new ways to find projects?

carpenter72 said:

When my father started in the carpentry trade in the early 70's, he was a preferred contractor for Allstate insurance in the Chicago area. Does anyone know if insurance companies do this anymore. Another thing I discussed with an electrician friend of mine was to go into real estate offices in my area (45 minutes from Chicago Illinois) and see if anyone buying up foreclosures might need a carpenter/contractor to do their fixups. Do you see this as a good idea, has anyone else tried this in their area? Let me know what you guys think.:clap:

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You're a bit north of me (40 minutes or so). I was slow for a couple months earlier this year and used my contacts at several banks. I don't think there are too many people buying up forclosures around here, but the banks are the ones stuck with these properties now.

The trend has been for the homeowners to totally trash the homes they are losing. The banks need contractors to get them in reasonable condition again. They will insist that you are completely legal, have licensed trades doing the work where applicable, insured, bonded etc. though.

It definitely filled my schedule up quickly.

rselectric1 said:

You're a bit north of me (40 minutes or so). I was slow for a couple months earlier this year and used my contacts at several banks. I don't think there are too many people buying up forclosures around here, but the banks are the ones stuck with these properties now.

The trend has been for the homeowners to totally trash the homes they are losing. The banks need contractors to get them in reasonable condition again. They will insist that you are completely legal, have licensed trades doing the work where applicable, insured, bonded etc. though.

It definitely filled my schedule up quickly.

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I've had a different experience. Banks typically will not do any improvements on foreclosed homes. If you read any MLS listing on a foreclosure, they will read "as is".

I actually purchased a foreclosure for myself last year. The process was painful at best. There are so many foreclosures in this area, the banks are overwhelmed and under-staffed. We submitted our offer that was accepted in Feb but ended up not closing until Jul. During that time, trying to get a hold of ANYONE involved with the bank-owned property was a joke. Even the listing agent was no help at all. The placed was not terribly trashed but definitely had issues.

We ran into a catch 22 because our bank would not give us a loan for a home in that condition yet the selling bank would do no repairs. Eventually, I just broke in and fixed things myself....on the down low. That was risky as if we didn't close on the property, I just did free work for someone else.

Even something seemingly as simple as getting the water service turned back on was a nightmare. I had to call in a favor to a city official to get things done.

I would not think banks are looking for contractors. However, talk with a local realtor. You may find they have customers purchasing these homes and then need a contractor. I think realtors are the way to go when it comes to looking for work with homes for sale or recently sold.

If you want to pursue the insurance angle, why not talk to your agent? If they want to keep your business liability policy, they may help direct you to the correct person to talk with.

Completely off topic, I used to work in Fox Lake and did many Thurs boat races at Blarney!!!! :clap:

One of the things I do is compile a list of real estate transactions that are listed in my 2 local papers weekly. To date I have about 250 names. I then send them a one page cover letter introducing myself and a list of what I offer. I also include my web address, email and a business card magnet. About 5% contact me and if they aren't ready to have the work done I at least have made an initial contact with them. I send out a post card etc to 50 a month so every few months they get something to keep it fresh in their memory bank.

I would rather go this route over dealing with Realtors who have next to nothing for a budget in my experiences with them.

angus242 said:

I've had a different experience. Banks typically will not do any improvements on foreclosed homes. If you read any MLS listing on a foreclosure, they will read "as is".

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The house next door to my brother just foreclosed a couple months ago and the bank went in and replaced all the carpet, repainted everything, and other minor repairs. They then jacked up the price $20k. Now it just sits there empty.