Got a quote that sounds too good to be true

[Snydley]

16K is too cheap! 16K for just a bathroom is considerably on the low end. I've found you do in general get what you pay for with contractors.

[snafu]

I suggest calling your custom builder for both tradesmen recommendations and product brands and possible suppliers. I've ordered from suppliers catalogues where you pay upfront with your order. They say '6 weeks,' after 3 months they tell you the product is no longer available! Then you're stuck with that supplier because getting your money back is a long and arduous procedure of phone calls and lies.

[cornfieldj]

I'm not a pro at this, but is getting the quote in writing and signed A Thing? I know contractors can discover things during the job that can change the scope of the work and the quote - that happened to me when we redid our kitchen - but it wasn't that big a thing.

Anyone who doesn't have some kind of presence and references you can check sounds sketchy.

[snafu]

Since your basement development is 'new build,' what is the average cost for 'new homes' per square foot in your community? The news usually reports this regularly when talking about housing and the economy, I'd use that as a starting point to work out acceptable pricing.

[phantom]

Since your basement development is 'new build,' what is the average cost for 'new homes' per square foot in your community? The news usually reports this regularly when talking about housing and the economy, I'd use that as a starting point to work out acceptable pricing.

How would you expect those numbers to compare? I'd expect the cost per square foot to be lower when you're not including building a foundation, doing the framing, and finishing the outside of the house. But, I wouldn't know how much lower to expect. We paid $112/sqft. when we had our house built ((price we paid-price builder paid for the land)/finished square footage), and I'm seeing $110 as the current rate in our city (finding it really hard to find a source for that). All of our bids have been less than half of that. I ask more out of curiosity than anything at this point because we've made our decision...

Our lowest bidder came down even more after we told him we would consider a drop ceiling instead of a dry wall ceiling. (We told him that before we saw his quote.) But, he never came up with any references and we decided that we just couldn't be confident enough in his work to give him the job.

Meanwhile, I finally got to talk with our high bidder myself and he made a really good impression on me. He was confident, had good ideas, and really listened to what my husband and I were looking for. He had pictures of relevant jobs he'd done in the past at his fingertips and offered up references without us even having to ask.

Friday came and went and we hadn't heard from the other contractor who had promised a quote that week. I remained curious to see his number, but figured I didn't want to work with a guy who was missing deadlines without any communication before the job even started.

Over the weekend, we talked to our high bidder's references, and one of them agreed to let us come see his place. The reviews were glowing and touched on all the things that are important to me: listening ability, creative problem solving, attention to detail, an over all sense of style and balance, and ownership of mistakes. The workmanship itself was beautiful and everything we could possibly want.

After seeing his work and talking to his references, we were totally sold. We talked a little about continuing to shop around to see if we could find someone we liked just as much who would be a little less expensive. But, ultimately, we decided that we had found someone who would do excellent work and that we were unlikely to regret spending the money, so we decided to go with him.

During the Super Bowl, we finally got a number from the last guy - just a number, no phone call, no email, no details about what the bid included, just $23k listed on BuildZoom where there had previously been a dash. Since we'd already written the guy off for lack of communication, a number with no context didn't do anything to win us back.

Seeing another bid well below the $43k we were looking at did give us a moment of pause. But, we decided to stick with our decision to go with our high bidder. We sign a contract on Thursday, and I think work will begin some time next week.

[phantom]

I'm not a pro at this, but is getting the quote in writing and signed A Thing? I know contractors can discover things during the job that can change the scope of the work and the quote - that happened to me when we redid our kitchen - but it wasn't that big a thing.

Anyone who doesn't have some kind of presence and references you can check sounds sketchy.

I can't imagine having work done on my house without something detailing the scope of the work that both parties sign. I assume that unexpected things are likely to come up in any large project. If they significantly change the scope of the work, I expect to pay more than originally agreed. But, I don't want to end up in a situation where I'm saying, "I thought you were going to do X," and the contractor is saying "You said you thought you might like X, but that was never part of the quote."

[msomnipotent]

I have learned that the price has little to do with actual cost. It is more of "this is how much it will take to get me to want to do the job" kind of thing. The busier they are, the more you pay. You might want to ask him if he can come down more if you wait until he isn't as busy.

[StormRichards]

Congrats on finding your contractor. In my opinion, this is one of the toughest things about home ownership. Finding someone that is going to do quality work without trying to rip you off.

We have work that needs done but we just keep putting it on the back burner because we hate dealing with the process. Of all of the significant renovations we have had done, we have yet to find a company that we felt REALLY good about.

The workmanship for one project stands out as the best, but the salesman was a major slime ball. Another company had a nice personable salesman but his crews did horrible clean up jobs. And trying to use a handyman for a major project turned into a disaster.

I think if I were in your position and a reference let me come see the work, I probably would have been sold as well.

[StormRichards]

I can't imagine having work done on my house without something detailing the scope of the work that both parties sign. I assume that unexpected things are likely to come up in any large project. If they significantly change the scope of the work, I expect to pay more than originally agreed. But, I don't want to end up in a situation where I'm saying, "I thought you were going to do X," and the contractor is saying "You said you thought you might like X, but that was never part of the quote."

I totally agree.

We had siding and gutters replaced on our house. When they removed the old, they discovered a section of rotting wood. Snapped a picture and sent a text letting us know how much more it was going to cost.

Had they not taking a picture and just told us they did the extra work, I would have had a problem with it.

[msomnipotent]

Congrats on finding your contractor. In my opinion, this is one of the toughest things about home ownership. Finding someone that is going to do quality work without trying to rip you off.

We have work that needs done but we just keep putting it on the back burner because we hate dealing with the process. Of all of the significant renovations we have had done, we have yet to find a company that we felt REALLY good about.

The workmanship for one project stands out as the best, but the salesman was a major slime ball. Another company had a nice personable salesman but his crews did horrible clean up jobs. And trying to use a handyman for a major project turned into a disaster.

I think if I were in your position and a reference let me come see the work, I probably would have been sold as well.

Me too. I have had problems with everyone that has worked on my house so far. The last one really messed a lot of things up. I'm starting to realize now that they didn't mix the grout in the bathroom correctly and it is starting to come out in several places. We have already had to repaint several areas that he supposedly painted. The floors will have to be refinished because he lied and said he knew what he was doing. I'm sure he lied about being licensed and insured, too. And this guy was recommended by several people and had a lot of positive comments on his FB page. Even my sister liked his work. I'm starting to think that not everyone has basic standards. At least I can say that I have learned a lot from this experience.

[StormRichards]

I have learned that the price has little to do with actual cost. It is more of "this is how much it will take to get me to want to do the job" kind of thing. The busier they are, the more you pay. You might want to ask him if he can come down more if you wait until he isn't as busy.

This is true as well. Also might explain why one of the guys was horrible at communication. Just doesn't need the work. Of course if that is the case, that is a bad way of handling it. I have had contractors tell us upon returning the initial call that they were doing estimates for 3 months out. Definitely the best approach in my opinion. Saves them the time of coming out and writing an estimate if the homeowner doesn't want to wait that long.

[StormRichards]

Me too. I have had problems with everyone that has worked on my house so far. The last one really messed a lot of things up. I'm starting to realize now that they didn't mix the grout in the bathroom correctly and it is starting to come out in several places. We have already had to repaint several areas that he supposedly painted. The floors will have to be refinished because he lied and said he knew what he was doing. I'm sure he lied about being licensed and insured, too. And this guy was recommended by several people and had a lot of positive comments on his FB page. Even my sister liked his work. I'm starting to think that not everyone has basic standards. At least I can say that I have learned a lot from this experience.

Ugh. Know your pain. We had our shower tiled and the guy didn't grade it properly. Took a shower and noticed an hour later there was water still sitting in it. He had to come back, tear it up and redo it. This was a scenario where he previously did good work for us but flaked out. He did our window replacements and years later we needed a sash replaced at no fault of his. Trying to go through him for the warranty and work was a waste of time. He never returned our calls.

[Fishindude77]

Congrats on finding your contractor. In my opinion, this is one of the toughest things about home ownership. Finding someone that is going to do quality work without trying to rip you off.

We have work that needs done but we just keep putting it on the back burner because we hate dealing with the process. Of all of the significant renovations we have had done, we have yet to find a company that we felt REALLY good about.

The workmanship for one project stands out as the best, but the salesman was a major slime ball. Another company had a nice personable salesman but his crews did horrible clean up jobs. And trying to use a handyman for a major project turned into a disaster.

I think if I were in your position and a reference let me come see the work, I probably would have been sold as well.

This is all pretty typical stuff. I build commercial / industrial for a living so have a much better idea of what to ask for and expect than the average homeowner. What you have to understand is that you are purchasing an intangible product. You won't see, touch or feel anything until it's put in place. A smart contractor realizes this and tries his best to illustrate his work via drawings, written proposals, material samples, etc., so that the homeowner can somewhat visualize the end product. Problem is, many homeowners look at a drawing, don't understand it, and may as well be looking at a foreign language.

We've also had it drilled into our heads that competitive bidding is the only way we will get a fair price. Contractors aren't dumb, they'll know pretty quick if you are getting bids, and if they need the work they will quote your job including only the bare minimum to keep their number low. Then the bids get evaluated by a homeowner who knows little or nothing about building, so they base their decision on the only thing they do understand ... price.

Then things start coming together, and the homeowner starts seeing that he's not getting the Cadillac he had envisioned. He asks for changes, the contractor issues change orders, price is going up, time frame is extended and people start getting mad. Now the contractor (that they hand picked) is a no good SOB and they'll probably be fighting over money at the end. This scenario plays out every day, we jokingly call it "Bid, Build, Sue".

Smart contractors won't participate in these games. They are good, have repeat clients, and a steady workload. These are the contractors you need to find. Call your bigger private local lumberyard (not Home Depot or Lowes), talk to their residential sales rep and ask them for the names of a couple good, reliable contractors that do good work, pay their bills, etc. They will probably match you up with somebody decent. Friends that had stuff built might also refer you to a builder they were happy with.

When you find someone that seems like a good match for your project, you need to be open about what you want to do, what your budget is, schedule expectations, working hours, housekeeping, what things they will not be including, etc. Then tell them to put together a written proposal and price for the project. If the proposal looks good, hire them. If the money is too much, tell them where you would like to be at and ask if they have ideas for cost reduction or delay the start till you can afford it. Don't go out looking for other bids, that will make them feel like they have wasted time and money with you.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Fantastic I am keeping this.

Also adding I look at other people's homes before asking for a referral. Yes there are MANY contractors who do shoddy work that friend don't even notice. We walked into neighbors house who had it painted and my DH says never hire anyone referred by them. They picked by price and it showed in the uneveness of the paint job. You could see the primer through. Did they notice? Or care? Obviously not.

I wouldn't take a referall without seeing the work.

This is all pretty typical stuff. I build commercial / industrial for a living so have a much better idea of what to ask for and expect than the average homeowner. What you have to understand is that you are purchasing an intangible product. You won't see, touch or feel anything until it's put in place. A smart contractor realizes this and tries his best to illustrate his work via drawings, written proposals, material samples, etc., so that the homeowner can somewhat visualize the end product. Problem is, many homeowners look at a drawing, don't understand it, and may as well be looking at a foreign language.

We've also had it drilled into our heads that competitive bidding is the only way we will get a fair price. Contractors aren't dumb, they'll know pretty quick if you are getting bids, and if they need the work they will quote your job including only the bare minimum to keep their number low. Then the bids get evaluated by a homeowner who knows little or nothing about building, so they base their decision on the only thing they do understand ... price.

Then things start coming together, and the homeowner starts seeing that he's not getting the Cadillac he had envisioned. He asks for changes, the contractor issues change orders, price is going up, time frame is extended and people start getting mad. Now the contractor (that they hand picked) is a no good SOB and they'll probably be fighting over money at the end. This scenario plays out every day, we jokingly call it "Bid, Build, Sue".

Smart contractors won't participate in these games. They are good, have repeat clients, and a steady workload. These are the contractors you need to find. Call your bigger private local lumberyard (not Home Depot or Lowes), talk to their residential sales rep and ask them for the names of a couple good, reliable contractors that do good work, pay their bills, etc. They will probably match you up with somebody decent. Friends that had stuff built might also refer you to a builder they were happy with.

When you find someone that seems like a good match for your project, you need to be open about what you want to do, what your budget is, schedule expectations, working hours, housekeeping, what things they will not be including, etc. Then tell them to put together a written proposal and price for the project. If the proposal looks good, hire them. If the money is too much, tell them where you would like to be at and ask if they have ideas for cost reduction or delay the start till you can afford it. Don't go out looking for other bids, that will make them feel like they have wasted time and money with you.