I am a recent start up have not completely jumped in.....Working for the man and myself.
I am gearing up for service only. The area I'm wanting to get in bed with is Commercial & Residential property management companies. I already have the grocery list of them A thru Z.
And I already have a plan. I was wondering if any of you guys out there have experience with this market and could sling me some of the " Do's and Don'ts". Thanks
You're in the catfish end of the market....
Good luck.
BTDT. Lots of these guys promise lots of work, need it done NOW....and are slow pay, if ever pay. There are a few good ones, but most property management firms are scum. Failed realtors. Especially where housing is involved.
Nor is the work much fun. You spend a lot of time cleaning up the maintenance mans' or tenants' mess. Or, trying to get another circuit in the obsolete panel.
Just be real careful about getting change orders, additions documented- and don't go out on a limb; make sure you get apid promptly!
You're in the catfish end of the market....
I was thinking it's more of the carppie end of the market.
Tom
Right now the need is constant. I know in that industry that they would rather put a band aid than spend the money too fix it right. So the business is constant. I used to deal with an owner of a string of gas stations. And it was the same thing.....they wanted the bare ass minimum. But because of that i was there all the time and made alot more than if they would let me fix everything. This is the short term until I can develop the contractor and customer relationships that are for the long term. so I guess my question needs to be warning signs, weeding out the trash etc.,.,.,
Make sure you get paid.
Don't give anyone more credit then your willing to loose.
Don't leave yourself liable for unsafe conditions or repairs not made - ducument and get signed.
Don't think about the promices of more work to come. Price each job fairly. Don't price low so you can get the next job with the person.
Don't back down on your prices. They want to pay less then maybe you could offer to do not as much work.
Associations can waist your time. They may want a bid on some project. You need to figure out the details like how many fixtures they have on each building. You do all the leg work. Wait for a meeting. Then some want the price broken down per unit because their unit is a shorter run to the panel, or their building has less fixtures. So they may want to see every unit charged a different amount X how many units. It can go thru meetings for months. In the end some can never agree on anything and nothing is done.
Tom
gee thanks......sounds like youve run this gammit before
I can clearly remember plenty of $1,000 bucks gross days working for a big property management outfit. Their customer base was condo apartments 2 story to 30 story. Most are located in the same general area of the city. I charged $50 bucks for each service call (service charge) and my full labor rate, one hour minimum, except I finished most of the jobs in much less than an hour. I would hit the first one, drive 2 blocks over to the next one, 3 blocks to the next, you get the Idea. I tried to do all their stuff on Friday's and Saturdays. The bills went directly to each condo association board, so nobody wised up about how much this was making me. That gig ended when the woman who called my company all the time quit and her new replacement's boyfriend is one of my competetors.