wrote in message
oups.com...
| It is foolish to think a homeowner shouldnt compare prices.


comparing estimates is fine if you:

compare oranges to oranges
which is what doesn't happen

lowest bidders usually leave out something or forget to figure something
in.

example:
I bid on a roof that was 36 sq. of asphalt shingles strip and re-roof
new venting system, architectural 110 mph, impact and algae resistant
certainteed shingles.

you would assume all the bids were close in price..........right.
NO
the lowest bidders price was half of my estimate (which by the way, was
the materials cost)
trying to figure out how this was possible..........I ask the customer
to see the other estimates in fear that they were being taken.

Yup, I was right
they did not include water and ice barrier, re-flashing chimney and
pipes.
they substituted certainteed shingles with GAF from HD.
they weren't replacing dripedge and were not pulling a permit.

needless to say, the customer hired the lowest bidder anyway.

and yes the customer is still going through the court system trying to
get blood from a stone.

so, did the consumer save money?
not a chance.........it has cost them 10 times more in the long run, and
get this,
they called me to take care of their water damage from their new roof.
which I declined, because I told them before they hired the other
contractor.
The consumer said "hindsight is 20/20" and I replied with "I was your
hindsight"
sorry I can not accept the job.

sure I could have raked them over the coals (like some contractors) but
I take pride in my work.

lowest bidder usually means inexperience in one way shape or form.






Unless
| the estimate is in the range I was thinking the job should cost then
| I will get a couple estimates.
| For instance the chimney cap blew off my chimney. On most houses I'd
| have ladder up and deal with it. However my tudor type home has a
| Very high chimney (cant reach top even from roof. Had a couple people
| come out- #1 "You need new cap- starts at $175". I said I'll get back
| to you. #2 Local Co. in town says that normally costs $40 or so but
| never shows. #3 comes out says "$50 we can do it now" I said "Do
| it!!" For a really large job estimates help determine a fair price.
| If three guys are about the same money then its up to refenreces and
| reputaion. Hi pricers are usually ripoffs and lowballers may be shady
|
| On Jun 22, 10:11 pm, RicodJour wrote:
| On Jun 22, 8:50 pm, "Madx" wrote:
|
| "RicodJour" wrote in message
|
| I started charging for estimates a long
| time ago. Same deal. You sign up, you get a refund. Cuts down
on
| the tire kickers. It also lets people know that you value your
time,
| and you expect them to do the same.
|
| So then a person with a remodel job would have to pay $300-500 up
front to
| get 3 - 5 bids and then only $100 would be credited back. Seems
like quite
| a racket. Why even be the low bid. You could make a living just
going out
| on estimates - just give an outrageous bid. I will never pay for
a quote.
| It's highway robbery.
|
| Wouldn't it be more like burglary since we're talking about
| houses?
|
| You've heard the old saying, there is no such thing as a free lunch,
| right? Well, it's true. You may not think you're being charged for
| that "free" estimate, but you are. The contractor just buries it in
| his price somewhere. I prefer to be more upfront about it.
|
| It requires effort to prepare an estimate. There's the site visit,
| discussing the customers wants and needs, working up the estimate
| itself, then sitting down with the customer to review the estimate
and
| point out where there are areas where money could be saved, or areas
| where more money will be required to do it right. In short -
| educating the customer.
|
| Where do you think that time comes from? I have no more hours in my
| week than you do. I can't just ignore hours anymore than your boss
| will ignore hours if you decide to skip work. From your comment,
it's
| obvious that you're not the boss or I wouldn't need to explain this
| stuff to you. An estimate and presentation might take three hours
or
| more. What do you feel would be a reasonable amount of money to
| charge for that time?
|
| Since you brought up the 3-5 bids, where does that come from? Do
you
| think that somehow gives you a better project or saves you money?
It
| doesn't work that way. Most people that get more than a couple or
| three bids are simply price shopping. They think that all
contractors
| are interchangeable and will pick the lowest bid. My work is far
| above the norm and so are my prices. You and I would never get past
| the initial phone call. I screen potential customers at least as
| carefully as the owner screens me. If someone is price shopping,
| there are other contractors who are eager to race each other to the
| bottom of the barrel. I'm not. I've never been the low bid, and if
I
| was informed I was, besides being shocked, I'd assume I'd missed
| something and go racing to double-check my estimate.
|
| When you hear about a remodeling project where there were horrendous
| cost overruns, it's usually due to an owner price shopping, taking
the
| lowest bid and hoping for the best, or because an owner doesn't
| understand the correlation between what they'd like done and what
has
| to be done. Both scenarios are recipes for disaster.
|
| R
|
|