Home

[RinaRina]

Is this negotiating?

A contractor came to my house to measure and give me an estimate.

(He'd done work for me before and his prices were very low.)

Before he left my house, he told me he'd email the estimate, which I received the next day.

I almost fell off my chair when I looked at the price.

I told him it was too much money, so, I wanted him to only do HALF the project, assuming that would cut the cost in half.

He later emailed me saying that doing "half" the job wouldn't cost "1/2" because the half I wanted him to do is bigger than the half that would be left undone.

After reading the email, I checked the work area and he was correct ... give or take a few sq. ft., the "halves" were not the same size.

I then emailed him telling him to do the smaller "half" first.

Instead, he wanted to reduce his "labor" cost by $700 and do the whole job.

SMH ...

I'm confused ...

Is this a good deal?

[fthunt]

You don't give details - do you?   With NO info .....it could be a deal....or not.

[RinaRina]

---

@fthunt wrote:

You don't give details - do you?   With NO info .....it could be a deal....or not.

---

=========================================================

Yes, I know.  I didn't post more details because TMI can make things confusing.

In fact, last nite I sent him an email stating I needed a written contract detailing what he was going to do including dates, materials, costs, etc.

This morning, when I checked my email, there was no contract --- just a message;  "when can I pick up the check."

He never finished answering ALL my questions either ...

I've been confused and annoyed all day.

[geezerette]

I'm amazed you have a contractor that has the time and can get materials to do your project.

Between the scarcity and increased price of materials and demand for contractors, it's surprising he even agree to reduce his labor costs at all.  Nowadays most decent contractors can write their own tickets and have waiting lists a mile long.

Just because you only want half the job done, doesn't necessarily mean it will cost half the price of the whole thing.  

Only you know if his offer is "a good deal".  Why not discuss your questions and concerns with the contractor to see if the costs can be lowered?  Apparently you trust him if he's done work for you before.

[icezeus]

Only you can decide if it's a deal or not. My background is in procurement so I always obtain three quotes, and I go with not only best pricing, but how I connect with the person that will be doing the job, if at all possible always try to obtain reviews/references. 

 As a general rule of thumb I also always ask for military discounts. If  you have not served in the military ask do they offer discounts for AAA, senior etc.

Complete your due diligence.

I forgot to add make payments for milestones only.  Do not pay everything up front or even 1/2 up front. For an example a deposit to begin the work. when A,B,C completed, another check will be written, when D,E,F is completed another check is issued. When the job is completed to your satisfaction the final payment is made. 

[Sooner]

I would be very very wary of him.  I think you need to get another estimate or two and then be ready to specify the materials you want used, time frames, and such.  You need to know what "up front" money is for and what you can expect.

Who gets the discount for material bought up front?  You or him?  Know this.  Get a real estimate on hours per part of the job.

DO NOT pay him the whole half of the money up front.  Talk about what part of the job you are paying for and understand that.  Is the cash for materials, labor, etc.

And again, who gets rebates on materials paid for at purchase. . . 

[Sooner]

Also is he bonded and insured, and are his workers insured?  Does he have a crew or hire pickup labor that he doesn't know? 

[sometimesQVCaddict]

My 2 cents depending on what you're having done, but if it requires a new floor or any tile work, ABSOLUTELY 100% ask for & supervise getting any leftover materials not used!!! From my kitchen remodel I have enough leftover tile to do a good bit of a small bathroom or accent wall. I also have 2 slabs of quartz countertop in my garage, enough to do 2 countertops in either a bathroom remodel or somewhere else! I paid for a WHOLE huge slab of quartz, I'm not giving it back to the company (or crew) to resell to someone else & double their profit(charging me & than again reselling the smaller pieces)! I also kept leftover flooring in case a panel ever needs replacing--2 boxes worth (again I already paid for in my contract).

When I asked to keep my quartz slabs 'leftovers', they said I was one of a handful to ever ask that! Most people don't and I did see a sale pile of small slabs I'm assuming were leftovers from previous projects. The tile guy said no one ever asked to keep more than 1 or 2 tiles but said if he was me he'd do the same as I asked to keep it all!

Paint should also be kept if you ever need touch ups or to match color from the can.

[Love my grandkids]

We never used a contractor BUT one thing I've learned from watching The People's Court for decades is to include the words "Time Is Of The Essence",  at least I think that 's correct. Too often a contrator will fiddle around and cause delays and there's nothing in the contract giving a "Finish By" date.

[RinaRina]

---

@Sooner wrote:

DO NOT pay him the whole half of the money up front.  Talk about what part of the job you are paying for and understand that.  Is the cash for materials, labor, etc.

And again, who gets rebates on materials paid for at purchase. . . 

---

======================================

In the past, he's never asked for a deposit and he's never written contracts either.

I'd take one sheet of loose-leaf paper, write down what he'd tell me and include the total.  Then, I'd tell him to sign it.  But the jobs were small (under $1K.)

This time, he wanted a 50% deposit.

Because it's winter (snow), he said things were slow so it was a good time to do work inside my house.

The thing that bothered me was, he was adamant about doing the WHOLE job at once despite the fact that I told him the price was high for me.  He said I could put down what I could afford (50%) then, pay off the rest later.

I just don't like "owing" people money;  especially with nothing in writing.

Where I live, "your word is your bond" .. but I also know, "things" can go haywire if there are any misunderstandings.