How to avoid being quoted high by builders as we are a young couple?

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Hi mumsnetters!

I hoping someone can help me. Me and my boyfriend are trying to get our first house renovated. We've got a baby on the way at the end of Feb so are trying to get as much done as we can to budget. My dad is in property up north so I have a rough idea how much jobs should cost (I live in South East London on the London/Kent border which is unfortunately too far for his contacts to travel to). I can't help but think when we have builders come round that they take one look at me and my boyfriend (both mid twenties) and bump the price up. Some barely even talk to me they just talk to my boyfriend! Has anyone got any tips of how to ensure you're getting a reasonable quote from a builder/tradesperson? Or negotiating with them? Even allowing for London prices we seem to be getting quoted the high end f the scale more often than not.

And if anyone could recommend a reliable builder who installs RSJ's please do PM me!

Any advice really recommended!

Thanks!

Sorry I meant really appreciated not really recommended!

I would suggest asking the builders back to discuss your quote and introducing them to your dad. Sadly there's no other way.

I think you live nearish to me. It's not just a young person thing, I think the builders are so busy that it depends how big the job is. If you get them to quote only half of them respond. I wish they would just say, we could do your job or the more expensive one so we'll go with that one, however if you are near Beckenham try AP Ward. They always quote for me and fitted an rsj. Think we also got a structural engineer in to do the technical stuff.

I doubt it has much to do with your age -
Quotes are coming in high for some of my jobs at the moment, it's due to a few factors
Shortage of labour (they are busy), high material costs (brexit, value of the £, manufacturing issues), lots of renovations / extension jobs about as people are not happy with selling at the moment due to property market uncertainty.
Written quotes detailing what is / isn't included is the best way to compare.
If all quotes are coming in high - that's probably the price I'm afraid.

I agree with wonkylegs.

The price you will be quoted is likely to be a lot higher than a similar job up north would have cost just a year or so ago. Inflation in construction materials, labour shortages, etc. have driven prices up considerably.

We are coming to the end of a total house referb and my tips would be get 3 quotes and have everything down in writing e.g. The materials cost (pay for that separately if possible) labour cost, time frame and exactly what work is being carried out. And it really doesn't hurt to haggle the worst they can say is no, I have with every part of my house and I got money off everything not always huge amounts but every penny counts when your having work done.

1 be specific what you need: have as much specified up front as you can ie make all the choices now so builder can be accurate.
2 do not be in a rush: good builders are busy: be prepared to wait
3 get recommendations from friends
4 got lots of quotes 3 or 4.
5 be professional: they will treat you more seriously and mention your dad is in the trade.

Thank you everyone, great advice that I will use going forward!

Ask your potential builders to provide a full breakdown of their estimates. You should then be able to compare like to like across the various tradespeople and identify any line-items that look a bit rich.

i agree with pp who said get full itemised quotes - if the builder will be arsed to do one if going to be a lot of fairly substantial jobs in one lot.

definitely ask to see previous work, a good tradesperson will be agreeable but i suppose it depends on if his customers will accommodate that. we were happy to show 1 or 2 people our extension.
however i do think that some builders price according to post code or perceived affluence in your area. we live in a slightly more well regarded suburb of a city and find jobs much more expensive than when we lived in village suburb nearby.

also, im pretty sure on mumsnet a while back, someone was convinced the tradesperson had googled them to see what they did for a living and inflate quote. how they worked that out, i really dont know but its just a thought.

at the end of the day, material and labour does cost and isn't as cheap as it would have been.

good luck, i've had major re-wire, re-plum knocking stuff down and extending to a previous house, so i know how much a pain this all is, especially with young children.

It costs what it costs because trades can charge what they like for their time. Reasonably so.

If their time is in demand they’ll take the jobs where they make a good profit and won’t be given hassle.

I’d be amazed if SE London prices bear any resemblance to prices elsewhere in England

There is an enormous difference in building costs between the south east and the north normally, and as others have said, everyone is doing renovations rather than moving with Brexit uncertainty, so you're in a seller's market for costs.

If your Dad does property up north, can he send northern builders down to you for some of the work? You might save quite a lot.

Agree with pp doubt very much it’s anything do with age, building costs have increased dramatically over the last couple of years, also as pp builders are so busy, they can pick & choose jobs.
I would speak to neighbours, maybe post on a local neighbourhood site, quite a few good builders in Beckenham APWard have a good reputation I believe.
Would it not possible to get your dads contacts, to come & stay in a local b&b & do some work for you, could work out cheaper.

I know that some builders might have a number of jobs in the pipeline and then they'll give you a ridiculous quote - they'll either make a killing or walk away withou a bother given all the other jobs.

Compared to prices up North, London prices are likely to be about double. Builders will usually allow about £300 per man-day + contingency (from my observations).

Have you got any examples of prices you've been quoted?