It’s the advice everyone gives.
Get three quotes. Compare them. Choose the most reasonable one.
It sounds sensible. It sounds logical. In most cases, it doesn’t protect you at all.
Here’s why.
The Core Problem
Three quotes from three builders are three documents written by people whose objective is to win the job. Not to protect you.
Each quote includes what the builder wants you to see. And excludes what they’d rather you didn’t see until after you’ve signed.
What’s typically missing from an unreviewed renovation quote:
- Incomplete demolition scopes
- Waste management costs
- Connections between trades
- Finishing works listed as “included” without specifying quality levels
- Structural contingencies in older buildings
- Permit and approval costs
None of these appear as explicit exclusions. They simply aren’t there. And when they show up on site, they get charged as extras.
Why Comparing Three Quotes Without Technical Knowledge Doesn’t Work
To compare three renovation quotes properly you need to know exactly what each one includes, in what quality, with what brands, under what measurement criteria.
Without that knowledge, you’re comparing numbers that aren’t equivalent. The cheapest quote may be cheapest because it omits the most. The most expensive may be so because it’s the most complete, or simply because that contractor charges more.
There’s no way to know without reading them with technical understanding.
In the Andorran market, budget overruns in projects without professional oversight are the norm. The average is between 20 and 25% above the initial cost. On a 200,000-euro renovation, that’s between 40,000 and 50,000 euros that weren’t in the quote you signed.
The quote you signed at 200,000 ends up at 260,000. Six months becomes nine. And then you realise that comparing quotes without someone who truly understands them wasn’t protection. It was an illusion of control.
What Actually Works
What changes the outcome isn’t the number of quotes. It’s having someone who reads them for you.
A Project Manager with local market knowledge knows what should be in a renovation quote in Andorra. They find what’s missing. They compare what’s actually comparable. And they can tell you, with technical reasoning, which of the three actually reflects the cost of what you want to do.
That doesn’t come from comparing numbers in a spreadsheet. It comes from expertise.
If You’re in the Process of Getting Quotes
Before signing with anyone, it’s worth having someone with technical knowledge review what you’re about to commit to.
At MOVE Projects, we do that review before any commitment.
Get in touch.
