I'm selling my house, can you give me a bid?

I get a lot of these. Some of them are okay leads, but many are just looking for the cheapest slap on job. I'm not very good at that thing...ummm finesse?

Do you guys get a lot of these calls? Close many of them? The housing market still sucks around here, so I get quite a few. If they were easy ones, I'd give a break, but nobody wants to drop the kind of cash it takes to make an old or steep roof right.

I don't get to many of those. Most tell me they want a really good roof.....then end up buying an IKO w/ 15-lb. felt, cheaper I&W, same old venting, etc etc

:angry:

I've had calls of that nature for years. Some even asking for a "5 year" shingle. Most of the time the call come from a real estate person looking only for a number . . . no intention of following through on the project. Absent consent to a $100 fee to measure and quote the job, I'm done with them.

Concerning whole roof replacements, a lot of times they don't even actually do the roof but just use the estimate to negotiate the sale of the home. It's always tough to sell a high dollar contract to a seller. However, new home buyers spend more money on their homes than anyone else within the first year or so of purchasing and often do get the roof done.

Concerning repair work, I usually get the job from both the seller and/or the buyer. The amount of the contract is much lower with repairs and the seller is readily willing to pay this lower amount in order to ensure that the sale of the home goes through without any problems or delays.

I always tell them I won't come until after the buyer's insoection and I can see the roof 'punch list'. 99% of house insoection read 'Have roof insoected by qualified roofer'. I get $365.00 for that insoection each time, with oix and a report failing it, or listing necessary repairs and a quote for those. Win-win.

We do the same as Tinner. Our price is $175.

The reality is the seller never wants to spend the money and the buyer does not have the money- especially for a roof.

CONSUMER ALERT: Never trust the seller to do the proper repairs an a roof, and never trust an ordinary inspector to inform you about the true condition of a roof. Always get an experienced roofer to examine something as important as the roof and its related structures, then pay him for a written report.

True story: I was recently hired by a seller to repair wind damage to a roof. The buyer's inspector had reported missing shingles. I worked for the seller and was told to only do what the inspector said to fix. So I replaced a half bundle of shingles. What it needed was a new roof. It was only about 10 yrs. old, but it was a slapped on mess. There were 2 12ft. dead valleys that were shingled and a chimney that was poorly flashed and probably leaking. I went ahead and caulked the defective plastic boot flashings. First rain after the new owners move in- roof leak. The new owners called me and I explained that I only did what the sellers paid me for. I told them they really needed a new roof.

Good information guys. I don't mind doing it for the realtor so much, because if I take care of them, they usually return it one way or another. Most of them.

But I've thought about how to implement an inspection fee. It seems like a gray line between that an estimate, just depending on how they start off the conversation. Tinner & Lefty, I might have to just suggest an inspection rather than an estimate.

Many sellers probably don't want the truth about their roof.

Most of the time I get these calls, a home inspection has already been done and all I have to do is quote the noted repairs and perform the work. However, I often change the scope of work adding or eliminating some things.

A few times they will call and directly ask for an inspection rather than an estimate. On these, I charge $195 for the inspection report but waive the fee if any repairs are needed and they hire me to do them.

Of course there are times when I am listening to the caller and can detect that I need to sell them an inspection ensuring that I'm going to at least get a couple hundred bucks or more out of the deal instead of it turning out to just be a wasted trip taking up an hour or two of my schedules precious time. ;)

You were right on w/ the repair comment earlier Chuck. I sell them most of the time. It's the dreaded "I gotta get a new roof before I can hock this place" that I normally waste my time on.

From my website. Many people do read this info, linked from the home page before calling.

http://www.albertsroofing.com/Estimates%20vs%20Inspections.htm

"ESTIMATES:

Estimates are given to fix a defined problem noticed or perceived by the customer. A leak usually causes this call.

There is a charge for the initial visit, usually $25.00. For out of town trips, the fee increases.

Inspections are a different mater.

INSPECTIONS:

Inspections are entirely different from estimates. They are often a legal instrument for realtors, bankers, etc. in regards salability of a house. Sometimes, they're a legal instrument in a court against shoddy workmanship.

If I'm signing one, I'll spend an hour or 2 on a residence detailing everything I can come up with, good and bad. Then a hour writing/editing it. That doesn't include up to 2 hours road time sometimes.

My minimum fee is $365.00"

You can put this on your page if you want. Reason I charge $365.+ is that I'm submitting a written report with pix and anything I 'pass' means it's my baby and if I'm possibly going to be liable for something, I want to have something to help cover my expenses.

Very true. Well your time is worth a lot, and maybe even more so because you work for yourself.

I looked up apge to see what you were talking about, until I realized you mistyped page :laugh: Thanks, I'm going to have to implement the inspection more often.

clvr83 Said: Very true. Well your time is worth a lot, and maybe even more so because you work for yourself.

I looked up apge to see what you were talking about, until I realized you mistyped page :laugh: Thanks, Im going to have to implement the inspection more often.

Editing now. Hard to type since the operation on 2-4-15. My L. hand is numb and i'm scheduled to see a neurosurgeon soon. IV must have screwed a nerve.

PS. Copyscape will notify me if you C&P it in whole. Change a phrase, or word or two, and maybe add a line.

When I did roofs, if I got calls like that and they were looking for the cheapest price or a cheap price, I would usually try to give them a price over the phone.

they usually have a few bids already and some may have the square footage on them. and if you take all of your roofs you've installed over the years that need the same shingle, if you average them out,, they are all just a few cents different, so I take the average price and their square footage, do the math and tell them that's the price...unseen. might be more or less after I'm done.

this way nobody is wasting anybody's time and there are no hard feelings.

got some of them, didn't get others. since they weren't big money makers, I didn't put a lot of time into the sale.