When it comes to fix-and-flipping homes, a residential general contractor is a must-have. They have the connections to get low-cost, high quality materials, they know trusted tradespeople, and they have the skills to manage a multifaceted project from start to finish.
This is also why general contractors can make great fix-and-flippers. They just have to learn other parts of the industry, such as financing a purchase, knowing what renovations will get the best price, and selling the home quickly.
Thankfully for Randy Bateman, a general contractor in Jacksonville, Florida, he found a one-stop shop for all of those things, allowing him to focus on his love for hands-on construction while flipping homes quickly and efficiently.
He found Stoa.
About three years ago, Randy started work as a general contractor for a fix-and-flip investor in the Jacksonville area. The investor was flipping about six to seven properties per month.
“I learned a lot from him about fix-and-flipping,” Randy said.
One of the things he learned was that the investor was working with Stoa, which allowed the investor to get low-rate loans and an up-front contract to buy the property once renovations were completed. Seeing how much money could be made with that kind of partnership, Randy visited betterwithstoa.com and decided to reach out.
“Because of the investor I was working with, I was already familiar with how Stoa worked,” he said. “So when I talked to [Stoa partner development executive] Kyle Walker, he didn’t have to convince me that this is the right thing to do. It was more or less, ‘Let’s do it.’”
While Randy said he likes working with Kyle because of his “go-getter attitude,” he also said he appreciates that no one at Stoa has ever made him feel pressured.
“It was made clear from the beginning that this is a partnership,” Randy said. “The mentality is ‘We’re right in it with you. Let’s go get a property and put some money in your pocket.’ And that’s the type of attitude that really sold it for me.”
He especially appreciates this because he’s decided to be a one-man crew and do one property a month or so. This helps keep his overhead low, but Randy also said he enjoys the hands-on work.
Another aspect of working with Stoa that takes the pressure off is the scope of work.
“I don’t think I would be doing this if it wasn’t for that scope of work,” Randy said.
Besides financing fix-and-flip properties and providing an up-front sales contract, Stoa also coordinates the home inspection and creates a detailed scope of work. According to Randy, this takes all of the guesswork out of the renovation process.
“You don’t have a thousand phone calls where you’re going back and forth about what needs to be done,” he said.” I can look at it and determine, is this something that I want to do? Is this something that I want to invest in? Or should I move on and go to another property?”
All in all, Randy said he believes Stoa is a great choice for experienced residential general contractors who want to get into fix-and-flip investing. General contractors already have an advantage knowing electricians, plumbers, etc., as well as being able to quickly price out renovation costs.
All of that, he said, helped him hit the ground running. But it is the partnership with Stoa — the ease of use, expertise, and support — that will keep him in fix-and-flipping for the foreseeable future.
“With Stoa, there’s really no risk,” Randy said. “I’ve always wanted to get into real estate, and now I’m doing it. I’m making a boatload of money, and I plan to continue.”
