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Old 03-23-2016, 01:06 AM
 
Location: Florida
2,026 posts, read 2,760,180 times
Reputation: 1382

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How do you get a contractor to install someting in your house for a reasonable price, and even get them to show up and call you back?
I am trying to get a patio cover instaleld. The responsive ones charge 4000-5000 for the same thing as the others charge $2000 for. The $2000 ones dont call me back. It looks like there is no unemployment in the bay area at all. Also most contractors if not all, only willing to do jobs where they become rich from a single half day project, or they make their monthly income from a few days of working. Or maybe they make 10x as much an hour/year as I do in my principal engineer job. There are a lot of people in the BA who would not mind paying $5000 or even $50k for that $2k patio cover.
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Old 03-23-2016, 10:55 AM
 
115 posts, read 336,702 times
Reputation: 88
Contractors also have to live here. I don't know how much work is involved to install your patio cover, but if they think it only makes financial sense to them at $5000, then that's just the reality of this high-cost area.
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Old 03-23-2016, 12:58 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,342,669 times
Reputation: 11040
Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
How do you get a contractor to install someting in your house for a reasonable price, and even get them to show up and call you back?
I am trying to get a patio cover instaleld. The responsive ones charge 4000-5000 for the same thing as the others charge $2000 for. The $2000 ones dont call me back. It looks like there is no unemployment in the bay area at all. Also most contractors if not all, only willing to do jobs where they become rich from a single half day project, or they make their monthly income from a few days of working. Or maybe they make 10x as much an hour/year as I do in my principal engineer job. There are a lot of people in the BA who would not mind paying $5000 or even $50k for that $2k patio cover.
Pretty much.

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"What, you mean you merely want to restore your place to original 1953ish condition? You don't want 56 recessed lights in your kitchen? No wine fridge? No stone counters? No outdoor kitchen?

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Old 03-23-2016, 02:26 PM
 
Location: Bay Area
402 posts, read 537,076 times
Reputation: 334
I agree it is a huge problem. I also made some research for my backyard and shade/sun room project... Unsuccessfully so far... Contractors ask too much for me... I'm even thinking to do the project by my own but it'll take forever since I have full-time job.

I've heard people who want to save some money try to find contractors in Sacramento area because they charge less for the same work. What do you think about that idea folks? I don't completely understand where these people live when working under your project? Cheap extended stay hotels? Or they travel all long way from Sacramento, every day?
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Old 03-23-2016, 03:37 PM
 
423 posts, read 607,219 times
Reputation: 417
It is a market economy. GC will ask as much as possible based on supply and demand. Basically, they are so busy right now that they can fill their time by taking on expensive projects. And they don't have time and could careless about low cost projects. If I was a GC, I'd do the same. Of course as homeowner, it sucks.

And the worst thing is this is not just licensed GC, but the unlicensed "handyman" are super busy too. Handyman cost today is same as licensed GC pricing in 2010.

OP, not sure what you are complaining about. If a $2000 contractor won't even return your call, then they don't exists; that is a cost in your mind but not reality.
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Old 03-23-2016, 03:44 PM
 
Location: SoCal
20,160 posts, read 12,713,073 times
Reputation: 16993
It's not recently phenomenon. When we lived there, if we call contractor to do a small job, they would not come. They would quote us in the $100k range to do hardscape of the whole yard, solely based on the price of our house. They know how much the house was worth and often commented so. Because of that my husband and I got into the DYI, we planned and called the cement company and did our little area for less than $500.
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Old 03-23-2016, 03:49 PM
 
4,369 posts, read 3,709,869 times
Reputation: 2479
Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
How do you get a contractor to install someting in your house for a reasonable price, and even get them to show up and call you back?
I am trying to get a patio cover instaleld. The responsive ones charge 4000-5000 for the same thing as the others charge $2000 for. The $2000 ones dont call me back. It looks like there is no unemployment in the bay area at all. Also most contractors if not all, only willing to do jobs where they become rich from a single half day project, or they make their monthly income from a few days of working. Or maybe they make 10x as much an hour/year as I do in my principal engineer job. There are a lot of people in the BA who would not mind paying $5000 or even $50k for that $2k patio cover.
Incidentally most homeowners in the Bay Area are millionaires.
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Old 03-23-2016, 07:41 PM
 
Location: Florida
2,026 posts, read 2,760,180 times
Reputation: 1382
I understand that the contractors also have to make a living. But their minimum standard of living is like 3x mine. Most places a contractor is like middle class. Here high-skilled top engineers are lower middle class, while handymen and contractors are upper middle class. Why do they have to make 3x as much as I do in an our?
How about those people whining that they have been unemployed for years? They cant get a job as an assistant handymen or employee of a contractor and make more than they would in an engineering office? Not fancy the dirty work?
Maybe the unemployment benefits and therefore the willingness to work threshold are too high.
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Old 03-23-2016, 08:42 PM
 
4,369 posts, read 3,709,869 times
Reputation: 2479
Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
I understand that the contractors also have to make a living. But their minimum standard of living is like 3x mine. Most places a contractor is like middle class. Here high-skilled top engineers are lower middle class, while handymen and contractors are upper middle class. Why do they have to make 3x as much as I do in an our?
How about those people whining that they have been unemployed for years? They cant get a job as an assistant handymen or employee of a contractor and make more than they would in an engineering office? Not fancy the dirty work?
Maybe the unemployment benefits and therefore the willingness to work threshold are too high.
Tu Hablas Espanol por la trabador.
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Old 03-24-2016, 02:22 PM
 
115 posts, read 336,702 times
Reputation: 88
Quote:
Originally Posted by buenos View Post
I understand that the contractors also have to make a living. But their minimum standard of living is like 3x mine. Most places a contractor is like middle class. Here high-skilled top engineers are lower middle class, while handymen and contractors are upper middle class. Why do they have to make 3x as much as I do in an our?
How about those people whining that they have been unemployed for years? They cant get a job as an assistant handymen or employee of a contractor and make more than they would in an engineering office? Not fancy the dirty work?
Maybe the unemployment benefits and therefore the willingness to work threshold are too high.
So if they get 3x as much as you do then why don't you become a handyman?
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