Case in point: Since I am moving and putting the house up on the market I looked for a roofer. My roof was last re-shingled way back in 1996. It is over 20-years old and it will be the fourth layer of the house. I put up two and the original owners never needed to since they sold the house before it needed it.
I dread doing a new roof because it cost money, something I love to preserve in earnest fashion. I also like to make money and lots of it if at all possible. If that is not possible, I usually take naps until something comes along.
I called a real estate to come to help me market my house and was told to fix the driveway and the roof. He had a guy he could recommend for the roof and so; we went ahead and called the fellow. A nice young man who makes his living repairing roofs Ever arrived with his helper, took a look around and walked on the roof to determine how much to charge. My anticipation was in the range of $10,000 give, or take .25¢.
Ever is a nice young fellow from San Salvador, has an accent that is Hispanic, represents his self very well and is very personable. My wife and I both like him and were eager to do business with him. He told us he is married and last week just became a father! He owns his home and has his own business, speaks English so he is pretty smart too, speaking two languages in my opinion.
Well, old Ever came down off the roof with a funny look on his face. Suddenly he voice lowered and he kind of wasn’t really looking into my eyes when he did.
“It will cost you $14,000! That includes labor, material, and carting away the debris.”
“How… how much!!!???”
“$14,000”.
“I… I need to think about this.”
“Very well I understand.”
No, he doesn’t, I’m not re-shingling the Vatican, just my simple abode. So I call my sister and ask her what she paid for her roof and she gives me an idea and the name of the guy who did her roof. I call him. His name is Pedro. He comes with his Dad and once again, my confidence level goes way up as we meet. A good balance would be high confidence with low price. This equation works for me every time.
Like Jesus, he ascends to new levels, measures, and returns to Earth. He comes in as I brace myself for what I know is the inevitable, a price.
“$8,000”
This includes taking off three layers, labor and materials and carting the whole thing off.
It pays to shop!
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