10 Ways To Get A Lower Kitchen Remodel Price.

Here are my top 10 ways to get a lower kitchen remodel price. These are not talked about very often, or at all. Why? Because no one wants you, the consumer, to know about these tips. After all contractors want to make more money, which isn't all bad, but there are ways to get lower prices. I will share them with you below.

Being personable doesn't mean to be the contractors best friend as soon as you first meet. Being personable means having an upbeat attitude and having some passion for the project at hand. Don't go over the top with enthusiasm though, this just shows you are going to pay any price to get the job done, and that's not what you're trying to accomplish. Being funny doesn't hurt either.

2. Be generous.

I don't mean that you should give him or her the keys to your car for the weekend. I mean, offer them a drink (non alcoholic) and a sandwich, and sit down for a few minutes before you get right into the nuts and bolts of your project. A little gesture goes a long way.

If they decline the drink and food, that's fine, but if they refuse to engage in idle chit chat for a few minutes that may be a red flag. Why? If the contractor is only concerned with getting the floor plans or your budget without getting to know you a little first, they may only be concerned with making money and not about the overall success of the project.

Some contractors are extremely busy and they may come across as pushy or impersonal. If they are very busy, then getting a lower price from them may be difficult. They don't need the work and therefore will increase the price and not lower it. Which brings me to my next point.

3. Are they swamped with work?

This is one of the reasons for idle chit chat. You get to know your contractor a little better, as well as them getting to know you. Bringing up subjects like "have you been busy this year?" and "how's work been?" goes a long way to determine how much you can get the price down. If the contractor has so much work they can't handle it, the price will be much higher than normal. This is because they don't need the work but nobody will turn down a job that get's a much higher price than normal.

4. Are they a member of a remodeling organization like the NKBA?

If they are a member of one of these organizations they feel they should get paid more than someone who doesn't have these accreditations. I personally think that is total crap and a way for the organization to make money and not the contractor.

Any kitchen remodeling company worth their salt will have written recommendations you can verify, and even go one of their remodels and get a close up of their work. They don't need a piece of paper saying that are capable of doing a kitchen remodel, it's experience that counts.

I DO recommend getting a kitchen designer who is accredited though. The on going changes n the industry are a difficult task to keep up with and constantly updating their accreditations will ensure that they are at the tip of the spear as far as kitchen designing goes.

5. Do your homework.

Investing some time before you call a contractor will ensure a better price? Yes, this way you have an idea of how much things actually cost and you don't get overpriced on materials. You won't actually know how much the job will cost until you get some estimates. Keep in mind that around 60% of the total cost is labor. So take the bid price and find out how much the actual material price is, and compare it to your notes of how much you found it to be.

If the material price is way over the top then find out why. The contractor may be marking up the price on the cabinets, which is a common practice it seems, albeit a dishonest one. One way to combat this is to order the cabinets yourself and hire the contractor to install them. It may be more difficult to find a contractor to only install the cabinets, rather than the whole remodeling project, because the profits are much smaller.

6. Don't Nag.

Don't nag your contractor. This only makes them angry. It's inevitable that problems will arise along the remodeling process and an angry contractor is a rigid contractor. A rigid contractor will only overprice a problem fix rather than working with you to resolve it for a reasonable price. It will cost more to fix unknown problems and some problems can be complex but they don't all have to be expensive.

It may not be possible to get a low price for a fix but it should be fair. Nagging will not gain you any friends and a friendly contractor is a more reasonably priced contractor.

7. Never, Ever, tell the contractor what to do.

After all you hired them for THEIR expertise. This is the quickest way for things to go south. If you have a question about something they did or are doing then ask, but do not tell them they are doing things all wrong, unless you are absolutely certain that it is wrong.

If you are in doubt then contact another kitchen remodeling contractor to check it out for you. Most contractors will not do this though, but if you offer them say a $100 for an hours consultation they will be more likely to help you. Also make sure that the consultation is by a reputable person, and is after the work day and not during. Unless you want to see some sparks fly DO NOT have two separate contractors on the job site at the same time.

Also, do not mention names if you get a consultation and there problems found. Contractors are in competition but do talk to one another outside of work. If you alienate one contractor then the word spreads between them all. This is not the way to get the problems resolved amicably.

8. Get multiple bids.

Get at least three bids with the same materials being used between them all. This will give you some leverage in negotiating a price. Some contractors are better than others and this will be reflected in the price so not all bid prices are the same. Always go and see some of the work the contractor has done and get some feedback from the homeowner. If they speak highly without sounding over the top then it's a good indication of how good the contractor is.

Keep in mind some contractors pay some of their former clients to speak highly of them in order to get more work. And some go as far as to offer a percentage of the contract fee if it was directly related to a referral from a former client. So the testimonials may be biased, but of course not all of them are.

Most contractors also include some "fudge factor" in the bid so that in case they have to lower their price they still get the price they need to do the job. This is, on average, 10% of the total bid. So you may be able to get the price down even further by trying to get the price down by, say 8% of the total bid. This way you get money off and the contractor is still over his lowest price. So you both are happy.

9. Do some of he preliminary work yourself.

Tearing out the old kitchen and flooring goes a long way to reducing your costs. It's very easy to rip out the old kitchen and sometimes it can be fun. After all it's the first step in the whole remodeling process.

10. Be a good judge of character.

Go with your gut instinct, it's normally right. If you don't feel that you are going to get along with a particular person or company then don't use them.

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