There are three ways you can assemble a successful team. The methods can be used in tandem with each other.

The best way is for you to connect your network with your realtor’s network. If you are fortunate to have an excellent realtor, there is a good chance that they are in touch with a great team of handymen and home decorators. If you have a good relationship with your realtor, they may be able to refer you to the best electrician around or the best home decorator in town. In addition, many times if you come as a referral from a realtor, you can get special pricing or get scheduled quicker than if you reached out to them without a referral.

The reason is that these professionals want to have your realtor continuously refer jobs to them. If the client is happy with the price and schedule, then they are bound to share feedback with the realtor who will then refer these trade professionals again. The cycle feeds itself over and over.

A second way to get top professionals is to use Thumbtack.com. You can try Yelp or Google but Thumbtack is my favorite as it allows you to easily enter your project details and then share them with other professionals with the click of a button. Thumbtack has ratings and reviews for each business. They will also tag professionals as “remote services” which means they are used to working with clients who won’t be at the job site. “Great Value” and “High Demand” are also tags to look out for.

A third way to find these professionals is through word of mouth. If you are in touch with other investors in your location, reach out to them and they will often be happy to share referrals with you. Here is the interesting thing about real estate investors. Unlike other industries where secrecy rules the day, real estate investors love to talk!