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When building a house, how many contractors should you get bids from? Is it really a good idea to put your home out to bid with seven different general contractors, or plumbers, or electricians, or any trades really? You certainly want to get the most for your money but you also have to ask yourself what kind of corners get cut as the cost goes down. Does the company that has the lowest bid have the knowledge and resources to do the job correctly? What kind of materials are they buying? Are they the lowest price because they don’t have the proper tools to do the job? Or because they are buying the lowest end, twisted, wet, and warped materials they can get their hands on? Do you want a contractor building your new home that pays his crew the minimum amount of money he can get away with and they just don’t care what kind of job they do or do want a contractor that pays his crew well and they have pride in their work? Is saving a few dollars now actually going to cost you more money down the road in repairs? When I first entered the workforce in my late teens, I (very briefly) worked for a man that said if the studs in a wall fit tight then we don’t need to waste nails on them. We were building condominiums then. Needless to say he ended up going back and doing a lot of repairs. Did he care? Certainly not, he was making money on the repairs that he did not frame correctly in the first place. It’s quite sad really that he was allowed to get away with it, but, he was the lowest bidder so it only stands to reason he would get the job right? Now, I’m not saying that every contractor would act this way but they are certainly out there. I recommend doing your homework, spend some time researching the companies you are getting bids from, and not putting your project out to bid with more than two or three companies. You want to know if the company you are choosing has happy employees that have pride in their work? Just ask if you can talk to a couple of their employees. You might learn a lot about the company you are thinking about hiring. Are you really looking for the lowest price or are you looking for the best value for your money?

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