won't budge on quote,,,help!!

[mangobanjo]

We had a rough quote with very little detail from a guy who came to look at our plans. We thought he seemed very down to earth and came recommended so we invited him back to discuss it further. We assumed that the quote was fairly rough and therefore up for negotiation. It was over our budget and we hoped we could lower it by 10% approx.

He came with his father and when we said we wanted to negotiate the father said that was the final figure and they had already lowered it considerably (before submitting it to us) and that we would have to move out immediatly and for the duration of the project to allow them to get on (more expense). Now, he wasn't aggressive but he didn't seem that bothered about our needs or selling himself as the man for the job.His son was so pleasant and accomodating on the initial visit and seemed quite overshadowed by his father.

We are perplexed as it is a large 2 storey back and side xtension and quite a few months work. We are also worried that we might not have enough money to do the project anyway if they can't come down in price a little. Is this approach on quotes usual? Do you think the dad was just trying to drive a hard bargin? We're waiting for them to get back to us on something but my husband isn't sure if they were chancing their arm or really serious about the accuracy of their price.

get some other people to quote fo rthe work, then you will see how fair the price is.

You definately want several quote and you want to follow up any references they give etc etc. Do not be pressurised into going with them!

You really need to get at least three quotes for a project. I would be wary of agreeing to a quote without details. If you have at tight budget you need to be sure exactly what is included and not be stung for 'extras' afterwards.

When we had our extension done, we got several qoutes and then went back to the guy we wanted, who had the highest quote, to see if he would come down at all.

He did, and they did a great job but the cost went over the quote with all the extra bits that got added on anyway.

The key thing I would say is you have to get on with your builder. You see an awful lot of them! Sounds like this builder may not be the one for you.

I would have run a mile at the suggestion of moving out aswell. We had a back extension and the walls knocked out in the 2 rooms at the back of the house to make one massive kitchen/dining room. We stayed put but had no use of the kitchen during the day for a good 6 weeks.

Not easy with 2 small children but moving out would not have been an option, cost wise. Completely impractical for most people IMO!

Get at least another couple of quotes. If you really like this bloke and the other quotes come in cheaper, tell him and give him the option of lowering his price. Make it clear you need to stay in the property for the duration, so if he can't work under those conditions, then he should turn down the job.

Remember, you are the client, not the other way round!

any builders quote you need to have at least 10% over the amount quoted for unexpected stuff or don't start the job

we have had 3 quotes and they were all similar in price but went for the person we felt we could work with. However, the follow up meeting didn't go as well as we had hoped because whilst being unbudgeable on cost the father had not attended the first visit and was not as familiar/confident with the project as he was with his figurework. We were just surprised that they were so stoic with no room for negotiation whatsoever. We assumed all initial quotes were a starting point and up for discussion.

We've just had a very similar experience for a gutting house/developing loft extension/moving some walls & making everything stunning again job.

Builders either massively over-priced (so taking the piss, frankly) or obtuse about their prices & unable or unwilling to discuss the figures involved, never mind negotiate. I, like you, assume the first quote is the highest one they think they can get away with.

One refused to give us anything on paper, just a figure on the phone - errr, no, I'd like a breakdown of costs by area please as per the tender document & architect's specifications. Architect has been wonderful, we're still looking for decent builders...

One tried to tell us that we didn't need a contract & 'didn't we trust him'? A short response of 'no, not yet' ended that relationship.

I think you'll know when you find the right builder, tbh. Doesn't sound like this one was it.

I would walk gracefully but briskly away from this builder [as however nice he is his strings are obviously being pulled by someone else].I think you will know when you find someone you can trust.Even with a builder you get on well with there are times when things get a bit tetchy [i am several weeks into a building project as you can tell!].To reiterate what someone else said you need to follow your gut instincts

I suppose we are surprised how difficult it is to find a good builder. We knew building work was stressful but not like this.

I wouldn't get them to do the work, if they weren't open to negotiating then they might not be good to work with further on down the line.

Get some more quotes done, and find someone you're totally happy with, don't feel pressured into agreeing for them to do the work just because they've quoted for it.

I would consider a builder's quote to be first and final. Knock them down in price and they'll make it up elsewhere. IMO there is no such thing as a discount from a builder.

We have had 5 quotes from 5 good builders (all came highly recommended by people we trust) - they were all a lot more than we expected and you have to be very wary of provisional costs - they can sometimes be unrealistically low. We have choosen 2 builders and we will drill down on detail with them before making our final decision - if following this discussion the price isn't hiked up we will be happy. To deal with the increase in cost we have rescoped and are no longer considering some of the more luxurious features (stunning kitchen has to go in favour of budget option) and I'll do all the decorating etc. We have assumed a 10% increase in final build costs and if it doesn't happen we'll have a little extra for a holiday at the end

We are moving out and were told by several builders that especially on major projects, if people say they aren't moving out then they need to increase the quote by 5 - 10% because clearing up everyday adds time onto the build schedule and they find it a royal pain in the butt.

So we decided we'd rather pay the 5 - 10% to a landlord rather than the builder.

Oh and I would definitely not choose this builder - trust your gut instinct. If you're already feeling uneasy, think how bad it's going to be when you're 3/4 the way through the build. Walk away!

We have recently done a selfbuild, which included everything from preparing a piece of land, connect plumbing and electricity, to the finished house ready to move into.

2 of the quotes stood out. One was at £200.000 for the whole thing. The other at £400.000.
(detached 4 bed, 2 bath two storey, with detached garage)

The cheaper quote was difficult to read, as it was very low spec, and was excluding lots of things, such as beading, and skirting, and with lino flooring throughout. The more expensive quote was inclusive of absolutely everything, including maple flooring. We went with the more expensive one, because at least we knew what we would pay, and we did not go over budget!

The other builder did a house next to my cousins boyfriend. The boyfriend told me his neighbour was distraught, as just a few months into the build they were already £100.000 over budget! The neighbour could not afford to have it completed by this builder, and ended up doing a lot of the work himself (to a low standard of course)

You don't want to skimp and save when you are doing extensive building works. You need to get a detailed quote and a guarantee they will not go above this budget. Going for the cheaper quote is often false economy. You also want references, to see their work and speak to people they have done work for.