5. The Work

6 lessons

  1. Lesson 1 · article The Work: Relationship Capital, the MIY Method, and 18 Rules for Managing Contractors

    Managing contractors isn't about finding perfect people. It's about building relationship capital, acting as your own GC, and running the job with enough structure that you're never behind on money or leverage. These 18 rules are what a decade-plus of doing it wrong taught me to do right.

  2. Lesson 2 · article How to Recruit Contractors Like a Pied Piper (And Build a Pipeline That Keeps Your Jobs Moving)

    The strength of your flipping business is directly tied to the depth of your contractor pipeline. Not your deal flow, not your financing. Your contractors. Here's how to find the right ones, profile them fast, and build a depth chart that keeps you from ever being held hostage by one guy.

  3. Lesson 3 · article How to Fill Jobs and Get Bids That Don't Destroy Your Margins ([the property] $113K Story)

    Getting bids is an art. The wrong approach adds friction, drives prices up, and attracts bad contractors. The right approach is cost-based pricing, minimal friction at each step, and one rule that runs everything: never be behind on the money.

  4. Lesson 4 · article The Lazy PM Approach: How to Manage Contractors Without Babysitting Them

    You don't manage contractors. You set expectations, chunk the work, pay fast, and get out of the way. The popcorn ceiling story below shows exactly what happens when you don't. Here's the system that keeps jobs moving without making you the foreman.

  5. Lesson 5 · article The Fear Tax - Why Contractors Overcharge and How to Stop It

    TLDR: Every renovation bid has a hidden markup called the Fear Tax. It comes from two places: the contractor is scared of the job, or you're scared of the job. The fix isn't negotiation. It's clarity. Break the scary job into simple tasks, reframe the conversation, and the price drops without anyone

  6. Lesson 6 · article Permits and Codes Enforcement: What You Actually Need to Pull (And What Happens When You Don't)

    Permits scare new investors into either over-permitting and killing their margin or under-permitting and getting stop work orders. Here's the actual framework: cosmetic work doesn't need permits, gut jobs do, and the gray zone in between is yours to navigate. But don't be a cowboy about it.