Another day

We started today with another meeting with an electrician that our realtor has recommended multiple times. He was really great and actually agreed to prepare an estimate! I feel like a contestant on "The Bachelor" who has just been given a rose and can proceed to the next step. It's really a multi-step process - after checking them out, I call the contractor and describe what I want and they tell me if they will even do an estimate (the first rose ceremony). If they show up, that's the second rose ceremony. If they agree to do an estimate, that's the third rose ceremony. We're hoping to get the recommended three estimates before choosing one. It's been really interesting though - each contractor says very different things (one says we need to upgrade to 200 amp service, one discouraged us from doing it because we don't need it), and each estimate will be very different so I think it will be difficult to compare.

I've learned that two things will be very important in my selection - first, we have to trust and like the person. We're getting really different information from everyone, so we want to make sure that we have a trustworthy person. Also, this is going to be a long-term relationship with lots of decision making and compromise. Today's contractor told me this could take 3 months start to finish with all the inspections and final work. Second, I think I want someone who is based nearby. I can see all sorts of problems popping up if someone is going to be travelling a long distance almost daily for several months.