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Program Information

Getting Ready for a Bid Tour

1. One way to get repairs and improve-ments done on your house is to get competitive bids from qualified general contractors.

2. Some applicants for City rehabilitation loans get bids on their own, but others prefer to let the City help them locate prospective bidders.

3. As a service to loan applicants, the City maintains a list of general contractors who specialize in remodeling and rehabilitation of older houses and who ask the City to notify them whenever loan applicants are advertising for bids.

4. The City screens each contractor wanting to be on the list by checking any records on file with the local Credit Bureau or with the local Better Business Bureau. The City also calls some of the persons or businesses that the contractor has listed on his application as references. If possible, specific examples of the contractor's past work are spot-checked. To qualify to be on the City's list, a contractor also has to hold a City business license and carry adequate public liability insurance and worker's compensation insurance.

5. However, just because a contractor gets on the City's bid-invitation list does not mean that the City is recommending that contractor or guaranteeing that the property owner will be satisfied with that contractor's performance if he is hired for the project. These are not City employees, and the City will not be a party to the contract.

That is why it is important for you as property owner to check into the background and qualifications of any contractor you are considering for the job and to decide for yourself whether to enter into a contract with that person or business. This caution applies whether the contact came from the City's bid-invitation list or from some other source. Before signing a contract and receiving a loan you must agree to take final responsibility for your choice of general contractor.

6. The easiest way to tell the contractors what you want them to bid on is to hold a bid tour at the property. The City can help you arrange one. Most of the time only one bid tour is held. This is advertised by mail about a week ahead, for a time that is convenient to both the owner and the contractors. Sometimes a second bid tour is scheduled, when one or two contractors report a schedule conflict.

7. You should get to know the prospective contractors, starting with personal introductions at the start of the bid tour. If you have trouble remembering their names, make a list and jot down a brief physical description next to each person. Note whether the contractors provide you with business cards and lists of references. Try to see by the way they conduct themselves whether they seem interested in you and the project. Pay attention to the questions they ask and the comments they make.

8. It is important to know that most contractors "shop around" for new rehabilitation projects to bid on, much the way that property owners shop around for contractors. Each party is looking for the best deal out of several options they have to consider. That is why, out of five or six contractors who may come to look at your property, only two or three may end up submitting bids. The fewer bids you get the less you will have competition working in your favor to keep bids as low as possible. So it is in your interest to help make your property look as inviting as possible to the contractors. Present the house and yourself the same way you would if you were showing it to a prospective buyer:

  • Have the entire house and yard as clean and straightened up as you can manage for the bid tour.
  • Remove pet litter boxes and other sources of strong odors. If possible, put dogs and cats outdoors. Refrain from smoking in the house during the bid tour. If possible, open windows to let in fresh air. Turn off the TV and stereo.
  • Move personal belongings or furniture that may be blocking trafficways or access to areas the contractors need to see.
  • Show personal interest in the contractors.
  • Avoid confusing the contractors by talking about work you'd like to have done that isn't in the bid package given out at the bid tour. Avoid statements that make it sound like you have serious disagreements with the work plan described in the bid package. (If you discover a problem with the plan, arrange to discuss it privately with the project specialist. If everyone agrees the work plan needs to be changed for some reason, a notice called an "addendum" will be mailed out later to all of the contractors.)

9. Contractors typically are given two weeks in which to prepare their bids. Meanwhile, they will probably need to come back individually to look at the property in more detail. Be helpful and cooperative in arranging convenient times for them to meet you at the house.

10. Some of the work, such as electrical wiring, plumbing, and heating systems, has to be done under subcontracts with licensed tradespersons. Other items may need to be subcontracted if the general contractor isn't skilled or equipped for that particular kind of work. So each of the general contractors bidding on your project may also need to make appointments to bring their subcontractors by the house.

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