Contractor's Business Down 50 Percent
One of the six small businesses that The Times began tracking back in October is a Ditmas Park-based contracting business run by Ruben Villlasante. While the amount of work has fallen in half over the past year, he sounds more optimistic than the other five owners: I’m not getting big jobs, just small ones here…
One of the six small businesses that The Times began tracking back in October is a Ditmas Park-based contracting business run by Ruben Villlasante. While the amount of work has fallen in half over the past year, he sounds more optimistic than the other five owners:
I’m not getting big jobs, just small ones here and there, from people I know. People have things to be done, things that have to be fixed. They have to fix the stairs or patch a piece of the roof or fix a cabinet. That’s what happens in slow times. It goes into slow motion. When the busy season starts in March, we’ll be busy. I was talking to other guys I know and one said, I have two weeks and that’s it. Another guy told me, Take whatever you can get because it’s so tough. If they stabilize the market so it doesn’t go up and down, maybe in the 9,000s, it will give people a little security; that will help everybody. We haven’t seen the foreclosures in Ditmas Park. This is business and professional people; they’re not going to lose their job or house. So if the market gets stable, people will spend.
Any other contractors out there? How’s it going?
As Crisis Spreads, a Pinch Becomes a Squeeze [NY Times]
What's Your Take? Leave a Comment
I just called a contractor about doing an in-shop restoration job that I’d gotten an estimate for in August. Of course, I assume that summers are busier than early January, since people go away and want work done while they are out of town.
Anyway, the contractor was able to do the work in less than a week, after telling me this summer that it would take 2-3 weeks. Sounds to me like he’s less busy than he was…
The time for putting 6 people to an apartment and getting 2500.00 dollars a month is over. Rental prices will come down and we will not need real estate agents to rent anymore. Real estate agents will stop sucking renters blood Amen to that!
Snarkslope,
Landlords will have to renovate to compete with other landlords in tough times.
If I have an awesome, just renovated one bedroom for rent at the same price that the slum lord next door has a shitty one bedroom for rent, which one do you think will get snatched up first?
Who wants to pay top dollar for an apartment with a toilet in a closet and a bathtub in the kitchen — the common tenement building rent stabilized apartment layout? They have to be modernized in order to get market rate rents.
Please keep us posted as when it is reaching 100%. It is a renters market and thank God for that. Someone should tel my slumlord about renovating my appartment. You can always ask for a bailout like everyone else is.
All you have to do is go to the forums and see how many contractors are looking for work, vis a vis a year ago.
I live down the street from Bear Glass; they used to have a trailer load of glass delivered 4-5 times a week, now they seem down to 1-2.
BZ, it’s an exceptionally good time. Contractors who couldn’t be bothered you call you a year ago will.
Nevertheless when people are hungry it’s more important than ever to make sure you don’t get taken by creative bids that cost you more than first promised.
If the rental vacancy rate goes to 5%, and rents are going down (as they appear), why would anybody spend money getting units “ready for market”?
This past year was very busy for me. However, because of the credit crunch I see myself doing smaller jobs in 2009, mostly kitchen & bath renovations. If you’re a small contractor with low overhead there’s always work. These old buildings are always in need of repair and small improvements.
Hmm. So I guess this is a good time to negotiate on pricing for renovation projects? I’ve wanted to redo my bathroom or kitchen forever but never did because of the expense…
I disagree, houseowax. Contractors that keep their prices reasonable and retain long term symbiotic relationships with their existing clients are doing fine.
It the guys that try and milk every last dollar out of every job that are hurting.
If the rental vacancy rate goes to 5% and rent stabilization ends per the existing law, the construction business in NYC would pick up like crazy as landlords frantically renovated thousands of vacant apartments to get them ready for market.
But of course it’s likely the Democrats who just took over the state senate find a way to change the law to keep their constituents happy.