Reason #3 You can do more harm than good. So remember when I told you that story about the bleachers? Yeahwell, I saw that dog the other day, and guess who is. So just now here at bustling Jalopnik HQ, we had a little disagreement over our long-distance video-fax units. One of our writers maintained the BMW 5GT up there is. The state has more tax agencies than most -- and one in particular is badly mismanaged. Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny Is the head of Y Combinator fixing the world, or trying to take over Silicon Valley? Why Home Remodeling Always Takes Longer And Costs More Than Expected. My general contractor, who is also my tennis teammate, was making fun of me for spending $6,0. I needed to replace all my ducts and vacuum seal my house for a day to prevent any asbestos from escaping as part of the replacement and permit process.“I could have done it for $2,0. So when my general contractor came back to me with a bid of $9,0. ![]() I almost threw up in amazement. My house has some nice crown moldings and standard baseboards, but everything else is pretty normal. After he discovered I was going with another fella, my general contractor then came back to me and said I was wasting my money because these new guys he knows can paint my interior for only $5,8. What the HELL! How is it possible that he honestly thought $9,0. Praying mantises are among the most frightening insects on the planet, equipped with powerful front legs which they use to snatch unwary insects, spiders, and even. More than a personal portrait of Dr. Michael Laitman, Into Truth is a film that anyone curious about Israel or the Jewish people should watch today. It’s unusual to vote on a health care bill without knowing its CBO score, but here we are. Vox further explains why this is problematic: “It’s notable that we. As filming begins today on the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Warner Bros. I found someone else? Once again, he’s trying to make me feel bad for spending more than I should. He was hoping I’d take his bait at $9,0. I had no other resources. Little did he know that I’m the most resourceful person ever. If I am wronged, I will go to any length to fix the situation. Everything began to unravel after this incident. THE NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUEAfter I hired my guys for $7,0. I was wasting money even though he initially gave me a bid for $9,0. Unfortunately, after I paid my guys $1,1. Unbelievably, they asked if they could have $2. I refused because I was pissed at them for welching on our contract. I later found out that my contractor was fighting with the painters while I was away at work and they couldn’t take him anymore. Another sabotage. So now I was stuck without any painters. Logically I went to my contractor and asked him to do the job for $5,8. MINUS the $1,1. 00 that I already spent on two days worth of work = $4,7. Of course now the contractor said he can’t get the $5,8. It was a one time deal and the guys are now busy. Such utter bullshit. Instead of getting the $5,8. Then I got really pissed off because my contractor tried to scam me for $9,0. I understand everybody wants to make a buck, but I was thoroughly disappointed in my friend for trying to screw with me. In the end, I negotiated directly with the painter for the gross price of $6,4. I was going to pay the other guys who quit (thanks to my contractor). WHY HOME REMODELING PROJECTS ALWAYS COST MORE AND TAKE LONGERThe reason why home remodeling projects always cost more and take longer than agreed upon is because the general contractor and all the sub contractors are trying to extract as much money as possible from homeowners. I talked to a number of guys in the business and this is how they operate: 1) The number one goal is to win the bid. To win the project, the contractor must highlight an attractive price and good quality craftsmanship. Competition is fierce, so contractors will say and do anything to win the bid. It doesn’t matter if the price is an artificially low price. The goal is to have the homeowner sign the contract and lock them in. Create a hostage scenario. Once the homeowner has signed the contract, they are now held hostage by the GC. The deeper a project goes, the more a GC will highlight “unforeseen” problems that require more work. Even though there’s nothing really unforeseen for contractors who’ve been around long enough, homeowners don’t know this. Let’s say a homeowner is $6. Contractors know the chances are low that the homeowner will balk at an additional $1. If homeowners start balking, then of course the GC will do the homeowners a “favor” and lower the price of the extra cost. Play on homeowners’ emotions. Most remodeling projects are by first timers. As a result, homeowners generally don’t have any idea how the process works. For example, a permit might cost $3. GC may charge $8. I did one myself and it took 1. A new home is very emotional for most people. It might have taken a couple 1. Or maybe the couple lost multiple bids and finally paid a big premium for this home. All these situations help contractors make more money off of projects. If the homeowner overbid by $1. Rely on default thinking. Homeowners who enter into a remodeling project have this automatic, “It will take longer than expected, and I will pay more expected” mentality. Contractors love this type of thinking because it allows for them to take advantage of homeowners. It’s up to homeowners to cut this type of thinking out and make GCs stick to a contract. But GCs can be very intimidating some times. They use their intimidation to force things through. Smile and charge. The most skilled gougers are the GCs who bring up new work to be done while constantly being nice and smiling. GCs understand that most people just want to have GCs who take the time to listen to their client’s problems and find beautiful solutions. They understand homeowners are busy with their jobs and don’t fully understand all the nuances. By just being responsive over e- mail and talking things through, GCs adeptly persuade and guilt homeowners into paying more than expected. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLEThe residential building business makes the auto service business look like a girl scout lemonade stand business. Everybody needs to take their cut in the building business, sometimes even the city inspector who signs off on a project for your 3. R report (home report card). I’ve heard plenty of stories where an inspector demanded payment for approving a project. So far the building, plumbing, and electrical inspectors I’ve been dealing with seem above board. But when I pay $3. I begin to wonder. All he did was drive up to my house, look at the roof, and sign the permit card. The number one bullshit excuse general contractors like to use to charge more is that the project will cost them money. They will always say something like, “I lost money working,” or “I’m working for free for you.” They will try to guilt you into paying them beyond the initially agreed upon contract. Don’t let them! They don’t lose anything if they have to work longer. It’s not like they have to spend more money out of their pockets for much more material. They just need to spend more time based on their agreement. If you can navigate the shady building business and remodel fixers in strong real estate markets you’ll do very well. But chances are high that you will get run over and get buried in your backyard with cost overages. No wonder new construction and remodeled homes command such high premiums. If you’re middle- age or older and know all the crap that goes on with remodeling, you’d pay up no problem. The best way to keep your general contractor and subcontractors honest is by having a detailed list of alternative people who can do the job. As in my example, I was able to get guys to immediately do the paint job for $2,0. Unfortunately, they realized the work was too much so they bailed. This is actually a good sign that I negotiated a decent deal, because if I negotiated a bad deal, they would have gladly kept going to take my money. Don’t rush into anything, get multiple bids, and be willing to walk away. Be as detailed as possible when drawing up the contract regarding costs, time, materials, and work to do. Whenever a GC wants to charge you more, simply point to your iron clad contract and have them carry on. If they don’t, then you must be willing to fire them and hire someone else. Be aware that you are only required to pay for work that is completed. Don’t let a GC swindle you out of work that he says he’s planned for. Check your rights by state at the Department of Building Inspection. Look into real estate crowdsourcing opportunities: If you don’t have the downpayment to buy a property or don’t want to tie up your liquidity in physical real estate, take a look at Realty. Shares, one of the largest real estate crowdsourcing companies today. Real estate is a key component of a diversified portfolio. Real estate crowdsourcing also allows you to be more flexible in your real estate investments by investing beyond just where you live for the best returns possible. Sign up and take a look at all the residential and commercial investment opportunities around the country Realtyshares has to offer. It’s free to look and discover. Shop around for a mortgage: Mortgage rates have collapsed after Brexit, and US assets are aggressively being bought by foreigners due to our stability. Check the latest mortgage rates online through Lending. Tree. They’ve got one of the largest networks of lenders that compete for your business. Your goal should be to get as many written offers as possible and then use the offers as leverage to get the lowest interest rate possible. This is exactly what I did to lock in a 2. ARM for my latest refinance. For those looking to purchase property, the same thing is in order. If you’ve found a good deal, can afford the payments, and plan to own the property for 1. I’d get neutral inflation and take advantage of the low rates. Updated for 2. 01. This Homemade Automatic BB Gun Is Even More Dangerous Than It Sounds. You. Tube’s Giaco Whatever, who previously terrified us with a custom Nerf blaster capable of firing foam darts faster than the speed of sound, has now designed and built an automatic BB gun powered by a 4,0. PSI air tank that’s easily one of the most dangerous creations you’ll find online—so of course you want to see it in action. You. Tuber Giaco Whatever is on a quest to build a Nerf blaster that will do more than just leave a. But the video contains another test fire where the automatic BB gun inadvertently fires right through all of the safety barriers its creator installed. In other words, please don’t build one of these yourself. Tell Me Why You Think One Of These BMWs Is Uglier Than The Other. So just now here at bustling Jalopnik HQ, we had a little disagreement over our long- distance video- fax units. One of our writers maintained the BMW 5. GT up there is significantly uglier than the sedan. I know many agree with him; what I want to know is why. See, I don’t think it’s uglier, but I encounter so many people who do, I’m starting to wonder if there’s something wrong with me. I like this general shape on cars, and that shape doesn’t seem to be popular; the failure of the Merkur Scorpio is just one of many examples of this. The thing is, I’ve never really heard a clear reason why people find this sort of large hatch so unpleasant. Many of the complaints about similar cars, like the Porsche Panamera, suggest a certain ass- heaviness, but I’m still not sure I have a handle on why a large hatch is objectively less attractive than a trunk’d car. For some cars, the homeliness is clear, and understandable. An early Citro. I really like these Amis, but even I can’t pretend that front end is anything but ugly- baton- beaten. But the full- sized hatch? I don’t get it. I don’t understand why these are seen so commonly as aesthetic disasters. So I’m asking you to either explain why you think they’re terrible, or, if you like, defend them. I’m going to try to use what we find here for a larger project based on why we seem to like what we like about the way cars look. But, to get started, I want to try and figure out what we’re thinking when we look at cars. So, I’m listening!
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