The missed quote that taught me to read the fine print myself

Back in 2019 I had a deck job in Portland where the contractor's bid came in $3,200 lower than the next guy. Turned out he'd left out the permit fees and the disposal costs, which added up to about $2,800 after we started. Now I ask every bidder for a line item breakdown before I even schedule a walkthrough. Has anyone else gotten burned by a lowball quote that wasn't actually low?

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riley8602mo ago

I remember reading a piece in a home repair newsletter that said contractors almost always leave out something on purpose to win the bid. They call it "value engineering" but it's really just hoping you won't notice what's missing until it's too late. Your experience with the permit and dump fees is exactly the trap they describe, so asking for that breakdown up front is the only way to keep them honest.

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