Experience with scheduling multiple contractor bids?

Question

I'm leading up to the closing on my first flip (details on this to come later).

I'm in the process of getting quotes for the work to be done. I've gone through the property, laid out all the work I want done. I am asking for quotes on labour only, with the contractors to pick up materials and be reimbursed for them, other than specified finishes that I will select and bring to the site.

In the past, on my long term hold properties, I have scheduled many contractors to come with 30-60min windows, and waited around all done. Some show up, some call me when other contractors are there, some are very late or early.

This time, I have decided to have multiple contractors come at the same time. This will save me time planning and waiting around, and will hopefully lead to more competent bids. (@Marc Boiron gave me this idea, though I believe it has been said on the podcasts and forums as well).

Right now, I am planning on having 3-4 contractors scheduled each at 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm on Saturday. Some will likely not show up. I posted an ad on kijiji.ca (like craigslist but more popular here), and replied to a few ads. I have already received a number of responses from contractors, and expect I will pick the best sounding ones to come quote.

I'm hoping some people with experience in this can let me know what to expect? Are contractors ever upset to see they are scheduled at the same time as others? Should I let them know I am doing this ahead of time? Anything else I should be thinking about?

Ps: If it makes any difference, this is a condo apartment.

@Claude Boiron

Account Closed · Answer

@Luc Boiron - Pre-bid meetings like this are fantastic and we never hesitated to participate!  We were happy to know who are competition was.  Of course, it was expected that participants were vetted and pre-qualified. Plucking random folks from the internet, or the like, only invites disaster.

Construction doesn't really have trade secrets and so sharing openly was of no concern to us.

Since communication is such a large contributor to the success or failure of a project, pre-bid meetings allows everyone access to identical information at a singular time.  Properly done, minutes should be taken and distributed to all within 24 hours of the meeting.

That said, set a time (just one), stick to it and proceed.  Just send late comers away... they DQ'd themselves (barring extenuating circumstances or communication otherwise).  Equally, all questions by bidders received during the bidding period should be submitted in the form of RFI (Request for Information) and formally responded to and distributed to all bidders.  The better your plans, specifications and scope of work is, the better.

From a business standpoint, we shy away from owner supplied items. Too many variables that can cause problems (e.g., damage, warranty) and is poor business (when was the last time you brought your own beef to a restaurant for the chef to cook?).  Be specific about what you want and have the contractor provide it.  If you don't know exactly what you want, then set an allowance that you're willing to pay for that item.

Manolo D. · Answer

@Aaron McGinnis Interesting thoughts.

@Luc Boiron Obviously you are looking for a low priced contractor, from what I've read from other residential focused contractors, they will not like this idea. I would not mind doing this since all my clients do this (government agencies), the reason I do it is, they pay good money if I get it, I don't get that with investors. Like @Aaron McGinnis mentioned, many one man army contractors will just piggy back on our ideas, but if you specify everything, that should/could iron out some of the issues. The one thing I am thinking is, you expect the contractor to pickup materials when you want labor only contract, that's a killer for me, if you let me bid on labor, i expect you to deliver everything to the site when i need it, any materials that will delay my work, i will charge you. Nor will I pick up anything anywhere, our guys get paid the the hour, and every minute spent window time eats our profit, so if during the bid walk you'll indicate those flags for me, I won't even give out a bid.

Aaron McGinnis · Answer

We have a longstanding policy... if we show up to consult a job, and we see other contractors waiting like what you're suggesting, we turn around and walk away. It's very disrespectful to the educated contractor who is going to spend real time and effort understanding the project. It also means that less well versed contractors can piggyback off the more knowledgeable contractors.

Account Closed · Answer

@Luc Boiron  In the long run, I think it is better to use the same people over and over unless they have to be dropped for a reason.

I would not suggest getting lots of bids each time and going with the lowest price.

Don't get me wrong.  I have gotten multiple bids and they range from $1,200 -$20,000 for plumbing and from $8,000 -$16,000 for electrical on my current project.  So unless you know who to use, bids are very important.  I would just tend to stay with the same people next time if possible.

Jennifer Lee · Answer

sorry to add. I don't have good experience with meeting multiple GC/vendor if I have used them before. if I never met them I'm OK meeting 2 @ once.

return vendors, I usually dedicate a time with them. now I have a team so my ppl know the drill, but it was a long process of vetting and trusting

Matthew Paul · Answer

Real contractors are not " by the hour labors "  .  We dont send trucks and men down the road to pick up materials and get " reimbursed "   to save you money .   Real contractors dont advertise on craigslist or anything similar .  Save yourself some time , ask them what they charge an man hour over the phone , pick the cheapest  .  Roll the dice  see what you get as a finished product .

If you want to compare apples to apples , have a complete scope of work , detailed , materials ,manufacturers , work to be done ,plans etc.  Invite licensed contractors to a bid meeting , put everything in writing . Show them the site , answer all the questions they ask , then add all those to the specs .  Then have them submit bids .

Aaron McGinnis · Answer

Another thought - a really good contractor is going to be working with supply houses that you don't have access to. We rarely buy materials from the big box stores - everything significant is through a supplier, so there'd be no way for you to pay for it directly even if you wanted to.

Experience with scheduling multiple contractor bids?

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