Decisions, decisions

Well, the saga of the house…

So, I got two contractor bids. The first guy made me feel better, as he was very knowledgeable, personable, and exuded confidence and skill. One of those quiet, competent guys that you feel will do right for you. Sure enough, his bid was detailed and thorough, and addressed all the elements we talked about. The second guy was … well, less inspiring, but still seemed very knowledgeable, just less able to communicate it well. His bid was hand-written and lacked detail, but matched in almost all categories the first one. They were very close, with a couple of exceptions that basically balanced out.

The damage - about $40,000 in structural and code repairs needed. In the process of which, I would get most of my cosmetic things done (painting inside and out) because it would have to be done. Both mentioned that the price of materials is going up due to gas prices rising, etc. But both have availability to do the work, though my sense was the first guy would use more of his own crew and the second might hire random people if he had too much work to do.

Anyway… After much thinking about it and further visiting of other houses out there, I decided to go ahead and make a revised bid based on a level I will feel comfortable with and one which, if they don’t take, I will be happy with looking elsewhere. I reduced the bid $55K, which gives me room for unexpected costs, extra for permits and inspections and living expenses in the meantime, and enough left over to make more than a 20% down payment - important for loan terms.

We’ll get it to them later today and then it will be their turn to decide - 3 days of waiting :)