Advice needed on building quotes.All you bargain drivers please read!

We have finally got our planning permission through and have a few quotes to ponder. All of the builders were recommended by our architect. One of the quotes is significantly higher but it was originally the builder we were most keen to use.(They did next doors work and are tidy, and good with dogs and kids).

The said builder has phoned to chase the quote...How far can you go in negotiating prices do you reckon? Any advice, we have never done this before. It is essential we get the right team. We are potentially building two extensions, both two storey , one front and one back.This is not a small job and affects all bar three rooms in the house.

With my anxiety problems and OH working away from home most of the day to day managing will be down to me.

Ask Helena 54 (She has had some pretty major work done this year) and just be thankful you don't live here, finding a decent builder is a nightmare, I know we've been trying for four years to re-build this old farmhouse, I planned on two years, now it looks like six

The work will extend the dining room and kitchen, provide an extra bedroom with vaulted ceiling and en suite (rear extension). On the front we will gain a large entrance hall and the small bedroom will become a double. The garage is then being extended forward and the rear of the garage will become a utility room off the kitchen.....

Next time he rings to chase the quote say to him you would love to use him due to his excellent reputation, blah blah blah, but the quote is quite a lot more than you can afford, and then SHUT UP. He will have allowed for you beating him down a bit in the quote anyway, so will give you a bit of a discount, when he does that, sigh and say, oh can you do ANY better than that, still quite a lot over what we can afford, he will come down again, it is up to you then whether you do another few sighs and say you will talk to OH about it and let him know, or whether you give in If you do decide to stick it out, wait till he rings you again to chase the job, remember, work is a bit thin on the ground at the moment because of this credit crunch business, and he will not want the job going to someone else if he can possibly secure it and get the money himself, once he has chased you again you will get another lower quote and go for that one.

Totally agree with this. My son was a bricklayer before getting out before the building trade began to decline cos of the credit crunch. If this builder is good he will know that he can charge a little bit more. You could go for hte cheapest quote and find that the builder is rubbish and may not have the accounts necessary to buy in the best materials etc. You can , as suggested, try to negotiate the price, but if he has a good reputation he may have lots of work in the offing. His quote should be based on a "room for negotiation" basis, but, if you cant get it down as muvh as you would like, just remember that the cheaper option is not always the best as often builders running on a tight budget may have more than one project runnung at one time "robbing peter to pay paul". Good luck!

June, hope I never meet you across the negotiating table

You are absolutely right, there is always a 'contingency' figure built into any quote and this is the 'negotiable' bit. Builders are going to find work harder to come by for at least the next one or even two years so they won't want to loose out if they've judged it as a job they want to do.

And you are right again, after saying you really would like to use him the hard part is to stop talking but you must so as to force the other party to at least say something.

Ha ha ha...can't you tell I did a lot of negotiating in a former life
It is very very important to shut up, otherwise you find yourself justifying what you have just said, and that shows you are unsure of yourself, so when in doubt, say nowt

He is coming round to "see what he can do" on Friday. We are also getting final figures from the other builders too.Wish us luck.

Comes in handy sometimes I bet.

I negotiate everything. OH fled in embarrassment when I started knocking them down on the price when he was buying a house, silly man would have paid them what they asked he ended up getting it for £20k less than the people next door had paid a month before us However he walked out of the estate agents to the pub and left me and the estate agent to it