Anyone negotiate a general contractors bid?

[Adower]

Looking for a little help here. Wife and I are going to get our master bath and guest bathroom remodeled. I am pretty green behind the ears with working on a general contractor. We’ve got 3 bids so far and two of them are pretty close. The third is another 12k above.

My wife and I unfortunately liked the third guy the best. He was pretty laid back and gave us a ton of feedback during the walk through. Up front he told us that he was the cheapest and gave us a few addresses where we could walk in the job site. However, his bid was substantially higher.

My question for anyone who has been through this is how did you try and negotiate a lower price?

I was of the mind set to just tell him that we got two other bids which are almost exactly the same. We want you to do the work but would like to see the price come down in line with the other bids. Keep in mind the other two contractors have excellent references and reviews.

Bid 1: 49k
Bid 2: 50k
Bid 3: 62k
Bid 4: TBD - waiting for bid

 

[me32]

I would wait for the 4th bid and compare then go from there. You can always try and negotiate.

 

[HEMIHUNTER]

Rule of thumb is throw out the high bid, throw out the low bid, one of the guys in the middle is your guy.So get the other bid.
You need to have them sign your contract and not the other way around.
So you might want to google how to write your own contract..
You also want to be specific on what you want them to do ask for a detailed Scope of Work sheet you don't want any extras or change orders unless you initiate them.This way you see excatly what your getting done for your $
How does the one guy know he's cheaper than the others?
That would be a red flag for me,never tell your subs what the other guys bid is.
I've been a Superintendent for some of the largest GC's in FL on projects ranging from $4m to $200m.
Two last things, Always negotiate and use Disneys philosophy ' Never enter any deal you're not afraid to walk away from'.

 

[lOOKnGO]

Who provided the plans and or specs for the job? Are all parties bidding apples to apples? Did they provide line item expenses? Anyway, back to your question. If a contractor is willing to negotiate his bid, he either doesn't know how to bid, was trying to screw, doing tasks not required or requested. All of which will cost you. I've never negotiated a price, unless it was a material change.

 

[ford fanatic]

Good lord, we just had an entire 20' X 30' addition built for less than those quotes. Before anyone claims how much bathrooms can cost, we just finished our master bath project in March and I used to build houses for a living...

 

[Relaxed Chaos]

Don't trust most contractors. They make a killing regardless of what they tell you. There is a lot of room to negotiate.

I had quotes for my house that ranged from $124 per square foot down to $63 per square foot. Then I went and looked at their construction in progress to get an idea of the difference in build quality. I asked for a list of their sub-contractors to investigate their reputation. Keep in mind they all have to meet the same code. I found out that most contractors were profiting $50K - $75K on each house but would not tell me how much they were making. I kicked these high profit joints out, and only worked with the ones I could negotiate with and we could have real discussions about my costs and their profits.

Find a contractor who does this work on the side to make extra cash or is trying to build his business. These guys take the least profit and work hard to build their reputation.

I wrote a cap in the contract, as in the maximum finished cost to cover everything detailed in the plans and itemized costs per room. All change requests were to be paid in cash up front at the time of mutual acceptance of the change order. Kept the contractor in line, knowing we were only going to pay a specific max amount for the work. Kept us owners in line from making changes and held the costs down.

Squeezed out with help from the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[Adower]

Rule of thumb is throw out the high bid, throw out the low bid, one of the guys in the middle is your guy.So get the other bid.
You need to have them sign your contract and not the other way around.
So you might want to google how to write your own contract..
You also want to be specific on what you want them to do ask for a detailed Scope of Work sheet you don't want any extras or change orders unless you initiate them.This way you see excatly what your getting done for your $
How does the one guy know he's cheaper than the others?
That would be a red flag for me,never tell your subs what the other guys bid is.
I've been a Superintendent for some of the largest GC's in FL on projects ranging from $4m to $200m.
Two last things, Always negotiate and use Disneys philosophy ' Never enter any deal you're not afraid to walk away from'.

None of the contractors knows the bid prices. The high priced contractor was just clear up front and said they weren’t the cheapest around.

 

[Adower]

Good lord, we just had an entire 20' X 30' addition built for less than those quotes. Before anyone claims how much bathrooms can cost, we just finished our master bath project in March and I used to build houses for a living...

Maybe it’s the market? We are in California.

 

[Adower]

Who provided the plans and or specs for the job? Are all parties bidding apples to apples? Did they provide line item expenses? Anyway, back to your question. If a contractor is willing to negotiate his bid, he either doesn't know how to bid, was trying to screw, doing tasks not required or requested. All of which will cost you. I've never negotiated a price, unless it was a material change.

Each contractor provided a line item with the cost and allowance for materials. The scope of work is the same. If we look down the sheet the way everything is outline is pretty similar.

 

[Rct851]

Even if the product is the same there is a great deal of value in a good supervisor and management team. I’m not sure about 12k higher at that price point though. We have been extremely busy during the virus so I’m guessing the salesmen you really liked was also really liked by other customers and he may have the work load to justify a high price for his service.

 

[7998]

It seems like you verified that the materials are the same. Things like are you getting Andersen windows or no names ($300-$800 difference per unit). Are the Andersens the Architectural series or 200 series($600 per unit difference), are they using kiln dried or green lumber (20% difference), etc. After that go look at their work. I had a siding contractor that was 3/4" off with his coursing from one side of the 100' building to the other. He said he could fix it, I made him rip it all off and do it right. Most people wouldn't even pick it up and most contractors would leave it. My sub contractors know I'm tough and a pita but I pay well and on time. I also charge accordingly.

Is that contractor worth 20% more? Maybe to some but probably not. Find out what you are getting for that 20%. If you like the work and you get a good feeling from him, trust me you'll sleep better and be happier overall. If you get a hack in there you're going to be second guessing their work and questioning the value.

I would go back to the guy you want and tell him you got 2 other estimates and what their prices are.
Tell him you'd rather go with him but are having a hard time justifying the difference. He may have an explanation. He may just be overpriced.

I just bid a residential garage for a client. The plan called for a 4" slab 3000 psi , I figured a 6 inch slab with 4000 psi with fiber and wwf. The plan didn't call for rebar in the footing but I figured it in. The plan called for a 30 year shingle but I figured a GAF Ultra lifetime. Overall that equates to a $10k or 5% extra, but worth it.

 

[My94GT]

It seems like you verified that the materials are the same. Things like are you getting Andersen windows or no names ($300-$800 difference per unit). Are the Andersens the Architectural series or 200 series($600 per unit difference), are they using kiln dried or green lumber (20% difference), etc. After that go look at their work. I had a siding contractor that was 3/4" off with his coursing from one side of the 100' building to the other. He said he could fix it, I made him rip it all off and do it right. Most people wouldn't even pick it up and most contractors would leave it. My sub contractors know I'm tough and a pita but I pay well and on time. I also charge accordingly.

Is that contractor worth 20% more? Maybe to some but probably not. Find out what you are getting for that 20%. If you like the work and you get a good feeling from him, trust me you'll sleep better and be happier overall. If you get a hack in there you're going to be second guessing their work and questioning the value.

I would go back to the guy you want and tell him you got 2 other estimates and what their prices are.
Tell him you'd rather go with him but are having a hard time justifying the difference. He may have an explanation. He may just be overpriced.

I just bid a residential garage for a client. The plan called for a 4" slab 3000 psi , I figured a 6 inch slab with 4000 psi with fiber and wwf. The plan didn't call for rebar in the footing but I figured it in. The plan called for a 30 year shingle but I figured a GAF Ultra lifetime. Overall that equates to a $10k or 5% extra, but worth it.

This is a lot of great information. Also keep in mind there is no hard in showing the guy your other two quotes and let him explain why his is more. See if he’ll meet you in the middle price wise. Sometimes it’s worth paying a little more to have someone you like working with on the project.

 

[earico]

I skimmed this but saw some really good advice in here. Lemme add 2 things.

1) No matter what comes out of their mouth about "helping you", "saving you money" or etc they are in business to make THEM money. Period. Some will quote expensive components knowing you want to negotiate a better price. So then they substitute a cheaper component in and give you a credit for the cost difference. However they never give you that actually real difference in costs in those 2 different components. They pocket some of it.

2) This is the most important. Never pay in full until you are 100 percent satisfied with the final product. Hold some amount or retainage (10% minimum) that they get once 100 percent complete. Never break this rule. If they won't agree to that find another contractor.

 

[TAF]

Whatever you decide...it WILL (more than likely) cost you 20% MORE...and take 20% MORE time...

and you "contractors" on here are LYING if you don't agree with the above.

Speak with as many people who have had previous work by your selected contractor that you can. Ask them about their experience and their satisfaction with the work. Pay as much as you can afford to get what you want.

 

[Rct851]

Whatever you decide...it WILL (more than likely) cost you 20% MORE...and take 20% MORE time...

and you "contractors" on here are LYING if you don't agree with the above.

Speak with as many people who have had previous work by your selected contractor that you can. Ask them about their experience and their satisfaction with the work. Pay as much as you can afford to get what you want.

Believe it or not some of us “contractors” are actually professionals. Sorry about your bad experiences though.

Not in 10 years have I asked for a dime more then what was agreed upon. If I’m short on my estimate I’m eating the additional costs no questions asked. It’s my job to be accurate.

 

[Adower]

Even if the product is the same there is a great deal of value in a good supervisor and management team. I’m not sure about 12k higher at that price point though. We have been extremely busy during the virus so I’m guessing the salesmen you really liked was also really liked by other customers and he may have the work load to justify a high price for his service.

The highest priced contractor mentioned that he really busy as well. He mentioned that he would not be able to start until Jan of 2021.

 

[Adower]

Even if the product is the same there is a great deal of value in a good supervisor and management team. I’m not sure about 12k higher at that price point though. We have been extremely busy during the virus so I’m guessing the salesmen you really liked was also really liked by other customers and he may have the work load to justify a high price for his service.

It seems like you verified that the materials are the same. Things like are you getting Andersen windows or no names ($300-$800 difference per unit). Are the Andersens the Architectural series or 200 series($600 per unit difference), are they using kiln dried or green lumber (20% difference), etc. After that go look at their work. I had a siding contractor that was 3/4" off with his coursing from one side of the 100' building to the other. He said he could fix it, I made him rip it all off and do it right. Most people wouldn't even pick it up and most contractors would leave it. My sub contractors know I'm tough and a pita but I pay well and on time. I also charge accordingly.

Is that contractor worth 20% more? Maybe to some but probably not. Find out what you are getting for that 20%. If you like the work and you get a good feeling from him, trust me you'll sleep better and be happier overall. If you get a hack in there you're going to be second guessing their work and questioning the value.

I would go back to the guy you want and tell him you got 2 other estimates and what their prices are.
Tell him you'd rather go with him but are having a hard time justifying the difference. He may have an explanation. He may just be overpriced.

I just bid a residential garage for a client. The plan called for a 4" slab 3000 psi , I figured a 6 inch slab with 4000 psi with fiber and wwf. The plan didn't call for rebar in the footing but I figured it in. The plan called for a 30 year shingle but I figured a GAF Ultra lifetime. Overall that equates to a $10k or 5% extra, but worth it.

Once this fourth bid comes in we are going to see where we stand. If the fourth bid is in the same realm as the two others I'm going to let him know the prices of the other 3 and if he won't budge ill just move on.

This is a lot of great information. Also keep in mind there is no hard in showing the guy your other two quotes and let him explain why his is more. See if he’ll meet you in the middle price wise. Sometimes it’s worth paying a little more to have someone you like working with on the project.

My wife and I don't mind paying a little more at all, because we do not want to skimp on quality. However, if two bids are that close and he is 12K higher I think he is just up charging. I do have a fourth bid on the way.

I skimmed this but saw some really good advice in here. Lemme add 2 things.

1) No matter what comes out of their mouth about "helping you", "saving you money" or etc they are in business to make THEM money. Period. Some will quote expensive components knowing you want to negotiate a better price. So then they substitute a cheaper component in and give you a credit for the cost difference. However they never give you that actually real difference in costs in those 2 different components. They pocket some of it.

2) This is the most important. Never pay in full until you are 100 percent satisfied with the final product. Hold some amount or retainage (10% minimum) that they get once 100 percent complete. Never break this rule. If they won't agree to that find another contractor.

Thanks for the advice. I was in the mindset of not paying the full amount until we do a final walk through and inspect everything.

 

[TAF]

Believe it or not some of us “contractors” are actually professionals. Sorry about your bad experiences though.

Not in 10 years have I asked for a dime more then what was agreed upon. If I’m short on my estimate I’m eating the additional costs no questions asked. It’s my job to be accurate.

How many times do/did you come in under your agreed upon price? Honest answer please. 'Cause either you pad your quotes so high that MACs can be absorbed...or you get to surprise clients often with coming in under $ expectations. How 'bout timing? Same thing? You always on time with your jobs? If your answer is also always "Yes"...then your ARE a liar!

Believe me...I understand...in this economy..."contractors" are busy as can be...both "professionals" and "others" that call themselves "contractors"...you can call your price and pick your jobs.

OP...my advice STILL STANDS...despite the "unicorn contractor" responding here from Houston...who can't help you in Cali.

 

[mariusvt]

The highest priced contractor mentioned that he really busy as well. He mentioned that he would not be able to start until Jan of 2021.

In my experience a high bid and telling you they are super busy usually points to someone who doesn't really want the work but throw out a high number to scare you off or make it worth pushing something else.

 

[Rct851]

How many times do/did you come in under your agreed upon price? Honest answer please. 'Cause either you pad your quotes so high that MACs can be absorbed...or you get to surprise clients often with coming in under $ expectations. How 'bout timing? Same thing? You always on time with your jobs? If your answer is also always "Yes"...then your ARE a liar!

Believe me...I understand...in this economy..."contractors" are busy as can be...both "professionals" and "others" that call themselves "contractors"...you can call your price and pick your jobs.

OP...my advice STILL STANDS...despite the "unicorn contractor" responding here from Houston...who can't help you in Cali.

All you’re doing is confirming my job security and continued success. You must have been rolled hard a few times by some terrible contractors.

And that’s all I got to say about that.


OP I agree with the post above about the guy possibly not wanting to even win the bid the way he’s priced 20% and the mentioned back log.