All Forum Posts by: Lokesh W.

I'm glad this is working out for some of you bought this. Alternatively, I would purchase a vacant house mailing list.

Ok. I did all the vetting and everything checked out. For a big job, all the contractors do ask for an advance. Now, I have a new roof on my rental property.

The roofer said it is 30 Sq ft.

I did ask about the insurance and he said he has it. Without insurance he cannot get the license – that’s what he said i.e. if his insurance expires, then the city will be notified. He also said that today he will be working on a project nearby and I can visit him there. In addition, he told me where he buys his materials from.

My property manager says the roof sq ft would be close to 3000 since it pointed type of roof. the Building sq ft is 4750.

@Stuart Samples , @Gregory Zanolini

It has 3 layers of shingles so there is some work in removing them.

@Dawn Anastasi

Another referral would be great if the prices are reasonable.

Thanks for your replies. Yes, this is a multi-unit and has a pointed roof.

@Account Closed , if we can’t trust Angie’s list, then that is really bad! I still do a lot of internet research including BBB but most of the contractors are not in BBB.

It makes sense why the roofer who quoted $25K did not get back to me when I said I am requesting quotes from 2 other roofers.

@Joel Owens , actually 3K per roof is insane in a good way. I wish I could get that kind of deal.

@Jay C. , this work needs permit and the contractor said that as well.

It looks like the process to follow for this roofer would be:

1. Ask for 3 references

2. Obtain a copy of his insurance and call his insurance provider for details of the coverage

3. Visit his current roofing projects

4. Ask him the wholesaler from whom he is purchasing the material and call the wholesaler to ask about the roofer business overall

5. Go with the roofer to make the purchase of the materials

6. Supervise the work.

7. Either return (if that is option is available) or keep all he unused materials.

Btw, when I asked him about fixing issues in the work that he did (like a warranty); he replied that I can call him anytime to fix it for free but there will be no issues since he is e-decking and tearing off the old roof and putting a new roof.

Any suggestions?

@Joe Fairless and @Robert Leonard

Thanks for your responses.

OK. It looks like the insurance details and testimonials will be do. What about the $4000 payment before the work begins? Is that OK?

Hi All,

Thanks for your suggestions. The city assessment on my personal residence was reduced by 22%. I am happy about that as I am not planning to sell it anytime soon. I missed the deadline last year but this year they considered my last year's city assessment dispute.

I am trying to put a new roof at an affordable cost to an apartment building. The roof area may be around 2200 – 2400 sq feet (just a guess, I can confirm later). The cost is a major factor so I am requesting various roofers to come over and take a look.

One of the roofers who cleaned the gutters said that it will cost approximately $25,000 but he said he has to look at this in more detail if I decide to put a new roof. When I asked him to give a detailed estimate (also mentioning that I am planning to get estimates from 2 other roofers), he sent over some other company roofer to look at it. This new roofer did not get back to me with an estimate.

I have been scheduling for roofers to come over and look at it last week. Two of them said they will get back to me this week with pictures and work proposal in PDF and they are yet to get back to me. I know they will this week.

Last week, a contractor was dropping off fliers about his services which included roofing. I asked him to take a look today. He gave an estimate of $11,800 verbally and said that for this kind of work, he needs an advance of $4000 to buy the materials. There is a huge difference in the first estimate and this one. He is licensed (I have his license number) and he said that get his business mostly by word of mouth and also the fliers that I received and also most of the people in his business are family (including the roofer who is his son-in-law). He has over 35 years of experience as a contractor.

I asked him to send a proposal and he sent the following email later this afternoon:

“the cost to do roof with doing east side and west side ,(except for west rear side), complete tearoff and redeck and reroof with dimensional shingles and peak roof vent system and new gutters (,no downspouts), in same areas. will b 11,800.00 will need 4000.00 deposit upon start , balance due upon completion. Can start on 7/14/14 will complete by 7/23/14 weather permitting.”

There are no testimonials on any website. Of Course, his detailed analysis and comments were on par with other roofers who visited this property. No ads in yellow pages, or anywhere else. No review on Angie’s List. Would you hire him? If you were to hire him, how would you do the vetting? Should I ask him for testimonials? Have you been in this situation before?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Buyer should get an inspection done after the offer is accepted. Actually, it is a disadvantage if the buyer goes by the seller inspection report. It makes sense for the buyer to glance at the recent appraisal report if the seller has one but NOT the inspection report.