If a contractors' price seems too good to be true, it is!

I received a call from a recent client who was buying a house that needed a roof. She asked me for the phone number for a roofing contractor to do a free estimate on a roof. She is a single mom with 2 kids who makes a decent salary. She asked me for other contractor referrals as well, but I don't refer contractors.

I told her to ask the agent from the office she dealt with as many times these offices have relationships with local contractors who they screen so they can be sure they are recommending licensed, insured contractors that are reputable. I also mentioned for her to check AngiesList.com for reputable contractors.

The bond of trust I have with my clients is a wonderful feeling - they see I am out to help them and am on their side. They sometimes seem disappointed that I don't set them up with my buddies in the trades, but I don't go there. I have heard a lot of my competitors hand out business cards for all their buddies in different construction trades.

She settled on a roofing contractor that was $3000 less than 2 other roofers, and I thought that was suspicious. She is looking to save money, and I understand that. But it sounded fishy. She called me just before a recent snow, because she felt something was wrong as a leak had begun after a rain and she wanted me to take a look - the work was not completed, but the leak was from an area that was finished. The roofer put up tarps in the unfinished areas to cover the plywood and open skylight hole as snow was in the forecast.

I had some time and I offered to look at the roofing job for free, so I got up on a ladder to look at the finished area and saw some problems. No flashing was visible around the chimney, although they removed what was previously there. This is a problem. But the big thing was NO ROOFING FELT (tar paper) under the new shingles. This is a big problem. Obviously the roofer was a scammer, and I had the photos to prove it.

She called the real estate office she got the referral from, and the BBB and the local town officials who deal with unlicensed contractors. Turns out the guys license was up 2 months previous, and this was a 'side job' which was 'tax-free' according to the verbal from the contractor.

The contractor is now in hot water, and luckily my client only gave the guy $1500 to pay for materials, so she didn't get totally screwed, but she came close. I have seen at least 4 new roofs without tar paper since the start of my inspection business. The cheapest part of the materials (roofing felt) is one of the most important parts of the roofing installation.

So hire licensed, reputable contractors, and check the status of their license! IT IS WORTH THE PHONE CALL! My client tells EVERYBODY she meets about me. This walking, talking billboard is the best free advertisement a home inspector could ask for. What did I really pay for this advertisement? It took me 15 minutes of my time. Some inspectors would charge for this. Talk about ROI! -Ray