Are you an out-of-state contractor now licensed and working in Louisiana. Can you pass on any pertinent information to someone who might be interested in making the move, albeit temporarily, down there.
Was it difficult to find buisiness, and once you got it, was the money you made or are making worth going down there in the first place?
I was just on Craigs List for New Orleans and it looks totally out-of-control, it looks like they cannot find anyone to fill the jobs. Around where I live, northern california, business has come to a grinding halt.
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Im an out of state contractor that LA will accept as they are recip with Ar.
From what Ive heard you can bid work and do it but they dont have the money to pay you . They will still hire you though.
Anyway getting paid is the problem down there . Seems the flybynights are getting it in the rear end this trip. I decided to let them have at each other . Its bad down there as they have lost their good wage earners to other states . Ive read and read on it . I was emailing a doctor from there and Florida doesnt plan on her going back with what Floridans can pay her compared to poverty. They have nothing to offer .
Theres a chance NO wont make it back.
Tim
I did a little work there back in late 05. It was demo work and no one was pulling permits at that time. There are still people with money there, but you do have to be carefull. My flooring man is working there now and getting about 4 times the price for hardwood install as here. Subs seem to be making out better than small contractors right now with a lot less financial risk as well. It is only 2 to 3 hours away so the thought crosses my mind every now and then but I didnt enjoy working there. The Mississippi coast is building back quickly and they are very easy to work with as far as reciprocal licensing.
there is alot of work on the gulf coast, but there is no money. a huge cash flow problem. The only money are the huge casino and corpration. The insurance company are trying to stop payment on alot of damage. There is a court case today in Gulfport on this. Most people want FEMA to pay for everything. there is also a movement to stop work with out of town contarctors due to fly by nights.Then you got the problem of housing and supply.
There is plenty of money on the coast. Most of the insurance paid off. Sure some people are getting screwed by insurance but most are rebuilding anyway. Most of the people with vacation homes on the coast were wealthy to start with so they are either paying out of pocket or getting bank financing. If there is no money here then why is every contractor or tradesman I know swamped with work? Why are there tens of thousands of mexicans working here when there were almost none a year ago? Its not the goldmine that some believe but there is more work to be had than people to do it. There is very little shortage of materials at least in the residential market. It is hard to find a place to stay though. Hotels are booked and apartments and other rentals have 6 month to a year waiting lists. New Orleans may still be a little slow because so much of their population was poor, and a lot are still gone but everywhere else on the gulf coast is booming. Houses under 200,000 dollars are averaging less than 30 days on the market. Im not saying everybody can rush down here and make tons of money but nobody local is hurting for work.
Neighbor was down in the Gulfport (?) area for a few weeks a while back doing demo & clearing. He was dealing with FEMA and they basically had a menu set price for each item. Tree branch removal = X, whole tree removal = Z and so on. Not sure if it’s still the case (it probably is) but housing (as in hotels/motels) to live in was nearly non existent. So it was live out of his truck and get a shower when/where he could, pretty much living like a rat. The money was good though, but not good enough for him to buy an RV trailer or some other form of decent shelter to live out of.
Cheers