Joe instead of feeling sheepish about the process think from the perspective that you are being a good steward of your resources. Once so was speaking to a guy I hired for clean out of a new investment property. He told me that he always shoot his bids high because he knows and expect people to negotiate his price lower. If you accept their bid it’s like Christmas to them and you end up over paying.
With that said I will also say sometimes the lowest bid is not the best bid. It could cost you a lot more money in the long road. Some people will shoot you a low bid then try to milk you for more money placing it on unseen problems. A good reasonable price by a quality contractor is what I want. Everyone needs to make some money and treat each other fairly.
