# Need some advice



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

:whistling2:Hello, my fellow PP’ERS- I have 2 questions every one today before the storm hits!
1) When you all get work orders dose your nationals require you to do everything to the property or do you get to pick and choose the services you want to do because we are with (AMS):furious: and they will not assign us property’s unless we do everything my guys don’t like doing landscaping for what AMS pays but because they want the other work they do it and when we have run into other vendors with AMS they say No they have plenty of work we want to do?
2) Now has anyone worked for A2Z we are thinking about doing work for them as well however my electrician *will NOT BACK FEED* a property :whistling2:but I keep telling him that is what A2Z requires us to do? He stated that he won’t do it on his license?? He says NO NO NO:furious: any suggestions?
Hey I even tried taking him out to dinner just a waste of $85.00 for crabs & beer???? Just to hear NO again? 
All advice is greatly appreciated:thumbsup:


----------



## BPWY (Apr 12, 2012)

Your electrician is right. End of story.

Its illegal, and your insurance company WILL NOT cover a claim if thats what you are doing and burn a house down.

DON"T DO IT!


As for A2Z, I never had any pay issues.... but they are really cheap. 
You can be sure they are making a lot more on the jobs than what you are doing. As is AMS.


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

Yes Thank you we are leaving AMS and they are the only other company that covers our area


----------



## thanohano44 (Aug 5, 2012)

Dnmceo17 said:


> Yes Thank you we are leaving AMS and they are the only other company that covers our area


Might be the best decision you've made for your business. Good luck!!


----------



## Wannabe (Oct 1, 2012)

Dnmceo17 said:


> Yes Thank you we are leaving AMS and they are the only other company that covers our area


Don't ever think "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence" in the P&P field.


----------



## GTX63 (Apr 12, 2012)

Had lots of huffing and puffing by Nationals over backfeeding, but they know they can't force you on it. It is true regarding your liability too. We have come across property that the previous occupants had sabotaged the wiring. My guys were alert enough to catch it, but if we had been one of those who were backfeeding, they may have been seriously injured, and my insurance wouldn't have covered a thing.

A2Z? Lower than usual pay rates, clunky website, not a lot of volume for us.


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

thanks for your advice we are trying to get more work with real estate companys!


----------



## Backwell (Oct 15, 2012)

I don't like doing all jobs either. Not because I don't want the work but because I'm not comfortable doing every job. Although I may know how to do it, I most likely can't do it as good as others. What would you guys recommend on jobs like this? Decline them?


----------



## Freddie (Jun 13, 2012)

What is so bad about AMS? I heard about the discount but then I found out if you complete the qc checklist and get a perfect score you are not discount and $715 for a initial service doesn't seem too bad if you can knock it out in a few hours


----------



## Backwell (Oct 15, 2012)

Freddie said:


> What is so bad about AMS? I heard about the discount but then I found out if you complete the qc checklist and get a perfect score you are not discount and $715 for a initial service doesn't seem too bad if you can knock it out in a few hours


Do you work with AMS? I'm looking to get a few good companies to work with.


----------



## Freddie (Jun 13, 2012)

Backwell said:


> Do you work with AMS? I'm looking to get a few good companies to work with.


Yea, at first I thought the 20% was crap but if you get a perfect score you don't get discounted so it give a incentive to work hard


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

Yes we do and My crew of 7 just wants to do clean outs and all of the other stuff inside the house and the pay is sooooo slow we have never recieved thier #1 rating we always seem to end up at tier 2 we have been working for them 4 moths and not gotten our 1st check yet? I refuse to take early pay and so now we have to wait 45 days for our pay? we did some lawns for city side in MD that paid the guys 2 time more than AMS with far less hassle in photo up load and ppr work! & we have been paid with in 2 weeks of our work order!!


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

Freddie said:


> What is so bad about AMS? I heard about the discount but then I found out if you complete the qc checklist and get a perfect score you are not discount and $715 for a initial service doesn't seem too bad if you can knock it out in a few hours


 this is true but what are the chances you get a perfect score on a home 0 to none!!:furious: they set you up to fail I had 7 guys clean out a property for them that the ask us to get back to them in 24 hrs and they missed a cogweb in the basement windo sill and they sent them back out their for that !!!!!! and I called to compain it was a (7 bed room house) that they begged us to take and the manager stated 2 me you would havegotten a perfect score if you had not missed that windo sill :furious::furious::furious: you moth ball so now we wont get our money for that job that we did on sept 6 until Nov 17th Im done with AMS!!!!!:furious:


----------



## GTX63 (Apr 12, 2012)

When the standard is "white glove clean" , then it pretty much leaves it up to the company whether they want to pay you or not.


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

Backwell said:


> I don't like doing all jobs either. Not because I don't want the work but because I'm not comfortable doing every job. Although I may know how to do it, I most likely can't do it as good as others. What would you guys recommend on jobs like this? Decline them?


 :thumbup: same here but the guys get paid more from privet pays and other companys so they dont want to waist thier time on AMS lawns when they can get paid higher els where:thumbsup:


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

WE work for AMS Dont do it!! you will die a slow death


----------



## BPWY (Apr 12, 2012)

The only person I've ever heard that liked AMS is mtmntman.


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

BPWY said:


> The only person I've ever heard that liked AMS is mtmntman.


 :yes: i would love to hear from him to find out if he ever gets a tier 1 rating and how long has he been with AMS and what he dose to get paid from them!!! because we are leaving them weshould have listend to all of you guys the first time you all told us not to get mixed up in the AMS crazyness :thumbup: go head Im just waitng on "We told you soooo"":whistling2::whistling2:


----------



## BPWY (Apr 12, 2012)

I'm sure he'll be around soon to defend their honor. lol



One thing that benefitted him that for the most part nobody else was able to do is that he was at the right place 
at the right time and fell into huge favor with all his brokers. 
Kinda like a blind squirrel getting a nut once in a while type of thing. 

Its not every day that you'll fall into a bucket of poo and come out smelling like a rose. 


So with the brokers and the fact that he rarely had debris in his AMS houses he was able to make it work. 
Where as ALL, EVERY SINGLE ONE of the Fannie's I did had 20 to 40 yards.


----------



## mtmtnman (May 1, 2012)

BPWY said:


> I'm sure he'll be around soon to defend their honor. lol
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Dec 09 to July 12, Tier 1 EVERY MONTH. Got a 5K bonus (less discount of course) in 09 for on time and perfect broker score. Most homes where Cash For Keys so there was no debris to speak of. Had the occasional craphole but we made it work. My accountant figures a made around a 40-45% margin on all my AMS work. I paid out between $150-$250 per house to get them clean. Being flat rate i was able to do this. We where scoring 95-100% on ALL broker QC's and if the brokers saw an issue they would call me and i would address it without AMS involved. Also did and still do get a lot of bid work direct from the brokers as i give them net 45 terms so they can get their money from Fannie Mae 1st before they have to fork out any themselves. Most "local" contractors want $$$$ when the job is done. SG's bids come in 30-40% above what i bid.

Safeguard took over now and i could not afford to do them anymore as my cleaning expense FAR outweighs what SG pays as they pay per service, not flat rate. The Brokers HATE SG as the properties no longer shine and they have nobody that is responsive at SG like AMS. SG is to automated. Homes are being winterized the day before closing! Homes are being winterized with in floor heating provided by the water heater when the brokers EXPLICITLY instruct SG to leave the heat on! Homes are still filthy as there is no money for the SG crews when there is no debris thus no incentive to do a good job. SG's sub for lawns, M&H Lands hires hacks that don't even own a weed eater. The brokers get nixed for all of SG's shortfalls yet no matter how much they bitch to SG nothing changes. 

FWIW, Mowing was gravy at $75 per lawn. Every snowfall i was making $3,000-$3,500 less discount. 1 month i grossed $17,000 on snow alone with 1 subcontractor doing the in town small stuff. Will likely be getting the snow removal back as the SG crews here don't have snowplows and the lions share of properties are rural here. Can't do them with a shovel or blower. LET IT SNOW!!!!!!


----------



## Backwell (Oct 15, 2012)

mtmtnman said:


> Dec 09 to July 12, Tier 1 EVERY MONTH. Got a 5K bonus (less discount of course) in 09 for on time and perfect broker score. Most homes where Cash For Keys so there was no debris to speak of. Had the occasional craphole but we made it work. My accountant figures a made around a 40-45% margin on all my AMS work. I paid out between $150-$250 per house to get them clean. Being flat rate i was able to do this. We where scoring 95-100% on ALL broker QC's and if the brokers saw an issue they would call me and i would address it without AMS involved. Also did and still do get a lot of bid work direct from the brokers as i give them net 45 terms so they can get their money from Fannie Mae 1st before they have to fork out any themselves. Most "local" contractors want $$$$ when the job is done. SG's bids come in 30-40% above what i bid.
> 
> Safeguard took over now and i could not afford to do them anymore as my cleaning expense FAR outweighs what SG pays as they pay per service, not flat rate. The Brokers HATE SG as the properties no longer shine and they have nobody that is responsive at SG like AMS. SG is to automated. Homes are being winterized the day before closing! Homes are being winterized with in floor heating provided by the water heater when the brokers EXPLICITLY instruct SG to leave the heat on! Homes are still filthy as there is no money for the SG crews when there is no debris thus no incentive to do a good job. SG's sub for lawns, M&H Lands hires hacks that don't even own a weed eater. The brokers get nixed for all of SG's shortfalls yet no matter how much they bitch to SG nothing changes.
> 
> FWIW, Mowing was gravy at $75 per lawn. Every snowfall i was making $3,000-$3,500 less discount. 1 month i grossed $17,000 on snow alone with 1 subcontractor doing the in town small stuff. Will likely be getting the snow removal back as the SG crews here don't have snowplows and the lions share of properties are rural here. Can't do them with a shovel or blower. LET IT SNOW!!!!!!


Man, you're bossing this industry down. Is it from how you run your business or good luck? Both? I always hear good posts from you.


----------



## mtmtnman (May 1, 2012)

Backwell said:


> Man, you're bossing this industry down. Is it from how you run your business or good luck? Both? I always hear good posts from you.




Part of it comes from MANY years of running different business and educating myself on customer service, Part of it is i am in an area where there is not a lot of contractors to cover the work.....


----------



## thanohano44 (Aug 5, 2012)

mtmtnman said:


> Part of it comes from MANY years of running different business and educating myself on customer service, Part of it is i am in an area where there is not a lot of contractors to cover the work.....


You forgot to mention that you have a republican work ethic.


----------



## BPWY (Apr 12, 2012)

thanohano44 said:


> You forgot to mention that you have a republican work ethic.






Republican's sign the front of their checks, democrats sign the back of their checks.





It defies the imagination that a business owner could support dem policies. 
Nothing about them are designed for the working man to succeed and grow his business to the point 
where he can hire more employees and support his local community by doing so. 
There by helping the unemployment rate go down.


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

mtmtnman said:


> Dec 09 to July 12, Tier 1 EVERY MONTH. Got a 5K bonus (less discount of course) in 09 for on time and perfect broker score. Most homes where Cash For Keys so there was no debris to speak of. Had the occasional craphole but we made it work. My accountant figures a made around a 40-45% margin on all my AMS work. I paid out between $150-$250 per house to get them clean. Being flat rate i was able to do this. We where scoring 95-100% on ALL broker QC's and if the brokers saw an issue they would call me and i would address it without AMS involved. Also did and still do get a lot of bid work direct from the brokers as i give them net 45 terms so they can get their money from Fannie Mae 1st before they have to fork out any themselves. Most "local" contractors want $$$$ when the job is done. SG's bids come in 30-40% above what i bid.


 :thumbsup::notworthy:

Thanks So Much M.Man, I have a whole nother respect 4 you now:thumbup:
but as far as lawns go here chester pa, de, & Md AMS only wants to pay my guys $45.00 for intial landscaping and $20.00 recuts (this is insulting) to my guys and some of the houses in DE have an acer &1/2 woorth of landscaping for $45-80 bucks "CHILD PLEASE" :furious: (thats my favorit saying!!!) 
Now thats what have got to do!!!!!! Build a solid relationship with the brokers becasue they seem to be the KEY!! Safe Guard is not in DE so I wont vend with them (but I wont make the same mistake as I did with AMS) 
As far as pay goes I want to grow my husbands dream bussiness, however i'm currently paying his workers/ expenses with my paycheck from my day Job " I work for the goverment" but this has got to change soon because my bills and family are truly suffering with out a income! 
Thanks soo much for your advice it has truly uplifted my spirt and gave me hope again I was just about to speak with my husband about our plan B but now I wont:thumbup: this fourm is really Awwwwwsome:thumbup:


----------



## thanohano44 (Aug 5, 2012)

Dnmceo17 said:


> :thumbsup::notworthy:
> 
> Thanks So Much M.Man, I have a whole nother respect 4 you now:thumbup:
> but as far as lawns go here chester pa, de, & Md AMS only wants to pay my guys $45.00 for intial landscaping and $20.00 recuts (this is insulting) to my guys and some of the houses in DE have an acer &1/2 woorth of landscaping for $45-80 bucks "CHILD PLEASE" :furious: (thats my favorit saying!!!)
> ...


Good luck to you


----------



## mtmtnman (May 1, 2012)

Dnmceo17 said:


> :thumbsup::notworthy:
> 
> Thanks So Much M.Man, I have a whole nother respect 4 you now:thumbup:
> but as far as lawns go here chester pa, de, & Md AMS only wants to pay my guys $45.00 for intial landscaping and $20.00 recuts (this is insulting) to my guys and some of the houses in DE have an acer &1/2 woorth of landscaping for $45-80 bucks "CHILD PLEASE" :furious: (thats my favorit saying!!!)
> ...



Part of your issue there is vendor saturation. They couldn't get anyone here that was capable of handling the work load and we don't have cheap labor (illegals) here. They went through a LOT of vendors here. In the end there where 2 of us left and we both worked together and still do. No back stabing here..........


----------



## Dnmceo17 (Oct 7, 2012)

mtmtnman said:


> Part of your issue there is vendor saturation. They couldn't get anyone here that was capable of handling the work load and we don't have cheap labor (illegals) here. They went through a LOT of vendors here. In the end there where 2 of us left and we both worked together and still do. No back stabing here..........


 :thumbup: your so right and My husban & his crew are all general contractors and his bother is our electrician so they are use to making money & doing a quality job in most of the houses in the city (chester) (Philly) and MD have had NOTHING less than 40 yards of debris, MOLD, and pluming problems we have not gotten into winter yet but we do have a snow plow but right now we gott get through this NASTY storm!!! I pray evryone will be OK & I also pray we get alot of work from it !!!:thumbsup:


----------



## billragston (Feb 9, 2021)

Trust your electrician Carina as they know what you need to do for repairs in your home.


----------



## cover2 (Apr 3, 2013)

billragston said:


> Trust your electrician Carina as they know what you need to do for repairs in your home.


Um not to be an asshole but you do realize you replied to a post that is now 9 years old


----------

