First, you need to get other estimates. Secondly, you need them detailed enough to see where the hours are going. Steer clear of any contractor that gives 'unpermitted bids' - are you sure he just said it didn't include the cost of the permits?

What was the cost?

I'm an engineer and DIY'er. I have remodeled kitchens / baths / and basements in our homes over the years. I did a large 16 x 30 room, and a full bath in our current basement.

The basement remodel was a lot more work than I thought. There's a lot of angles, pipes, etc, to frame around and make look good. The windows needed to be framed for sheetrock. Sometimes pipes and electrical needed to be moved. Removing the old floor covering, clean up, etc, was major. Doors had to be trimmed an I' or so. A half bath - I would guess would be $8,000 alone. Have to break-up the floor, connect to the correct plumbing vent, find a way to vent the bathroom fan. Is he installing new flooring?

800 sq/ft is a large area. Wait till you start painting it!

It was over $50k. Honestly, I was expecting $25-35k. For the value of the houses in our neighborhood I can't imagine anybody paying $50k unless it was some sort of dream basement with wet-bars, full baths, wainscoting, and dimensional ceiling tiles.

I specifically asked if the bid included permitting when he reviewed the bid with me. He said the quote did not take into account permitting as he never pulls permits for basements. He said he'd do it if I wanted, but would add more hours. I've contacted several contractors and asked about permitting. All of them so far have said you don't need a permit for a basement, when I have already talked to the local authority and know they are required. I understand people have to make a living and generally am accepting of whatever hourly rate somebody charges, but when a person is dishonest about things such as permits it's hard to know whether you can trust their bids.

I guess I will just have to seek some more quotes, and hope I'm not wasting other contractors time and my own time as well.

800 square feet is no problem for painting, I love painting!

$50K with labor & materials for 800 sq/ft ? That sounds very reasonable.

In 2009 I gutted the downstairs bath (vanity / toilet / shower) - replacement was $8k for materials.

For the 16 X 30 room - it was about $12k for materials - electrical, copper - had to move some pipes, lights, tile, lots of material for framing, studs, insulation, construction adhesive, cement screws, new glass block windows, closet doors, light fixtures, CAT5, COAX, drywall, paint, varnish, etc.

So it was about $20k, DIY, in 2009. That's how it turned out for me.

Our basement is 950 sf I think. It took us 3 years and about $30k. Some was DIY; the rest was done by different friends who do their parts for a living (ie our drywall/painter is a personal friend, as is our tile guy, and hvac guy). Only the carpet was from a "stranger." We do have a full bath (with large shower) but the 3 piece pipes were sticking out of the floor already when they poured the basement originally. We also have a full kitchen, living room, office and utility room with storage. Drywall ceilings.

Average for a basement finish out would be 60-110K. I think your quote was very reasonable. Maybe even too cheap for good work being done.

BTW, you should NEVER do such a project on a time and materials basis. It should be a fixed bid, or a cost plus contract. The number of hours is irrelevant to the pricing structure in those types, so the incentive tone slow and milk the hourly isn't there.

Without seeing the basement, knowing what part of the
country you are in etc. pricing something like that is impossible. Same goes
with hours. It all depends on the level of finishing touches you requested.

If 2 out of 3 guys don’t even want to return a call and
one quotes high, there is a reason for it. I hate to say it, but they don’t want
to do the job, or are other factors we don’t know. For the guy to quote hours, it’s
very unusual as most people never do it, we look at the job and determine the
time needed, material etc. and provide an estimate. I saw a comment about
asking about a budget, and it’s a double edge sword for a contractor, some
clients think you are trying to see how high you can go on the price, sometimes
it might help.

My suggestion is to ask him, why he thinks it’s going to
take 700 hrs. to do a project, he will tell you and you might realize that some
details you asked about are extremely time consuming, yet might not be that
important. As human beings, we should be able to communicate and ask question,
you as a homeowner have every right to ask any question you’d like. You might
find out that by removing couple of items, price will drop a lot.

Agreed with above post. Is your basement roughed in already? Maybe post your layout here in relation to your house mechanicals. Maybe you asked for specific things without understanding implications. Do you have foundation damage?

As a time reference, I DIY'ed a roughly 100 sf space in our basement this past winter. Electrical, framing, HVAC, drywall ceiling and walls with tile floor. Took me between 5-6 weeks working alone. My saw was in the garage which was inconvenient and increased the time. No idea of total hours but mostly full days.

Sometimes when a contractor is busy, he will give you a really high big figuring if you do accept it, he would be willing to come in late for some of his other projects.