In this YouTube video, seasoned house flipper Joe Homs explains why many investors struggle to find reliable contractors and outlines four common self‑inflicted pitfalls: (1) setting unrealistically high expectations for perfection, (2) always choosing the lowest bid, which often hides inexperience and hidden costs, (3) failing to understand overhead and over‑bids, leading to surprise charges for items that should have been included in the original estimate, and (4) misaligned goals and mind‑sets between investor and contractor. He provides practical guidance for each issue—such as vetting contractors, asking detailed questions about experience and past work, reviewing bids for hidden overhead, defining a clear scope of work, and anticipating change orders—so that both parties stay on the same page and projects succeed. The video ends with a call‑to‑action to watch a finished flip walkthrough and invites viewers to reach out with questions.
Chapters
In today's video, I'm going to show you why you're never going to find a good contractor. Coming up next. If you're still struggling on how to find a good contractor, that's understandable. Finding the right one for you can be a tedious process, but sometimes it's important to reflect on yourself and what you're looking for in contractors. And if you're going through the process in the best way for yourself, here are 4 reasons why you're making it that much more difficult for yourself. Welcome back to the channel. I've flipped hundreds of homes in one of the most competitive markets in the US. I made this channel for the new and experienced investor. Make sure to like, subscribe, and share this video with, with anyone looking to flip houses. Let's get to it. Reason number 1, your expectations are too high. Not unusual, especially if you're a first-time flipper, especially if it's your first project. You expect this project to be nothing but perfect. It has to be top-notch. Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Number 2, you always take the lowest bid. You're asking for problems the minute you take the lowest bid. It's either inexperience on the contractor's part putting the bid together, hoping that he gets his first job maybe. And then he'll start, you know, asking you for more money along the way. And that's what usually happens with the lowest bid. So be careful with the lowest bid. You need to ask more questions. You need to know how experienced this contractor is. You need to go look at their work. You need to do all of that stuff. Number 3, you don't understand overhead quotes. And when you get a bid on a job, I always like to tell the contractor, here, you're looking at this job. This is what it's going to cost at the end of the day. I really don't want any overbid or quotes for stuff that wasn't in the original bid. Now understand, if you're asking your contractor to build you another room, then obviously there's some costs there that weren't taken up on the first initial bid of the project. But you know, if he's opening up a wall and there's a couple of 2x4s that have termite damage that he feels that they need to be replaced, that honestly, that should have been in the original bid even though you couldn't see it. It's not a big cost. He should have had some room in that original bid to take care of that stuff. It's when you're starting to get these overbids from these contractors for every little thing that comes up, you have a problem with a contractor. Number 4, your goals don't align. Your mindset doesn't align. Your contractor is here and you're over in left field, or vice versa. You have to make sure that both of you are on the same page, that everything, all the details are in the original scope of work so that he can bid it correctly for you. And then you both know what's going on. Understand that as you're going through the process, there may be stuff that comes up. Yeah, I didn't want this light fixture here anymore. I want you to maybe move it over a little bit or put this light fixture in there. Those things are understandable. They happen along the way. Does your contractor want to charge you a little bit more for something that is an afterthought. Yeah, and that should be expected. But other than that, you know, you should be both on the same page. Most contractors want to provide quality work that they can be proud of, along with fair wages that they can support themselves and their family. This is why it's so important to go through the process of finding the right contractors for your needs so that each of your projects can be a success. If you love flipping and want to see one of our most successful flips, click on this video right here. I do a full walkthrough of the finished project, and I know you're going to love it. Feel free to reach out with any questions. I'm always here to help.
