It might be really easy to just find one contractor that you like to do your home project. It’s even easier to get several bids and just pick the lowest priced one. However, this is a serious mistake and gets your home project off to a terrible start. You need to shop around for San Diego home remodeling contractors and find one that provides both quality and affordability.
Look for Contractors affiliated with the Better Business Bureau, National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) or any other local building or remodeling association. Look at each Contractors website to see what type of work they perform. What are their specialties? And if they do not have a website, you should be cautious if you decide to contract with them.
The most organized Homeowners form a typed copy of a basic scope of work with copies of any pictures, layouts, designs, sketches, etc. And it’s easy for the home remodeling contractor because they know exactly what you want!
During your meetings with each Contractor, hand over your information that you compiled and walk the job with each of them. Be prepared to answer numerous questions. Some will be easy to answer and others may need some additional research on your part. Either way, try to stick with your initial scope of work and do not deviate. You want the bids to be apples to apples and changing the scope during your meeting with the Contractor will only make it more difficult for you to interpret the figures on each bid. You can always adjust the scope after the estimates are gathered and you have narrowed down the potential Contractors.
Ask each Contractor how long it will take them to prepare the estimate and make sure they honor those dates. If they don’t, that should be a red flag.