How To Choose a Contractor
1. Estimate
2. Schedule of work to be performed
3. Financing schedule
4. Delivery schedule of missing solutions and finishing materials
5. Contract
If the client gets to the last bullet point with the particular contractor, he will start the project with him. The professional companies usually offer similar prices. However, those prices aren’t very high. Basically, every contractor gets the minimum profit. It is very complicated to find the client who agrees to the price that is higher than the medium market price.
When the client chooses the contractor whom he wants to work with, the main criteria is the estimated price of the project. This is the reality. Most of the clients don’t really care about how professional your company is, how many reviews you have, or how long your company is in the construction business. The customer usually looks for the lower price.
When the client chooses the lower price, he needs to be sure that it is the real lowest price. The final price is usually formed from different criteria such as the list of work and the materials for the project. Each potential applicant makes his own list of the types of work. For example, the task for the architectural section is to calculate the estimate for the construction of the “shell” of the future house. One contractor understands the “shell” as only the foundation, the walls, and the roof. The other one will include the windows, insulation, entrance doors, and facade cladding. The most professional contractor has more detailed project that includes the blind area, the drainage ring, embeds for water, cable, sewage pipe, and the technique of installing the windows. For instance, if the house is made of the bricks, the windows will be installed into the gap between the bearing walls and the cladding. He also estimates the installation of ventilation shafts and their lining under the roof.
Of course, it is more difficult to win the tender for the third contractor. His estimated price is higher than other two contractors offer. As mentioned before, most clients don’t want to get into the details. They don’t compare the set of components. The customers look at the final price.
Finally, there are some recommendations for the clients. Please compare the prices for certain types of work, rather than the final price. Our company’s experience shows that the client who doesn’t look at the details of the contract has more chances to choose unqualified contractor. These contractors don’t show their phenomenal talent to work below the market price. They have no experience to make a proper estimation.