Need advice! Saga of two contractors...

[MorningGlow]

I met with a bunch of contractors to get estimates for a job we need to have done on our house. Two stood out. Both seem decent. Roughly the same (reasonable) price for the job, just about the same description of how they would do the job in their estimates. Both prompt in returning e-mails and phone calls, both courteous, both willing to explain specifics. One gets an A+ on the BBB site, the other gets an A-.

How in the WORLD should we pick which one to hire? :shrug:

Halp! I swear, I'm about to flip a coin to decide. (And I can't go on looks--I haven't seen either one yet. Wife came to gather info for one, father came for the other.)
:rofl:

[malta blue]

1. sounds like a coin toss to me

Good luck!

[MorningGlow]

2. Gah! I was afraid of that...

I suppose I could be in worse situations besides having two good contractors to choose from, though! :D

[mwooldri]

3. Price. Simple as that.

If Contractor A is $5000 and Contractor B is $4990, then Contractor B.

[MorningGlow]

4. Dude

You would ignore a vibe to save ten bucks?
:rofl:

These guys are about $100 apart.

[KitchenWitch]

5. Call their references.

[MorningGlow]

6. Yep, planning on it

But I am a bit skeptical, as they can just give you the contact info of the people who really liked them. I know that all the locals approve of one of the contractors, but I haven't heard anything specific about the other (two good reviews online, but who knows who really posted them, you know?) I drive through a town where they had their work sign in the yard of one house, and I've been trying to notice if the people are ever outside--I am SO the type of person who would stop and ask them about the contractor!--but I haven't seen them yet. I'm THISCLOSE to knocking on their door, though!

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. Knock on the door...

I'm a real estate appraiser and I often knock on doors of the neighbors around houses I am appraising or using as comps, just to get the skinny. Do it.

[MorningGlow]

12. Do you? That's interesting--I didn't know appraisers did that

Precedent is good! Plus the house I am coming close to approaching is a very well kept one on the main road in a busy village--it's not like I'd be walking up a quarter-mile driveway way out in the country or anything.

[Shell Beau]

7. Yep. And if that doesn't work, go with the A+!

[MorningGlow]

11. Mr. MG is leaning that way

My jury is still out, for some reason. I think I'm just chicken about picking one, in case I pick the wrong one! :crazy:

[NMDemDist2]

8. schedule?? which is available first? n/t

[MorningGlow]

10. Again, it's close!

One's available starting the week of 6/8, the other one week later. This is maddening!
:rofl:

[handmade34]

13. my gut says pick the one whose Father came

[MorningGlow]

14. Always go with the gut!

I'm just bummed that my gut is being wishy washy! But that's the one that Mr. MG is leaning toward. Hm...

[handmade34]

16. if your truely flummoxed

dowse it... use a pendulum
edit for spelling

[MorningGlow]

17. I am also planning on doing that

but not till Mercury Retrograde is over with on the 30th. :hi:

[BrotherBuzz]

15. It's a buyers market and you hold the cards.

Play your cards straight up and tell both contractors you whittled the field down to just two contractors, and the one that resubmits the best (not necessarily the lowest) bid gets the job.

[MorningGlow]

18. I do have something like that in mind

Both contractors' bids are very reasonable as they are, but we have a LOT more work we need to have done. One contractor (the A- one) does a lot of painting, and they wrote up a separate bid to paint our whole house, which is also very reasonable. The other contractor (the A+ one) does a lot of tile work, and the upstairs bathroom is on our list of things that NEED to be done (the walls are bare in the tub area and the vinyl squares on the floor were in their prime 25 years ago). So we could use "future jobs" as leverage for both. I honestly want to keep both of them around, because we can use both their talents in the near future.