Why does a contractor want to know if I plan to live in the home?

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Why does a contractor want to know if I plan to live in the home?

Cynthia Hartley
Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2014 · 81 posts · 47 votes

Hi everyone,

I purchased a new house as a primary home, although I currently have a primary home that I plan to rent once the new house has been renovated. I called a roofer to give me an estimate to replace the roof of the new house, and he asked twice if it I was going to be living in it. Why would a contractor want to know if I am going to live in the house or not? 

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Account Closed
Frederick, MD · Member since 2015 · 654 posts · 256 votes
10y

@Cynthia Hartley, @Sam Valme and @Russell Brazil - regardless of the contractor's physical place of business, DC has licensing laws for those working in the city.  The salesperson selling the work is required to hold a Home Improvement Salesperson License, the contractor performing the work is required to hold either a Home Improvement Contractor License or a General Contractor/Construction Manager license, and for home improvements (defined as: "This classification applies if you conduct any of the following: the repair, remodeling, alteration conversion or modernization of, or addition to, residential property, all as may be more particularly defined in the regulations."), there is a THREE day contract cancellation period.

I'm always wary of the folks who can do the work "on the spot".

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  • Kris Mcfarlane
    Rental Property Investor · Chilliwack, B.C. · Member since 2015 · 115 posts · 37 votes
    10y

    @Cynthia Hartley

    Being a carpenter the only logical thing I could think of would to know when he could start working on the property, but also how much to charge. If you show up and it looks like the person has deep pockets normally you can charge a bit more. 

    If that was me I would just get a new contractor in. 

    1Reply
  • Tony Fendi
    Rochester, NY · Member since 2016 · 39 posts · 10 votes
    10y

    A personal residence ppl will spend more money on higher quality materials and labor. Flips and rentals most ppl want shingles up and no leaks, bare minimum. This will result in 2 different prices. 

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  • Cynthia Hartley
    OP
    Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2014 · 81 posts · 47 votes
    10y

    Hi @Kris Mcfarlane and @Tony Fendi. Thank you both for your responses. I agree with both of your assessments. I met with the contractor this morning. He showed up with working crew in tow and said that my 900 sq ft flat modified bitumen rubber roof would cost $9,000 to apply a new roof on top of the old one and to cover the rusted flashing. However, since I was an Angie's List member he would give me a 10% discount for which he calculated a total price of $7,250, which is a 20% discount. (An indication to me that he was jacking up the price.) He said that his crew was here and he could finish the job today. I immediately felt pressured and said I needed to think about it and see how that fit in with my budget, plus I was traveling the following week and would not be able to make a decision until after I returned. He said I could pay $4,200 now and the rest when I return. I wasn't comfortable with that either.

    I am going to take your advice Kris and find several roofing contractors from which to obtain estimates.

    BTW, I drove to the house in my new Prius. Next time I will be there in my 2000 Civic with a mismatched hood and dents/scratches all over the car!

    Much appreciated guys!!

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  • Kris Mcfarlane
    Rental Property Investor · Chilliwack, B.C. · Member since 2015 · 115 posts · 37 votes
    10y

    @Cynthia Hartleyundefined

    From a Smart car owner I am envious of your Prius, I can only imagine the savings you must have in that thing! 

    When ever I have had contractors give me a price, I just introduce my self as the property manager in my clean blue jeans or board shorts, driving around solving the worlds problems in my 2005 Smart car. (Insert the cool sunglass emoji here.) I either get a great price or the price is sky high as what trade person drives a smart car. 

    That is the exact contractor you do not want to work with and glad that the BP community came to the rescue just in the nick of time, not that you couldn't handle it yourself. 

    Cheers, Kris

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  • Sam Valme
    Rental Property Investor · Arlington, VA · Member since 2015 · 160 posts · 53 votes
    10y

    @Cynthia Hartley as @Kris Mcfarlane said, this definitely sounds like a contractor to pass on. Unless the work was scheduled on that day.  Theres no need bring in the team. On the other hand, from a sales perspective, their motivation to close same day business is commendable. (Slow clap) Assuming your property is in our neck of the woods (DMV) you'll have plenty of options when it comes to all kinds of contracting. On the the next one! :)

    Good Luck!

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  • Cynthia Hartley
    OP
    Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2014 · 81 posts · 47 votes
    10y

    Thanks @Sam Valme,

    The property is in DC. The Deanwood area in SE DC to be precise. If you have any recommendations on roofers, I welcome them. Please PM me. 

    Eventually, I will be writing a blog on my experience. Hope it will be informative and educational.

    Thanks!

    Cynthia

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  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    10y

    The roofer I use is in Frederick, MD so I doubt they will go all the way to dc. That does bring up a point though. ...most of the contractors I use infrequently are from Frederick, Anne Arundel, Eastern part of PG. If the contracter is from DC, MoCo, Nova then they are likely to be on the high side.

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  • Hugh Ayles
    Cedar Park, TX · Member since 2015 · 377 posts · 200 votes
    10y

    The contractor may want to know if it is your residence for tax reasons and also for lien reasons in case of non-payment.

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  • Account Closed
    Frederick, MD · Member since 2015 · 654 posts · 256 votes
    10y

    @Cynthia Hartley, @Sam Valme and @Russell Brazil - regardless of the contractor's physical place of business, DC has licensing laws for those working in the city.  The salesperson selling the work is required to hold a Home Improvement Salesperson License, the contractor performing the work is required to hold either a Home Improvement Contractor License or a General Contractor/Construction Manager license, and for home improvements (defined as: "This classification applies if you conduct any of the following: the repair, remodeling, alteration conversion or modernization of, or addition to, residential property, all as may be more particularly defined in the regulations."), there is a THREE day contract cancellation period.

    I'm always wary of the folks who can do the work "on the spot".

    2Reply
  • Ray P.
    VA · Member since 2015 · 24 posts · 0 votes
    10y
    No deposit on such a small job. If he can't carry the cost of a 1 day job the he is not a secure company. If you absolutely had to pay send him a lien release (waiver) or meet them at the supplier and pay them directly. There is always joint checks too, but usually used for larger jobs.
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  • Robert Blanchard
    Littleton, CO · Member since 2014 · 195 posts · 72 votes
    10y

    Maybe he thought as a primary residence you would spring for better materials.  

    Even though he was on Angie's List , which he paid to be on, that does not necessary mean he is a good contractor.  

    I rather deal with Contractors that are referred by other RE Investors via a REIA group or on BP.

    Even at that, I would always get 2 or 3 quotes just to verify that they are not padding the price just to be able to go down or offer you a "do it now" price for a new Client.

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  • Cynthia Hartley
    OP
    Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2014 · 81 posts · 47 votes
    10y

    Thanks everyone for your input. I did end up getting two more quotes. One was from a GC who said the roof was in good shape, except the flashing in the front of the house, where one major leak was evident, and except for the vent pipe in the bathroom where the other leak was evident. He said he would repair the leak and apply aluminum asphalt coating for a price of $3400.

    The last quote was from another roofer who said he would take off the old modified bitumen rubber roof and install a new one, including new flashing, for $10,000 with a 10 year warrantee

    The prices are really all over the place.

    A colleague said he had Home Depot replace his roof with a 30 year warrantee for $9,000 and it was a sloped, shingled roof. I may check HD and Lowes to see if they replace roofs and what their costs are as a benchmark. Never been a fan of those stores, but it is what it is. Definitely a learning lesson.

    As I continue to look for roofers, I will also start looking for basement excavators. I suspect that will be harder than finding a reputable roofer.

    Thanks again guys for your input and listening to me rant about roofers.

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