Home Renovations: It Pays to Shop Around

In 2010, my husband and I purchased our first home from the bank. We were able to tour the house before we bought it, so we kind of knew what to expect in terms of upgrades. What we weren’t prepared for was the differences in costs when it comes to hiring an outside company to complete an upgrade or renovation.

We decided to redo things that were necessary to live in our house first. This included plumbing issues and removing filthy carpet. We are pretty handy ourselves, but we know there are certain things that require a professional.

First on our list was to install replacement windows. We went to a local home show and made an appointment with a company I’ve seen advertised on the back of a transit bus. They came out and quoted us about $15,000 to replace one picture window and 9 standard windows. Needless to say the door couldn’t have closed fast enough! Although they kept telling us that there was a lifetime warranty, putting $15,000 fancy windows into our house would have been an overimprovement for the area in which we live. We cautiously called another company that advertises “low low prices”. To replace all 9 standard windows and a large picture window with double-paned argon windows, the new company quoted about $3500. They, too, offered a lifetime warranty. This warranty can even be transferred to another owner if we sell. They will replace a window at no cost if anything happens to it. Neighborhood kids can swing baseballs at our house without a worry. In addition to wonderful prices, the allowed us to stick to our “cash only” lifestyle by breaking up the number of windows they replace each time they come out. Is it obvious which direction we went? Even if these windows aren’t top-notch, they will be replaced for free.

It definitely pays to shop around!

References
Author’s personal experience