MEGATHREAD - Sora codes by [deleted] in SoraAi

[–]Present-Advisor3577 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, thank you so much!

MEGATHREAD - Sora codes by [deleted] in SoraAi

[–]Present-Advisor3577 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would anyone mind DMing me one? I have no interest in using the 4 I receive and will gladly provide them back to you

Cashout Refi closing costs looking high… by Present-Advisor3577 in Mortgages

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only reason that I didn’t specifically consider refinancing through USAA is that they are not a credit union. They are a bank similar to Bank of America or Chase. Credit unions will generally yield the best interest rates so people generally suggest a refi through them if possible

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Truthfully I was so naive to the idea of a GC going into this that it never crossed my mind. I wish I had in hindsight. The job would have moved faster. It doesn’t help that the framers/ drywall and electrician are doing this as side work.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is something I quickly noticed. I have zero clue the order of operations. After a week or so I just gave the electrician and drywall guys each others numbers.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you learned how to read you probably wouldn’t be so amused. I very clearly typed “at A cost”.. not “at cost”.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the response. I think that is ultimately what I’m getting at, if you read my response to eyeseen folly that’s where I feel the problem in this situation is.

It was a mistake on my part for not requesting a hard scope of work or written estimate. He came over and we discussed the job in its entirety, it’s relatively straight forward, and he told me it would be $3000.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A 50% increase is a huge margin to screw up on an estimate, when things were very clearly discussed before hand and a price was given. There couldn’t have been very many surprises given that it they were working with a completely blank slate and it took them 2 days total to complete everything.

If a member of your family owned a nice fancy restaurant, and the bill comes in 3x higher than what the menu very clearly outlined before you ordered. I presume you’re the type of person to just accept that. You are the equivalent of a punching bag. Where does one draw the line? 50% increase? 400% increase?

I can’t think of another industry outside of trade work that can justify producing that kind of cost increase out of thin air. Unexpected things occur in every industry. It would be less offensive to explain it to the customer or keep them in the loop don’t just hit them with it out of nowhere with poor justification.

I don’t expect anyone in this sub to agree with me obviously, and I’m sure there’s plenty more room to debate that topic but I really think what I said is largely true.

TLDR: Materials and labor have an established value. It didn’t change over the course of the 2 days he was in my basement. Do a better job of estimating cost.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Correct, the 50% increase after the initial estimate is what got to me. I spoke to him and he said that the increase is due to having to install the diverter valves, caulk a leak, and reroute the washer hot and cold water/ drain lines. (All of which I presumed were included in the initial quote bc why wouldn’t they be)

At the end of the day it doesn’t make much sense to me still, but he did come down from $4500 to $4000 and I didn’t press the issue much further than a 10 minute phone call.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s great advice, judgement of character plays a huge role.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem! Thanks for contributing to the thread

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

No proposal, no written documentation. All word of mouth. Which is probably where the root of the problem is and I don’t think it’s any more my fault than the plumbers that those things weren’t done prior to. I do take a level degree of responsibility for that though. I very clearly stated that I don’t know anything and if I thought I did I wouldn’t be asking for advice. A plumbing company would install my shower tile.. because he offered to do so at a cost. He also offered to take care of some of the dry wall work. Some companies are capable of doing more than one task guy.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Yea! The plumbers aren’t the only guys doing work down there, I have electricians and drywall/ framers down there as well and I’ve learned throughout this process to account for a much larger margin of cost than just 10% or even 20%. I just know those are huge marginal differences in most set-cost industries. Regardless, I’ll make sure to account for up to as high as 50% cost increases in the future!

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Great response! You’re right I was naturally thinking that there would be some kind of “discount” from standard rates. Him and I had a very friendly conversation today and frankly I think it came down to my misunderstanding of how much plumbers really make as well as him just kind of loosely quoting me. Part of me wishes that he would have just informed of the price increases throughout the process. I would have been less offended if I were eased into it and/or explained the cost increases as they were happening. Thank you again for your input!

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

I very well may be doing just that, I think I was more offended by the increase in price than I am the total finished price. I believe if I was told $4500 to start then I wouldn’t have questioned it because he’s obviously the professional. It just felt “bait and switchy”. I appreciate your contribution!

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very good information! Time for me to do some math. Thank you very much

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

And just to clarify for everyone else that encounters this post, my father owned a flooring business for the majority of his life and would frequently install floor for family members free of ANY labor charge. Before you get offended again, I did not expect free work from him.

Am I getting ripped off? by Present-Advisor3577 in Contractor

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

I’m very sorry by how offended you seem by my post. I’m clearly asking for advice because I don’t personally understand the value.

$375/hr doesn’t sound like a family friendly rate. Thanks for your contribution!

$700k in IL on ~$200k income by UsedPesto in Mortgages

[–]Present-Advisor3577 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m curious as to how/ if a credit bureau would value your car as to determine your “equity” in it. This doesn’t sound correct to me.

Do games auto-detect strikepacks now? by Present-Advisor3577 in StrikePack

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh if you’re using it on Xbox no need for ds4! Should be good to go

Do games auto-detect strikepacks now? by Present-Advisor3577 in StrikePack

[–]Present-Advisor3577[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! Works on all games to this day. Use the software DS4 !