Goverment Jobs.

gman1985

a budddy of mine used to install siding working for the goverment , he would never told me how he got em all i know that he was booked for couple a month ALL the time , and that he had to wait for weeks to get paid sometimes. Anyone know how those gov. jobs work and where bid on em ?

SelfContract

It's secret! ... and he don't want to divulge because he's afraid of ... Fierce Competition!

d4vid

Goverment jobs are usually posted on the few websites (usually you have to pay) one that I used before was construction.com run by McGraw-Hill was the one that my ex company used.
Before you start bidding for the job make sure you do a lot of research and preperation. It's always good to have a long years of experience. Bond and Insured.
Talk to someone who worked at a construction company preparing a BID documents it can get pretty tricky.
Sometimes your going to under bid on some jobs so it's very risky. Money doesn't really flow unless you get the contract so make sure you have some money to survive.
My previous company was also a 8(a) certified, owner was smart to have a wife run the company so they can qualify for the WBE, also Minority owned business certified.
Just by being certified they give you 15% advantage on bid price but watch out for the Union's they will hunt you down if your not a Union company.

jtpro

It's much like the "sought after" $55 an hour disaster rebuild jobs. They're out there and I've spoke to guys who in the past have worked them and FEMA jobs.

But other than scam outfits like TBII, guys are keeping the LEGITAMATE contact info close to their vest!

gman1985

marlow

first of all for most all of these jobs, you have to be a licensed GC. In some cases you can just have a home improvement license but most all government agencies require you to be a GC have insurance, comp and be bonded. A lot of the government jobs come through HUD and also through CAAs (community action agencies or community action Committees) and HRAs (Human resource agencies) In my area I have hooked up with a local ofice that does weatherization and home modifications. Office of aging and disability is where you can get gigs building ramps and installing ADA toilets and roll in shower pans. These jobs pay good. I wont tell you what I am averaging a day but, its definitely worth doing some research to find the gigs.

Yes you have to wait sometimes a few weeks to get paid but usually they pay me in 10-12 days or less.

I found out about this stuff from a blurb in the back of the local newspaper looking for contractors to do weatherization. It was in the help wanted or services wanted section of the classifieds.

I didnt end up doing any weatherization but I did get on with the home mods side of it. which is funded by both federal weatherization money and medicare stuff.

Also, a lot of the aging and disability stuff is medicare and medicaid funded.

You have to do A LOT of homework and being lucky helps a lot to. I would suggest finding out who your states economic development person is and calling them. Its a lot of phone calls and walking in to random peoples offices but it does pay off.

Also, in a lot of these programs they have certification programs that the GCs have to attend or they are not allowed access to these programs. These classes are usually only offered once or twice a year so you cant just stroll in and pick up a contract.

Also you can check your local city/county purchasing office. If you are a licensed GC they may allow you to register as a "vendor" which will be a listserve type emailing deal that contacts everyone on their vendor list for contracts to bid on.
good luck.

ARI001

If you get into it watch the change orders. Issuing change orders can delay payment even longer. As long as you have a pretty decent bankroll you can do pretty good with government contracts. You can pay for the information but invitations to bid are put out in newspapers, magazines, and on government websites as well.

Astrix

If you are thinking of tendering a government job, then make sure you have your insurance broker check the insurance specs. I find that the government contracts have the most requirements and almost always will necessitate changes or increases to the contractor's insurance program. For example, most government jobs will now insist you carry pollution liability insurance (guess they're trying to be politically correct re environmental protection). Also, they are very bull-headed re sticking to the contract's insurance specs even if they don't make sense. For example, their standard contract might read that you have to carry XCU (blasting, collapse, underpinning) cover which is not cheap. This makes sense if you do demolition or excavating. However, there is no common sense when dealing with government bureaucracy - I've called on cases like this to explain why the extra insurance isn't necessary for the job in question and the standard response is: "It's in the contract and the contractor signed it, so they have to provide it. If they don't, we'll hold them in breach of contract".

Some of them also have crazy Hold Harmless Agreements, whereby by signing the contract you also agree to take on liability that isn't your own. Sometimes insurance does not cover this, so if there's a claim, you have to pay yourself (which can potentially bankrupt a business if the liability claim is a big one).

It's true that the government jobs can be lucrative; especially now when a lot of "stimulus money" is available; just be very careful re what you might be signing up for.

ARI001

You should not sign any contracts government or state without having your lawyer and broker read over them. Doing so could lead to additional expenses that are not accounted for during the initial bidding process. This should be common sense to anybody engaged in contracting.

maninthesea

I do a bit of Government work but most of it is either subbed to me from the shipyard or its small stuff that can be run on credit card $3K or less. I dont have to compete much for the work becuase I am prettty much have the goodwill and confidence of the customers and there is not much of another option anyway.
Of the few larger contracts I have had that were direct with me for what I consider larger over $10K I have either been paid within 10 days of completion or it took around 2 months. One think I would be wary of is WAWF wide are workflow. Its something they are trying to implement over here to make things work better but its done nothing but delay payment for me!
Some of the companies I know will offer a "prompt payment discount" of 10% if paid within 15days of invoice. They just increase the final price by 10% so its worth waiting if they dont get paid on time.
One of the places to look for contracts over here is fedbizops.gov or fbo.gov
Any of you guys that are not tied down might consider Guam in the next few years. There is a MASSIVE military buildup going on that includes moveing in something like 12,000 marines and all that goes with them plus Navy and Air Force buildups. A lot of concrete is going to get poured!

Red Adobe

With privitization the residential gov work dropped off alot, its now companys like HUNT building homes for the gov. It takes as long to get work thru them and paid as gov. 1 mill in liability is what I had to get

You might look on the local military instalations website, army corps of eng, or DoD, They have a list of upcoming projects and points of contact.

woodman1

how do get goverment contract?