Contractor fee to walk through property before bid is placed?

[Amy Solomon]

With our old contractor, years ago, we'd walk through a property right before we placed the bid, so we could see if my calculations for the renovation were on spot. He'd give me ideas, show me ways we could avoid/save etc. And he'd also advise me on anything he saw that just didn't look right....he kinda kept me on track and made sure I knew what would be involved etc.

I'd then close on the house, one house or another, mostly we did 2-3 walk throughs per 1 house purchase as the negotiations don't work out on every deal of course. He'd do the work, get paid, then on to the next house.

Someone I had intended on using as a contractor now, since I"ve been out of the game for a while, and this is the husband of someone I know fairly well, has just told me they will charge me for a walk through if I use them as my contractor.

Is this customary? It doesn't seem so. I've never had to pay a fee for that before. They get the project we end up buying, they make their money that way.

What are your thoughts?

[Chuck Catchings]

Amy let me give you a perspective from someone with over 30 years experience in all phases of SFR & multifamily construction. But first let me address all the comments on your post. Most are from an buyers or investors view point and then there is Terry's that is totally unrelated too your question. Not a slam on you Terry, insurance work is great when you can get it but that's not what Amy's question was about.

Amy, these ain't the good ole days anymore when it was expected that a GC, a tradesman, carpenter etc would just show up and give you a free walk through or bid. I did it for years because it was just the norm and what people expected. So after doing the math and realizing how many hours, tanks of gas, people not showing up or thinking they are the only client you have and that your on their time and not yours was how do you say shocking was or is an understatement.

So basically your saying that it's not worth a few well deserved bucks to have someone with experience, knowledge, references maybe help you save $100s or even $1000s of $$ on a potential project that obviously your needing help on just doesn't make sense too me. So I started charging a fee to do a walk through and would take that off my bid if accepted. This usually weeds out the uninformed want a be investor not realizing that a good GC is their best line of defense from the start. So do your homework and find a good GC with references just like you do your DD on a property and move on. I could write on this subject all day long and go into the countless hours and money out of my pocket spent over the years doing free bids. In 30 years I NEVER advertized my work, never had to, it was all word of mouth. So do you still think this is not worth it for you to spend what you would spent on a good dinner, a pair of shoes, neither of which will make you or save you $$ in the long run. I guess it's all relevant isn't it??