All Forum Posts by: Ronaldo Marion

Looking for a builder with experience with small multi-family (2-4 units) in South DFW.  

Did a realtor ever reach out to you?

I'm looking for a reliable lawncare service for single family home in southside Rosemoor area.  Any recommendations?

I think it was implied early in this thread that you had signed a AOB. If you signed only a contract, you may or may not be able to cancel based on the details of that agreement. The legal strength of the roofing contract could range from simply being able to cancel in writing and walk away (weak) to being an AOB equivalent (very strong). You will need to review the fine print to find out exactly how strong the contract is that you signed. 

 Your dilemma is that the $21,000 insurance co check with your name on it actually belongs to the original roofer. You see you signed over your benefits (the $21,000) check when you signed the AOB so if you do anything other than hand that check over to that roofer and have your roof fixed you're actually in breach of contract. 

You only really have 2 options:

1. Tell insurance company price is inflated and the roofer is a scammer, they will cancel the claim and allow the roof replacement to be repriced. This doesn't really help you. You'll likely end up with A LOT more eyes on your claim. This will likely end up with a poor outcome for you.

2. If you have another roofer that will do the job for $11,000 and you are confident that the quote is firm. Then you effectively have $9000 (the difference between the two quotes) to bargain with. You might offer the original roofer $4000-5000 to cancel the AOB and walk away. Knowing how profitable roofing is I doubt he would walk for less than $5000. Note: THIS IS ILLEGAL. I AM NOT ADVISING YOU TO TAKE THIS COURSE OF ACTION.

Likely scenerio: The roofer solicited home owner stating he could get the property owner a "free roof" by negotiating with the insurance company then waiving the deductible (illegal). Roofing contractor then proceeds to inflate his estimate working hard to extract as much as possible from the insurance carrier. Roofer finally get the insurance co to issue payment and now property owner has been paid out but realizes he can get the actual work done for much less than the check in hand. Now property owner wants go with another cheaper roofer or patch the roof and get something else fixed or just pocket the money. Basically double crossing the roofer than worked hard and got the claim approved in the first place. But little does the homeowner know he signed a AOB (assignment of benefits) that is more than likely iron-clad and essentially forces the homeowner to use the original contractor to perform the work. If homeowner doesnt use the original contractor he's likely going to end up with a lien on the property.

Not having enough capital will cause apprehensiveness, even if it's a good deal. Make sure you have enough reserves in the event things don't go as planned. That cushion will more than likely reduce your apprehensiveness.

no honor among thieves...

Marriage is an underrated, but powerful way to save money. If you live at or below your means you can save nearly all of one person's income living in a 1 br apartment for example. A roommate situation would be the second-best option. 1/2 rent on a 2br is more than splitting rent on a 1br, but both are better than paying for housing + utilities by yourself. My wife and I were able to save an enormous amount by doing this.