IS THERE AN ADVANTAGE TO A FIXED BID OR A TIME AND MATERIAL BID?

With both types of bids, trusting your contractor is the most important thing. You don’t want to have to worry about your contractor “milking” you in a time and materials bid by taking longer than necessary. A fixed bid is always good so that you know what your final cost will be. However, contractors have been known to do a fixed bid low in order to get “their foot in the door,” then hit the owner up with change orders down the road. This is why it is important to really compare bids when you are shopping for a contractor. If one bid includes something that another contractor does not, you will want to inquire about that.  You don’t want to get hit up for money later because the contractor forgot something.