I'm selling my house, can you give me a bid?

I get a lot of these. Some of them are okay leads, but many are just looking for the cheapest slap on job. I'm not very good at that thing...ummm finesse?

Do you guys get a lot of these calls? Close many of them? The housing market still sucks around here, so I get quite a few. If they were easy ones, I'd give a break, but nobody wants to drop the kind of cash it takes to make an old or steep roof right.

natty Said:

Come on, do it for free and I will recommend you to all my realtor associates.

I fell for this only one time. What you must remember, real estate agency is a flaky business. The license is pretty easy to get. There are a lot of part timers and newbys, and few stay with it for the long haul. If a truly professional realtor asks for a free estimate, s/he really is another level of jerk.

My opinion on realtors: To a realtor, you are 1 of 2 people. Someone helping them get their money, or the one holding up their money

Have done lots of work over the years because of, & through realtors. The only way I found for it to be profitable was to kiss their rear, & jump when they called. The bonus is, if you can tolerate their usual condescending manner, they aren't always shoppers. Time usually matters to them more then what it costs. Hell, it ain't their money lol.

My favorite call from a realtor usually starts with, "I've got this house closing in a few days...." :)

Having said that, Ive never met a realtor that wouldn't stick it to ya in a heartbeat, regardless of how long or how money dealings you've had with them in the past.

Come on, do it for free and I will recommend you to all my realtor associates.

I remember discussing the free estimate - free inspection issue with one realtor. He wanted a free estimate that stated in writing the condition of the roof and if there were any issues. He wanted me to state the expected life span left and drop it by his office by 3:00 pm. He was mortified that I would be charging him for this. His last words before I ended the conversation were "Come on, do it for free and I will recommend you to all my realtor associates."

No thanks Good bye

What natty said.

In spades.

Tinner: Will do, if I implement it on the webpage.

GSD Said: this way nobody is wasting anybodys time and there are no hard feelings.

When I did roofs, if I got calls like that and they were looking for the cheapest price or a cheap price, I would usually try to give them a price over the phone.

they usually have a few bids already and some may have the square footage on them. and if you take all of your roofs you've installed over the years that need the same shingle, if you average them out,, they are all just a few cents different, so I take the average price and their square footage, do the math and tell them that's the price...unseen. might be more or less after I'm done.

this way nobody is wasting anybody's time and there are no hard feelings.

got some of them, didn't get others. since they weren't big money makers, I didn't put a lot of time into the sale.

PS. Copyscape will notify me if you C&P it in whole. Change a phrase, or word or two, and maybe add a line.

clvr83 Said: Very true. Well your time is worth a lot, and maybe even more so because you work for yourself.

I looked up apge to see what you were talking about, until I realized you mistyped page :laugh: Thanks, Im going to have to implement the inspection more often.

Editing now. Hard to type since the operation on 2-4-15. My L. hand is numb and i'm scheduled to see a neurosurgeon soon. IV must have screwed a nerve.

Very true. Well your time is worth a lot, and maybe even more so because you work for yourself.

I looked up apge to see what you were talking about, until I realized you mistyped page :laugh: Thanks, I'm going to have to implement the inspection more often.

You can put this on your page if you want. Reason I charge $365.+ is that I'm submitting a written report with pix and anything I 'pass' means it's my baby and if I'm possibly going to be liable for something, I want to have something to help cover my expenses.

From my website. Many people do read this info, linked from the home page before calling.

http://www.albertsroofing.com/Estimates%20vs%20Inspections.htm

"ESTIMATES:

Estimates are given to fix a defined problem noticed or perceived by the customer. A leak usually causes this call.

There is a charge for the initial visit, usually $25.00. For out of town trips, the fee increases.

Inspections are a different mater.

INSPECTIONS:

Inspections are entirely different from estimates. They are often a legal instrument for realtors, bankers, etc. in regards salability of a house. Sometimes, they're a legal instrument in a court against shoddy workmanship.

If I'm signing one, I'll spend an hour or 2 on a residence detailing everything I can come up with, good and bad. Then a hour writing/editing it. That doesn't include up to 2 hours road time sometimes.

My minimum fee is $365.00"

You were right on w/ the repair comment earlier Chuck. I sell them most of the time. It's the dreaded "I gotta get a new roof before I can hock this place" that I normally waste my time on.

Most of the time I get these calls, a home inspection has already been done and all I have to do is quote the noted repairs and perform the work. However, I often change the scope of work adding or eliminating some things.

A few times they will call and directly ask for an inspection rather than an estimate. On these, I charge $195 for the inspection report but waive the fee if any repairs are needed and they hire me to do them.

Of course there are times when I am listening to the caller and can detect that I need to sell them an inspection ensuring that I'm going to at least get a couple hundred bucks or more out of the deal instead of it turning out to just be a wasted trip taking up an hour or two of my schedules precious time. ;)

Good information guys. I don't mind doing it for the realtor so much, because if I take care of them, they usually return it one way or another. Most of them.

But I've thought about how to implement an inspection fee. It seems like a gray line between that an estimate, just depending on how they start off the conversation. Tinner & Lefty, I might have to just suggest an inspection rather than an estimate.

Many sellers probably don't want the truth about their roof.