The #1 Reason Your Remodel Has Slowed to a Crawl

Posted by Robb Terranova under Real Estate Investing, Renovation/Building | Be the First to Comment

What is the biggest reason a remodel project slows down or stops entirely? Your contractor has other priorities. Here is how you can take control of the problem.

A contractor will always have other priorities and it’s your job to make your project his number one.

The single biggest tool of leverage you have to make your contractor keep you number one on his list is tenacity.

If you don’t keep just one arm’s length away you can breed complacency, and if his phone rings with other pressing issues you may be on the losing end when competing for his time.

You may not even be aware this is happening on your project. If the contractor leaves the job for other work, he likes to make it look innocent enough at first. Usually he will say that he must go, but it will only be for a day then he will be right back.

You can’t avoid this scenario entirely, and there will be times when the contractor is going to go elsewhere. You cannot stop him from going, but it is your job to mitigate the lost time.

Diligently stay in touch with phone calls asking if he is still on track to returning back to work. If he suggests anything that drastically alters the original plan start “crying the blues”.

Start to tell him you understand how sometimes emergencies do come up elsewhere. Then remind him that you depended on him to stay committed to this job until complete.

Always tell him you are very, very happy with the work he has done to this point, but now you’re very concerned about your project and its sensitive deadline may suffer because he has chosen to leave your site for another.

You can say something like, “Please get your work done as quickly as possible so you can return to our project”. Then add, “I only have a couple of days that I can spare you away”.

What you are doing is setting the table for the next level of discipline. If he isn’t back and working within the renegotiated time then you must take the next step.

Call him to tell him that you regrettably must consider replacing him with another contractor. Tell him how much you would hate that. Tell him how happy you were with his work, but he has now put you in a very awkward position that you must rectify. Ask him firmly but nicely to return immediately.

If he doesn’t respond, you need to cut your losses and replace this guy. You gave him numerous decision points and he still continued to choose elsewhere. He can’t say you just woke up one morning and without any warning cut him out of the deal. That’s important.

If you have to replace your contractor, setting the tone with your new guy at the start is crucial to momentum later in the project. Start with preliminary phone calls to give momentum a chance to warm up and don’t relax until a couple of days of work have been done.

Call the contractor a few days before the scheduled start, always the day before the start and usually the morning of the start to confirm he is on his way to meet you. It’s hard to overwork the starting momentum of a job and its importance is under rated. The message you send at this point to the contractor will help you throughout your work with him.

It’s your job to resend the same message throughout the course of the project that you are here, you are paying attention and you have a clear objective of your business together.

For more information, my book “How to Take Control of Your Contractor Nightmare and Finish Your Remodeling Project FAST!” is packed full of valuable insider tips that will give you instant insight into how a contractor operates so you can get the performance and results of a professional builder.