General Contractors in Chicago Heights charging to give a quote.

[Yocheved Beer]

Hi bigger pockets! I am a new investor putting a lot of offers and I got two excepted.

The contractor is charging 350 dollars for him to quote a price.

Is that normal? 

[Jennie Berger]

Until @Jonathan Klemm responded, I thought to myself: "All these people saying it's CRAZY for a GC to charge for an estimate" are clearly NOT General Contractors. :D  

@Marcus Auerbach provided some quality insight and a more comprehensive overview of what a 'walkthrough' and 'estimate' really consist of. It would behoove you to get crystal clear on exactly what you are asking the GC for.

1. A walkthrough with a verbal, ballpark estimate? (probably takes an hour)

2. A walkthrough with a written ballpark estimate? (could take days)

3. A walkthrough WITH a written scope of work and ballpark estimate? (could take days)

4. A walkthrough WITH a written scope of work and CONCRETE estimate? (could take weeks)

5. Do you have your scope of work or are you expecting the GC to devise one? (various times)

6. Are you looking for a detailed, written comprehensive estimate with measurements, scope, and other pertinent details so you can then go shop that estimate around with other GCs? 

I'm sure I missed some here, but the fact is all of these are going to demand different amounts of time and work from your GC. 

There is no one-size-fits-all-answer. Some will charge. Some will not. Some will charge a little. Some will charge a lot. Some may look at it as an opportunity for business and a future relationship. Nobody here is right or wrong or crazy or normal.

Good luck!

Jennie Berger

Property People