Getting the “Best” Deal is Not Always Best!
You decide that you want to hire a contractor to remodel your kitchen. You’ve heard that you should get at least three bids. So you ask your neighbors, friends and co-workers if they know anyone they’d recommend. You search online for contractors in your area. You check out a few websites, make some calls and line up appointments. Then the bids start to come in. If you are lucky, they will be similar in price. After you check out their references and licenses, you can choose the one you liked the best. Or the bids could vary widely in price. Like most money conscious consumers these days, you may think you should go with the lowest bid. I will tell you why you shouldn’t do that.
You should thoroughly check out any contractors that you are interested in. Are they licensed? That can be easily looked up on the online state license board website. Ask for references from the contractor and call them. Ask to see pictures of finished products if they don’t already have them on their websites. There are a few reasons why a bid can come in extremely below the other contractors. It’s possible that the contractor may have no idea what they are doing, they completely missed something, they are under-biding it on purpose to get the job or they are not carrying the proper insurances to protect you the customer from their mistakes (or maybe all of those things). After they get the job they either tell you there is way more work then they expected and ask for more money half way into the project or they won’t do the job correctly. You may end up paying for it in the long run by getting shoddy work or half finished work. Then you will have to hire a different contractor to come in and fix the job that the cheap one couldn’t or wouldn’t finish.
There is nothing wrong with asking the contractor to explain his bid and how he came up with his price. Maybe you really like the contractor who came in with the highest bid but you aren’t happy with the price discrepancy. Ask him to explain the bid and see if there is any way the price could be lowered. Ask the other contractors with the lower bids how they came up with theirs. It could be a time difference, as in how long the contractor thinks the job will take to get done. It could be a difference in the quality of products used. It could be the way you explained what you wanted. If you tell one contractor that you want to get the job done the cheapest way but don’t tell the other contractors that then you should get a bid from some based on quality products and craftsmanship and other’s based on the least expensive way to do the job. Whatever you do, don’t get a bid from one contractor and then take it to another and say, “Can you beat this price?” Of course they will come in with a lower bid to get the job (unless it is a ridiculously low bid to begin with) and yet again, you are asking for trouble by doing that because what are they cutting corners on to make it cheaper? Don’t try to compare a bid from a contractor and a handyman. They are in two complete different categories. Compare apples to apples. And please don’t think every contractor is out there trying to rip you off. Most of us a very hard working, conscientious people who love to repair, rebuild, and remodel. Communication and doing your homework is key to getting a contractor that will do the job right from the start. After all, getting the “best “deal is not always best!
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