Incorrect Repair Quote Before Closing on Condo

[Allison Littman]

Hi, I'm brand new to RE investment and have been soaking up as many blogs/forums on BP as possible.

I just purchased an investment vacation condo in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, and before closing, buyer disclosed that sliding glass door to patio was broken. She had a quote from a local contractor (glass guy) to repair for $275 (replace door track). I called the gentleman to verify before I closed and he confirmed.

After closing, however, the glass guy came out to do the work. He said there was more corrosion/rot than he realized, and he now needs to replace the sliding door. Quote came in for $3,275 to replace the 9-ft (108 in) 3-panel sliding glass door ($1,575 for Jen-Weld vinyl door from glass guy, $1,700 from contractor that original glass guy recommends). The contractor also said if he encounters any additional rot or issues, he will charge additional to repair.

Although this is a specific example, how (generally) can you avoid this type of situation? Seems like the realtor didn't actually do the due diligence to get the repair quote (she should have had the glass guy visit the property, not just describe the problem to him).

I'd like to get a few more quotes; however, I'm getting my first taste of flaky contractors and can't seem to get anyone to show up. Is there other ways to try to figure out if that's a reasonable cost? I've been looking up door prices from Home Depot and similar, but would love to dig in deeper.