Bids that come in over budget

[K'ledgeBldr]

"Here's my estimate. And here's my bill. How would you like to pay?"

Now what are you going to do?

[z28lt1]

Originally Posted by ansible90

I would never answer that question. I would give them a list of what I wanted done, as detailed as possible, and let them bid on that. If they start talking about some options being more expensive than others, tell them to give a separate list of whatever options they think might be suitable.

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

I would Never say my budget (kind of like a car dealer asking how much you want to spend) - if you have a set amount you can spend, get estimates and go from there, if they are all too high - either you haven't saved enough, want too much work, etc. or you don't have enough.

It takes time and effort to create a bid and proposal. Particularly if you want them to start giving "lists of options". I completely understand that a business wants to know if they are even in the ballpark or want to do the job before spending that time and effort. Not to mention, some companies compete by being the lowest price, others know they likely won't be the lowest, but will win based upon quality or special features they can offer. It is fair for a consumer to decide that they don't want to do business with a company that won't give a "free" estimate without knowing a budget, and it is fair for a company to not want to waste their time doing free work without even knowing if there is anyway the customer would even consider their bid.

My personal solution to this by the way, is to give a wide range, and play somewhat ignorant (sometimes not playing until I get the first estimate, I don't know what the costs would be). For example, we recently replaced a concrete walkway with a paver walkway and redid the surrounding landscaping. When asked my budget, I said (pretty honestly) -- I'm not sure what this project costs. I know this is not a cheap $1500 job, so I'm certainly expecting more than that, but I'm not paying $20,000 to rip up a perfectly good walkway just because there is something I like better. At that price, I'm just doing some landscaping with the current one. This gave some good parameters for the bidders, knowing I have reasonable expectations without giving them a number to move up to.

[Coldjensens]

One thing you can do. Take a small piece of work and have everyone bid on that. Choose your contractor (not on the lowest price, but on the est fit including price). Give them your budget and ask them to tell you what more they can do for that budget. Remember to hold back 20 - 30% for changes, and problems.