How to negotiate w/ contractors

[Anthony Simboli]

Hey BP,

I'm in the process of hiring my first contractor (for major renovations). I've worked with contractors in the past but for smaller jobs as I typically do most of the work myself but now it's requiring some licensed professionals.

I'm starting to get estimates back and as I figured they are all over the place. My goal is to not get the cheapest contractor, but to start building a solid relationship. My gut instincts are telling me that the most expensive contractor right now will be someone I would actually want to work with on future properties (he's very timely, he's thorough in his estimates, and communicates extremely well, even to the point he came back to explain the estimates to me vs. just sending me a pdf with prices). How would you go about sharing other estimates you've received explaining that you want to work together but can we get costs down? 

Open to any and all suggestions. Again this is not only my first big project (3rd property), but I'm also finally in the state that I would like to stay in for future properties so I have relationship building top of mind.

Thank you