Are My in Laws Being Ripped Off?

If they haven't, they should get a few different quotes. That will give you a an idea of what a fair cost for the project is.

If they have gotten a number of quotes and they were all in the same ballpark (or they picked the one they liked best, even if it was more expensive) I'd say they've done their homework and there is nothing fishy.
My inlaws are in their mid-seventies, but let me tell you, my FIL who used to be a salesman is still excellent at negotiations like that.

Doesn't sound ridiculous, especially bc it includes a kitchen and bath but need to get other estimates.

S.,

They need to find out if their office building is zoned for residential space. Seriously. If it's not zoned for residential space, it doesn't matter what they want to do with it - they won't be able to do it.

Then they need to get a second and third quote. Get architect drawings so they have a plan of what is going on. If they can't do that? then yeah - they might be getting ripped off.

Laying pipe and doing electrical is NOT cheap. Turning an office space to a residential space is NOT cheap.

They need to ensure they are getting permits from the county.
They need to check the guy out via the Better Business Bureau.
They need to check the guy out on Angieslist.com

it's great the guy is a Christian. still needs to be checked out to make sure that he's got the experience to do what they need done.

Get a lawyer involved to make sure everything is covered...

hope this helps!

Putting a fish on an add is meaningful for some, but a marketing gimmick for others. They need more estimates. If they didn't sign anything, then thy aren't locked in. And if the business is truly Christian, they will not have a problem with someone doing their due diligence.

for a really nice renovation it doesn't sound extortionate. but i have to say, my BS alert starts flaring whenever someone touts their religion as a good reason to do business with them.
i'd pressure them to get other bids, for sure.
khairete
S.

My brother paid 75,000 for just a kitchen with granite and all the trimmings. Seems reasonable to me.

Unless they didn't get other bids I wouldn't worry about it.

It doesn't matter if the walls are there for the kitchen. Do you know how much it costs to run the plumbing? electrical? It is no different than when my brother had his kitchen remodeled. The plumbing and electrical were already there, he tore the cabinets out himself so that 75,000 was for appliances, finishings, flooring.....

To me your bigger concern should be it will have zero resale value. No one will want to buy an office space made into an apartment.

Wait! built on? add on? They are having an addition? Even if they pour slab, that isn't cheap and the permits aren't cheap. I thought it was reasonable when it was just a reno, adding 500 sq ft, that is a steal!

I live in Spring and I would think if they are building in the Houston area, that is too high of a price unless they are going for top of the line in everything. I know people who live in other parts of the country will have a hard time believing this but in this area you can buy new starter homes for $90,000. I am a Christian also but unfortunately I have found that many times when it comes to business some Christians leave their morals on the church pew after church services are through. As others have said if it is a reasonable bid the builder will not have a problem with them getting bids to compare. Or if they know him from church then talk to other people he has done work for then they will have a better idea of what to expect.

We had our house remodeled several years ago and ended up using a man from our church. Eventhough we knew him and was friends with him, we still asked other people about their experiences with him. He has built houses for several people at our church. Everyone told us that he did excellent work at a very fair price but that it would probably take longer than what we would expect. We were willing for it to take longer than expected so we hired him. We had received other quotes that were quite a bit higher than what he quoted us. We ended up loving the work he did.

Another thing your in laws should ask is if he will be doing the work himself or does he work as a general contractor and has subcontractors working for him. If he has subcontractors, ask how long they have been working with him. If he uses whoever is available at the time, they will have no idea about the quaility of the work that will be performed since it will just be the luck of the draw as to who is doing their job. Our guy has subcontractors that work with him. They have worked together for over twenty years. This past summer we had some work done in our guest bath. The same guys who were here 7 years ago we the same ones who were here this summer.

Good luck

I know little about construction, so I can't offer any insight on that.

But the zoning question would be a huge red flag to me, and getting bids to compare certainly can't hurt!

I think contractors who emphasize the Christian thing are usually unscrupulous! It immediately sends up red flags for me if they have to put that fish on their sign or make a deal about it. A nice kitchen with all appliances can be pricey. But that does sound high to me. If they are refusing to get second bids or talk to anyone else what are you going to do?

I would encourage them strongly to get another estimates. I have had more than one family member get screwed with construction projects under the "sign of the fish". They could buy another smaller house for that amount of money!

They'll never know unless they get another bid. You can't compare to other parts of the country, costs for this type of thing vary greatly depending on where you live. Never take on a project of this magnitude without doing all your research. Have they spoken with other satisfied clients, seen this contractor's finished work and read over the contract very carefully?

Keep in mind that remodeling projects have a way of ballooning in scope and cost, if the bid seems high now wait until the entire project is complete. It will almost certainly go up.

Why not get other bids? The religion of the contractor should have NOTHING to do with their decision. Business is business, you can bet the contractor will be thinking that way.

We redid our kitchen - plumbing and gas lines already there. We were quoted 40-60,000, just for a remodel. We also considered adding on- a two story addition, with no bells or whistles, ranged from 70-125,000, and we were told the second floor was a minor part of that cost. So no, that sounds right to me.

No, it's not just one bedroom being built on. A large walk in shower room, built in wardrobes and dressing rooms? A kitchen being built in, with granite counter tops? That's a LOT, and probably worth the $90,000. I am assuming the large walk in shower room is all tiled? That's very expensive labor, especially for quality work. Claiming extortion is pretty extreme if you don't know what goes in to renovation.

I see people assuming that the contractor is touting his business as Christian. Is that the case, or are your inlaws just choosing him because he is Christian? If he did advertise himself as a Christian, that would be a red flag to me. My husband is a contractor, and is a Christian, but he never would advertise his faith in his business. He would also EXPECT that people get other estimates if they think his bid is too high. If your inlaws want to pay without question, that's their problem.

Like anything they should get other quotes
And not, sign the contract.
Yet.

Sounds reasonable for where I live, but that may be different where they live and in any case, they haven't done any due diligence. Tell them to get bids from two other people and if this contractor's estimate is good, it will be validated by the other estimates.

Where I live, to add on addition or second floor to my house that would just be one bathroom and some bedrooms would be over $100K. To have my kitchen renovated and downstairs moved around to fit having a second floor would be another $50-75K easily.

If they won't get second opinions, see if they'll let your husband take the plans that have been documented to a couple of other people just to see what they say. Chances are it's fine (again, basing that on construction in my area, which is obscenely expensive) but it's a pretty big investment to make with out proper diligence.

Where do they live? I used to live in Texas and prices there are not at all like prices anywhere else..... So you may have a skewed perspective.

If they are ADDING a 500 sq ft master-suite AND a kitchen, that's around 800 - 1000 sq ft total addition. (Which isn't much smaller than where they are now, btw).
But an ###-###-#### sq foot "house" for $90,000 isn't outrageous.

The kitchen includes granite countertops, but what about appliances? What kind of flooring? In the built-in bookcases.... How much carpentry? Detail wood crafting is pricy. Those things will drive up the price, too.

Look at the contract.

Before they proceed, check to see how the office building property is zoned. It may not be zoned for residential development and they could spend a lot of money and then not be able to live there. You could take the plans to another building professional, maybe an architect and pay a fee and have them evaluate it, not only for cost, but also to see if the doorways, shower entrances and safety features, toilet height and other features are friendly to "age in place". I would insist on another estimate. Three things could happen- it could validate the first bid and give you and them the confidence to move ahead. The new estimate and plan could give them a new idea that that hadn't thought about before. The other bid could be lower and offer more. Your parents seem to be still independent, but ask them to do it for themselves and also for you. good luck!

I don't know. But my parents just remodeled an apartment which is 1500 sq ft. A few walls were slightly modified and the biggest thing was bringing it up to code. They did not do anything fancy; an Ikea kitchen, very basic flooring, paint and fixtures. Cost was $75,000.

Well, if they haven't gotten other estimates, they're being silly. ANYONE can call themselves Christian. At their age, they need someone to run interference for them. You need to get reputable people in there to give them quotes.

It sounds like a lot to me. They only way they will really know is to get 3 or more quotes on the work to be done. Good luck.

The kitchen and appliances alone is a lot of money. Bathroom will be, too. Also expensive is the build on of a room. A 500 Ft. bedroom is pretty big! So all in all, I'd say it seems right. Remember, labor is a huge cost. I had a porch put on recently (a very small one) and the labor cost the same as the materials.

I'd say they could look around and see what the cost of places like that are selling for. I'd say they could outright buy a different home for that amount.

They should get several estimates to compare costs.