Measure twice, cut once.
15 contractors interviewed, of which:
- 4 fired me on the first call when I wouldn’t tell them a budget.
- 2 submitted proposals without walkthroughs, of which:
- One was way too high, with unreasonable structural terms that brought to mind the anger of a jilted lover.
- One was nondescript. (I guess that’s what you get when you don’t even do a walkthrough.)
- 9 visited for walkthroughs, of which:
- 1 started as the leader of the pack; I then realized he was making me worry about the wrong things.
- 1 wears Carhartt to “dress the part”, but has no actual substance along with this appearance.
- 1 mis-estimated the size of my apartment by about 3x after looking at architectural drawings.
- 3 never sent proposals (lol!)
- 1 came in so low as to seem scammy. They also call me every other day, even though I haven’t replied in weeks (lol.)
- 2 seemed reasonable, of which:
- 1 failed to refer me to their recommended architect when I requested (and then stopped talking to me for reasons uncertain, but perhaps that I answered honestly his question “What are you thinking about our proposal?” with “You’re currently second place in my final three”.)
- 1 has nailed down scope and is finalizing contract terms.
- UPDATE THREE HOURS LATER: WE HAVE SIGNED. I HAVE A CONTRACTOR. WOOHOO!!!
I really don’t think I’m a problem client.
I wouldn’t mind working with me.
I would need to be clear about expectations and boundaries.
I would need to feel comfortable saying, “That’s a no from me, dawg.”
But I’m not a blocker.
I care about quality and enabling my team to succeed.
And when I say I’ll do something, I do it.
And in return, the contractor will receive:
- Money. Lots of money.
- Incredulous question: How the hell do people buy renovations without negotiating scope or terms? Some of these were shocking:
- I saved at least 10% on the total cost by simply saying “this seems high” to a bunch of terms and he came down on them.
- I saved at least 15% by simply saying “What is this thing?” and then saying “We don’t need it” when the price was higher than my value. Recessed shelf in shower for $2100? Nope. Stone step in front of shower for $500? Nope. If it ain’t functional, good chance I don’t want it.
- Incredulous question: How the hell do people buy renovations without negotiating scope or terms? Some of these were shocking:
- Referrals. Multiple referrals.
- Because I vet my contractors and vendors aggressively, peers take my advice. My sister is about to renovate her apartment. Is she going to spend 5 months going from 15 to 9 to 3 to 1? Or will she trust that my analysis is worthwhile (and even just use my contract structure, which I went back-and-forth with him on four times, lol.)
- Focus and edits and improvements, oh my!
- One part of my contractor’s contract had him proposing usurious terms in case of nonpayment. A quick google showed these as 1) non-enforceable, and 2) a criminal violation! Like very illegal!! A totally reasonable person might have let him keep those terms. But I told him how to improve them. And now he’ll probably fix his standard contract. That’s nice.
My contractor search started in September. Today, it is March 26th. This may be the second biggest personal purchase I ever make (after the home itself). Shouldn’t I do it right?
Julian Wise 