How to Negotiate Kitchen Remodeling
How to Negotiate Kitchen Remodeling
DISCLAIMER: No lollygagging, beating arout the bush, or sweet talk here. This is a real deal of the goings on in the mind of a man who experiences the multitude of confusion of the masses of dreamers who think they know what they want and how they want it. Are you ready? Good. I didn't think so.
Let's face it, anytime we shop for anything, we want the best product, the best service, and the best price. You may have heard, "Good, fast, cheap: pick two," or something along those lines. Every time I hear that I think, "What comes out of a bull's butt?" Yes, you are hearing me correctly. It is possible to achieve all three (good, fast and cheap) if you put in the work and deliberately plan your project with that goal in mind.
Fair warning, your cheap and my cheap are two entirely different things. If you are not a kitchen remodeling professional, then you are a consumer who is likely clueless to the hand-on, been-there-done-that experience of a professional who has a considerable grasp on managing all the moving parts that accompanies a kitchen remodel. Additionally, a considerable grasp on your project consideration and all seven of the others kitchen remodeling projects he or she is managing at the same time.
On the other hand, if you are or were a kitchen remodeling professional, then you know the drill and what it takes to deliver quality and you also know that the word cheap is never a motivating reason for any experienced professional to want the job.
Before we proceed, if you are unfamiliar with the terms and meanings, take a moment to review the 7 Pricing Classifications of a Pleasing Kitchen Remodeling Project Process.
In this article, I am going to highlight what I think are the two most important things to consider when selecting services and trade professionals. In addition, I will discuss how to effectively negotiate prices for the services you will need. The goal is to ensure your project process and the remodeling experience is pleasant from start to finish. With these in mind, let's take a look at the two-part process of how to negotiate kitchen remodeling. And please, don't stop here because you think you already know. You don't. Hi, I'm Ryan. Nice to meet you, I think.
Part 1: Prequalify the Service Providers
At this point, you will be making phone calls, sending emails or submitting forms online.
Similar to the prequalification process of getting a loan, the same process holds true for professional service providers. The goal is the find a few prequalified service providers based on four things:
- their skills
- what they intend to offer
- the price
- and their availability
In my multitude of experiences with service professionals, I want the actual person who is doing the job to also be the person doing the estimate. To get that person, I came to understand that service professionals are busy people.
Independent service professionals prefer to spend their time doing what they do best: the actual work. That is how they make their income. They don't have time to be running around doing estimates all day. There are pros and cons to using independent service people versus a bigger, more publicized company, but that is for another discussion. If you do end up with a company estimator specifically hired for that purpose, qualify them, too. Ask estimators what experience they have.
This is why it is important to get multiple estimates from several professionals in each skilled trade area as it relates to your kitchen remodeling project, or any project for that matter. Putting in the time to get as many estimates before actually starting your project will certainly give you more options to choose from. Additionally, getting estimates before starting the project will absolutely give you the upper hand in controlling the final result and the cost of your project. Three QUALIFIED estimates is a good rule of thumb, more if necessary, but three is enough.
Once you have your prequalified list of service providers, the next step is qualification.
Part 2: Qualify the Service Providers
Once you have prequalified your service providers for your remodeling project based of the four points I made above (skills, offer, price and availability), the next step is to qualify or approve the one you want to hire. This is the part where you schedule your prequalified contractors to come and give you an onsite quote, proposal, whatever.
As a bonus consideration, prepare to hire this one professional for all your future projects and keep that number is your favorites lists.
Finally, once you schedule three qualified trade professionals for a visit, ask what the estimate includes. This is where your negotiation and bargaining power becomes relevant. Word of caution, good, qualified professionals have more work than they need yours. I highly recommend refraining from asking if the price they give is their best price or if they can go any lower (don't EVER ask that). You certainly want the best price for the service and it doesn't hurt to ask, however, there is a good way and a not so good way of doing it.
Experienced professionals aren't idiots. You calling on them for an estimate is certainly not their first rodeo. Professionals see asking for best price and price reductions as red flags. Their interest in your project pushes lower down (meaning off) their list of projects to pursue, believe it or not, or they might find a way to increase your price, you know, with surprise finds or something like that. Consider it a insiders look at trade secrets. (Oh, goodness, they're all gonna hate me now.) Personally, I would rather sit starving in a cold, abandoned house than provide premium services and beyond-quality work for cheap because you (if it is you) thought you could put me in a position of despair.
Service professionals arm themselves with the expectation that you are getting other estimates from other providers. They are already competitve in that regard. When they give you a price for the services to be rendered, they know what they are talking about. For you to ask them to lower their price is insulting and an intended waste of their time and yours. They could see cheapskates coming from more than a country mile. You'd be better asking your neighbor for some Amish butter fudge than to ask a professional to reduce their prices. Just don't do it. You get to negotiate by doing your homework, getting more estimates than just one, and by providing a simple list of tasks you need completed.
Part 3: Of Course There's a Special Bonus
Truly, madly, deeply, from the bottom of my heart, thanks for sticking around. I have a special closing gift just for you.
I said you can get all three: Good, Fast, and Cheap (whatever that means). Notice I did not say "reasonable." I see this question pop up all the time in social forums and pages and neighbor groups online. And they even stress the word. It goes something like this: "Can someone please recommend a 'reasonable' ______? All these prices seem so high." When I ask them what reasonable means, its always crickets.
If you are one of those people, just stop. You are sending a message that shows you are clueless about what it takes for any skilled tradesperson to efficiently and effectively do their work. Asking that question is akin to walking around with your zipper down. Consider this a favor, I'm telling you because you obviously don't know.
If you are not one of those people who asks that question, and you know someone who is, please, at least have a bit of class and decency to share this post with them. That way, I'll be the one on the hook, not you.