My Bids Are Coming In Well Above Expected, What Should I Do? Listener Question— BYHYU 118

Recently a listener emailed me with a question that I thought would be good to answer on the podcast.  It has to do with the bidding process.  Getting bids is the process of getting cost proposals from subcontractors.  To get an accurate bid, at a minimum, we need to give each subcontractor a set of house plans and specifications.  The specifications describe the specific materials needed for the job and the methods for construction.  We’ll talk in more detail about the bid process next week in a mini-lesson.  But right now, let me read you the question that I got, then I’ll give you my answer. I've enjoyed listening to your podcast as we are in the pre-construction phase of planning to build our own home. However, in the past couple of weeks, our subcontractor bids have been coming in and we are starting to get concerned. I sent MULTIPLE bid requests to subcontractors for each trade, and even though all of them haven't come in, we are trending well above what it would cost to go through a builder. What am I doing wrong? Do general contractors have some underground network of cheap laborers that I'm missing out on because I'm not a GC? Any advice would be helpful! Show notes at BYHYU.com