I'm hoping someone here can give me a general idea of what I am looking for.

I need to perform some major home repairs, such as replace roof, decks,
driveways, some windows, etc - not a small task. What I want to do is be
able to hire out sub-contractors to do each phase of the work I need to have
done. I will need to be able to work between contractors and my insurance
company who will be footing the bill for major repairs. Many companies
don't want to work with the insurance and wait for their money, and one
roofing company has suggested I act as my own contractor to pay out funds
needed for repairs to begin and then collect them from the insurance company
as we go. (The insurance company and mortgage company have agreed to escrow
the funds and pay them out as verified invoices against repairs are
received).

So, here we go:

Can I act as my own contractor?
Do I need a special license of any kind to be my own contractor?

I am in the state of Florida, Broward county if that helps.

In the alternative, can I hire a private contractor who will do nothing but
coordinate all repairs with the various types of construction companies I
will need to do each repair?

I've had a look at state licensing web pages for Florida but it's like
taking qualudes in there!

Any insights would be greatly appreciated, and TIA!

Lost in Translation wrote:

Can I act as my own contractor?

Can you hire a roofer? A carpenter? Concrete guy? Drywall?
Electrician? Answer in all cases is yes.
______________

Do I need a special license of any kind to be my own contractor?

No
_________________

In the alternative, can I hire a private contractor who will do
nothing but coordinate all repairs with the various types of
construction companies I will need to do each repair?

Yes. A "construction manager". You'd want a general contractor.

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Hire a general contractor if you just want the work done and do not want
the problems of management. You need no lisence where I am. But its then
your responsibility of knowing the job is right. Get a permit and don`t
pay any sub till it is inspected by the city, be sure you talk to their
insurance agent for proof of workers comp and liability insurance,
seeing a certificate is not good as the cert can easily be altered. Get
a release of lien from all workers. If its all insurance money hire a
general but don`t partial pay till you talk to the inspector on each
job. Workers that are not paid by their boss, and supliers can come back
at you if the contractor does not pay. Injuries and house damage can
sometimes be your responsibility, protect yourself, its not easy or fun
sometimes. Ive had contractors and workers fake injuries and certs and
do substandard work, there are alot of crooks out there.

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
Hire a general contractor if you just want the work done and do not want
the problems of management. You need no lisence where I am. But its then
your responsibility of knowing the job is right. Get a permit and don`t
pay any sub till it is inspected by the city, be sure you talk to their
insurance agent for proof of workers comp and liability insurance,
seeing a certificate is not good as the cert can easily be altered. Get
a release of lien from all workers. If its all insurance money hire a
general but don`t partial pay till you talk to the inspector on each
job. Workers that are not paid by their boss, and supliers can come back
at you if the contractor does not pay. Injuries and house damage can
sometimes be your responsibility, protect yourself, its not easy or fun
sometimes. Ive had contractors and workers fake injuries and certs and
do substandard work, there are alot of crooks out there.


That's good advise. I will add For one your not a contractor, you have
no experience in coordinating the work, Your assuming Responsibility for no
reason, Your will be responsible for workers Pay if sub doesn't pay them,
There also would possibly be situation were your liable for workman's comp
and liability. As the owner you can oversee the work and believe me you
should. You also will have the insurance Co. on your side if there is a
problem , they have a legal department with the experience. I don't know why
you would want to be the Contractor, could it be you want to make a little
money on the deal? You got freebee as it is, sure it's going to be an
inconvenience, There's plenty of Contractors that want the work and can do
the Job ( I sure there all pretty busy now) Take the easy road. When I was
Contracting an the owner started talking about doing some of the work my
price went up not down.

In article , Lost in
Translation wrote:

I'm hoping someone here can give me a general idea of what I am looking for.

I need to perform some major home repairs, such as replace roof, decks,
driveways, some windows, etc - not a small task. What I want to do is be
able to hire out sub-contractors to do each phase of the work I need to have
done. I will need to be able to work between contractors and my insurance
company who will be footing the bill for major repairs. Many companies
don't want to work with the insurance and wait for their money, and one
roofing company has suggested I act as my own contractor to pay out funds
needed for repairs to begin and then collect them from the insurance company
as we go. (The insurance company and mortgage company have agreed to escrow
the funds and pay them out as verified invoices against repairs are
received).

So, here we go:

Can I act as my own contractor?

Yes.

Do I need a special license of any kind to be my own contractor?

No.

However, hiring a general contractor or project manager can make your
repairs much easier. A good GC knows all the qualified subs in the
area, often by name, and has worked with them in the past. He knows
what to expect and how to tell them what you want in language they can
understand. He knows their availability, whether they need to work on
other projects at the same time they are working on yours, and he can
schedule the work around their other commitments. He can also in many
cases get preferential pricing and delivery of materials.

He also gets to deal with the inevitable personnel issues that arise. I
just had $6,000 worth of concrete poured at my place. The job took
about a week. In that time, two of the concrete contractor's employees
quit (for personal reasons) and he hired replacements from a pool he
already had for just such a purpose. The job went smoothly with no
interruptions. You would probably not be able to do something like
that.

-Frank

--
Here's some of my work:
http://www.franksknives.com

On Sun, 6 Nov 2005 06:26:06 -0500, "Lost in Translation"
wrote:

I'm hoping someone here can give me a general idea of what I am looking for.

I need to perform some major home repairs, such as replace roof, decks,
driveways, some windows, etc - not a small task. What I want to do is be
able to hire out sub-contractors to do each phase of the work I need to have
done. I will need to be able to work between contractors and my insurance
company who will be footing the bill for major repairs. Many companies
don't want to work with the insurance and wait for their money, and one
roofing company has suggested I act as my own contractor to pay out funds
needed for repairs to begin and then collect them from the insurance company
as we go. (The insurance company and mortgage company have agreed to escrow
the funds and pay them out as verified invoices against repairs are
received).

So, here we go:

Can I act as my own contractor?
Do I need a special license of any kind to be my own contractor?

I am in the state of Florida, Broward county if that helps.


This is from Chapter 489, however Broward County will have the final
say-so.
Go here then scroll down to (_489.103 Exemptions_) then look for
subsection (7). Read it and the (_Disclosure Statement_). This sums up
your limitations.

http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/ind...489/ch0489.htm

Note that you can not sell for at least a year.

There are a lot of ways to get screwed if you go this route. (subs not
paying their bills for equipment, etc.) You are responsable for
everything $$$ in most all of these instances. Good luck.

-zero