My wife Stephanie and I walked into a property in Bridesburg (subdivision of Philadelphia) we purchased recently.  We just paid the contractor the 2nd installment of $3,000 without seeing the progess so we figured it was time to check in.

In the past, we have always been disappointed with the quality of the work that has been done on our personal investment properties so I guess our expectations were pretty low.  We have been used to "painters" white-washing their with their spray guns and when you walk in everything is painted, including everything you told them not to paint !

In any event, when we walked in, we could smell the aroma of fresh paint and saw all the tools.  A good sign - at least they have been there !  But seriously, a quick look through the house showed that the work is going very well so far.  The paint looks good - is smooth and even.  A new kitchen floor was put down that is level and looks great.  The bathroom is ready to be completly finished as it was pretty much gutted.   We can see that the quality of work has been great.  In addition, it looks like they are on schedule.  What a relief !!!!!!

In the past, one of the mistakes that we did was going with the low-cost contractor.  We thought we were making out, but no way.  In the end, we were left with a sloppier rehab which would make it a little bit longer to rent the place out and perhaps for a lower rental amount.  Further, and more importantly, there would be more bugs and service calls later on.  Our philosophy has now changed to pay more for good work in the beginning and to have a better product in the end to offer a tenant with less issues to deal with after they move in.

PICKING THE RIGHT CONTRACTOR IS CRUCIAL TO MAKING YOUR INVESTMENT PROPERTY WORK FOR YOU !

Christopher and Stephanie Somers   RE/MAX Affiliates  www.thesomersteam.com Philadelphia, PA