so they are most of the time broke. I know licensed builders working for $10 per hour and actually happy that they are getting a steady paycheck.

Also when you do find somebody good – really take care of them. Ijlal Inner Circle member Rita Dalian found a great basement guy. I have been sending all my members to him.

I found a great property inspector guy – all of my members now use him. Good people once found should be cherished and relationships with them nurtured.

Give and give more; you will get more and more back.