Most contractors are built for homeowners: a big deposit, a start date that slips, and an investor chasing updates while holding costs pile up. Seller's Little Helpers is built the other way around. We're a licensed general contractor that works only for real estate investors, and every part of how we run a job is designed around your deal.
What you get
- One point of contact. Mason runs your project from demo to punch list. One name accountable for every trade.
- Our crews, all trades. Demo, framing, plumbing, electrical, finishes. We're the contractor, not a middleman coordinating other contractors.
- A progress update every week. Photos, progress against the timeline, what you've paid and what's left, and the decisions that need you.
- Materials at your cost. We give you material lists with quantities and timing, and you buy directly from suppliers. No hidden markup.
- No surprise change orders. Your full project price is quoted up front. If the scope needs to change, we talk it through with you first.
How you pay: weekly labor draws
A typical contractor asks for 30–50% before any work starts. On a $72,000 rehab, that's $24,000 or more out of your pocket on day one, with little leverage if the crew stops showing up.
We quote your full project price up front, then you pay a weekly labor draw that's credited toward your project total. Weekly labor draws are sized to each project's contract, scope, schedule and labor requirements, with a $4,000 weekly minimum. Your first draw reserves your start date; after that you pay weekly while work is in progress. The total cost is the same. You just don't front it.
Your contractor shouldn't be your bank.
With our Pay As We Build™ model, the money you've paid tracks the work that's been done, and more of your capital stays working. Calculate your capital.
Chicago and the south suburbs
Rehab rules change at the city line.
- Chicago licenses the contractor. The city requires a licensed general contractor for rehab work done "as an investment, or with the intent to sell or lease real property to others." Electrical, plumbing, and masonry work each need their own city-licensed contractor on the permit.
- Chicago permits fix what's already wrong. A permitted job's scope must remedy all readily apparent violations of the city's minimum requirements for existing buildings, "whether those violations have been cited by a city inspector or not." Budget for that before you buy.
- The suburbs add their own layer. Villages set their own permit and contractor-registration rules, and several require an inspection before a property can be sold.
We handle permits as part of the job (permit fees are passed through at cost), and we plan the scope around what the city or village will inspect. See the rules where we work.
Where to start
- You own the property. Book a $150 scope visit. Mason walks it, and within 3 business days you get a full proposal: price, timeline, weekly draw amount, and material list.
- You're evaluating a deal. Send Mason the property before you make your offer. We'll talk through the likely scope so you're not guessing.
- You're running several rehabs a year. Portfolio Partners get a dedicated project manager, priority crew scheduling, and 10% off weekly labor draws.
The services
- Fix-and-flip rehabs: built around your holding costs and your list date.
- BRRRR rehabs: scoped for the appraisal and documented for your lender.
- 2-flat rehabs: Chicago's classic investor building, unit by unit.
- Gut rehabs: down to the studs, sequenced for permits and inspections.