Do hiring subcontractors mean more costs to owners?
If there are some things your general contracting company subcontracts, such as re-keying, does it end up costing more than if I just went directly to a locksmith?
It costs about the same- and sometimes less. At Rental Restoration, we’ve been able to arrange awesome deals with our vendors and subcontractors. For example, our electrical work runs at just $85/hour with no trip fees or minimums. If you’ve ever sent an electrician out to change out a bum GFCI outlet, you can appreciate how nice it would be to get a bill for just $85 plus materials! Plus, there’s the element of what your time is worth. If you have to coordinate five vendors to turnover a unit, how much time are you spending doing that and what is that time worth to you? Most PMs I know would welcome the oppty to spend their time getting new properties instead of sitting on a locksmith to get a job done… only to have to do the same thing with the painters.
Here’s an update on our latest projects…
In July and August we had so many mini-reno’s from tenants turning over. Did a ton of whole-house interior painting, installing new flooring, replacing countertops and plumbing fixtures, carpet cleaning, re-keys etc. The property managers we worked with loved being able to just make one phone call to make it all happen! And the properties we worked on seemed to rent quicker with their fresh face-lift. Prospective renters are getting picky with all the choices they have to choose from!
As you can imagine, we’ve been doing a lot of exterior work lately. Suddenly, everyone wants their deck sealed to battle the upcoming weather! I’ve worked with so many deck products over the years (before becoming a GC, I owned many properties and was a property manager too). I finally found a product I really, really love. It’s called Superdeck and for those in the PNW, you can get it at Dunn Lumber. Love this stuff. Great coverage and its triple oil formula really soaks in. I’m hoping my clients can get 3 years out of this stain, as opposed to transparent stains that tend to need a coat every year and most other semi-transparents that need coats about every two years.
Rental Restoration has also done some landscaping haulouts for those properties where the tenants tended to “let things go” over the summer. We’ve been able to go in, thin everything out and clean it up so that next spring everything comes back nicely.
What our clients say?
