Low Ball Bids
The July issue of Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org) is filled with information on top appliances and simple makeover ideas. If you are planning a kitchen makeover I recommend picking up a copy.
In the issue they make an interesting point about low ball bids. They noted that the “low ball contractor” will have to make up for the low bid somehow or might walk off the job when they find that they aren’t making any money on the job. We have actually stepped in to demo and redo two projects this week where a low ball bid was accepted and the contractor walked away from the job.
Consumer Reports readers who went with a low ball bid ended up spending $1,500 extra on a kitchen and $1,000 on a bathroom remodel. They recommend that you get several bids and determine what the “normal” cost of your project is and make sure that your contract spells out the open-ended items such as the products supplied or the allowances.
Andy OnCall generally treats material as a pass through. You pay what we pay. There are no open ended allowances. You know what the labor charge is for a specific scope of work. Our labor charge only changes if the scope of work does.
I recommend that you review the tab Your Consumer Rights on our website.