3 Summer Staging Tips for Any Flip
By Christina El Moussa
When you find a really great contractor to do your rehabs for your fix and flip houses, it can feel a lot like you just made a new best friend. You know they’ll treat you fairly and that their work is more than up to par, and they know that they can count on you to supply them with plenty of work in the future. Everyone wins!
Of course, finding a high quality contractor doesn’t mean that you won’t have a few things that you need to discuss and agree on before they start working on a project. Communication is key to ensuring that you get the right work done, that you don’t go over-budget, and that everyone’s happy at the end of the day. So how can you make sure that you and your contractor are on the same page? Make sure you discuss a few key factors before they start any work.
When Are They Going to Be Working?
You might think that this question only matters if you’re having a home renovated while you’re living in it, as you’ll need to know when you need to be home and when you can go to bed without hearing the dulcet tones of hammers and power tools. However, knowing when your contractor and their workers will be on the job is important for a house flipper as well as for a homeowner doing a renovation.
You want to know when you can expect them to show up so that you can schedule other workers like landscapers, plumbers, etc., who need to have access to the property. You also need to keep the neighbors in mind, as well. You don’t want to piss them off with lots of hammering late into the night or at the crack of dawn, so find out about local noise ordinances and the general feel of the neighborhood before you talk with your contractor about how early or late they should be working on any given day.
Who Has Access to the Property?
Tarek and I have dealt with more than a few nightmares along the way in our house flipping career, but some of the worst have been vandalization. It’s one thing to buy a house that you know has been vandalized. It’s another to think that you have everything in order and then come back to find someone’s gotten inside and broken windows, stolen copper pipes, or otherwise set you back.
A big part of maintaining the security on a flip property is going to be making sure that you can trust everyone who has access. Will you be giving your contractor a key, or will you need to show up to unlock the front door for them every morning? Will they be the only one with access to the key, or will someone else need it? Get this stuff ironed out before work starts, and you’ll feel a lot better about your property’s security.
Mid-Job Communication
Finally, what should your contractor do if they find something that you didn’t plan for? Whom should they contact and how? Of course, they’ll probably be calling or texting you, but you want to make sure that this is clear before they get started and before anyone makes any expensive decisions without telling you.
Talk about these three things with your contractor before they start working on any fix and flip house; you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that you’re in good hands and that your contractor will be in touch with you if anything unexpected happens.
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