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Pay_Me_Top_Dollar_Everyone_Else_Work_For_Pennies___
| Pay Me Top Dollar, Everyone Else Work For Pennies . . .
Do you work hard for your money? I certainly do. So, if you work
hard for your money and I for mine, why do you think my work is
valued so much less? Do you see where I am going with this topic?
In the Northern California San Francisco Bay Area some fairly
high income figures are earned allowing people to afford and
purchase property in one of the most expensive real estate
markets in the nation. The property values have appreciated so
dramatically in this area that many have found themselves
suddenly wealthy from property purchases years earlier. But, it
seems to me that all of these persons of wealth have one thing
in common. They want to be paid top dollar for what they do, but
expect to pay half or less for services they would like
performed.
It isn’t rocket science. You made a good deal on a piece of
property with a “fixer-upper” or small home and to enhance the
value some remodeling is planned. I know of one person that
recently invested $750,000.00 in a property. He expects me to
perform some remodeling tasks that we would normally bid for
around $23,000.00. He wants the job performed for less than
$15,000.00. This amount does not even cover the projected costs
of the job. The enhanced value of the property subsequent to the
work would probably increase this property value to close to
$800,000.00.
I recently made a bid on a remodel of an apartment in which the
owner detailed the quality of the materials and such. The
resulting bid was around $41,000.00. A few days later the owner
advised me that he had received a much lower bid and decided to
accept it rather than mine. When I enquired how much lower the
winning bid was, he told me $15,000.00. I later looked over the
bid that I had prepared and submitted for the job. $15,000.00
would neither cover my costs for materials, nor my costs for
labor for the proposed work. Note the value of the property
involved is probably close to $260,000.00. The enhanced value of
the property subsequent to the work would probably increase this
property value to close to $325,000.00.
We recently had to back out of a project we had commenced. The
property owner had talked me down to performing the job at my
actual costs without reserve or additional budget. Then,
immediately after the project began . . . additional expense and
tasks were added to the job. When it became apparent that it
would be necessary for us to pay for a significant portion of
the work performed, we opted to withdraw from the project. The
involved property is probably valued at close to $350,000.00.
The enhanced value of the property subsequent to the work would
probably increase this property value to close to $400,000.00.
Do you see a pattern here? I do. And, it leaves me questioning
the ethics, if not the intelligence of people as of late. First
of all, why would you expect someone to work for half the value
of their service? Will you? Go ahead; tell your boss you are
willing to take a 50% pay cut tomorrow. Next, why would you even
consider suggesting that rates be reduced, possibly requiring
your having to settle for lesser results relative to such an
important investment? And last, don’t you realize that “you get
what you pay for” is a relative term? If you want champagne, pay
for champagne.
About the author:
Rich Brunelle is a Project Manager for a General Contractor that
serves the San Francisco Bay Area. You may visit their web site
at http://djam-promo.com/mgl/ or direct your questions regarding
this topic to mgl@djam-promo.com
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