I recently spoke with a seller who just got a deposit on his home, and had to get a few repairs done to the premises for the buyers. So he set about getting estimates for the work to be performed. Being the diligent seller that he was, he called a number of contractors, and of course, only a few called him back. I am not getting on contractors, everyone has to make a living. Some jobs just don't pay enough to warrant an estimate. I get that. A call back would be nice just to say, "thanks, I'm not interested" but that's getting off point just a little bit.
So this seller called a number of contractors to see about getting a repair done to the chimney that needed to get re-pointed. Getting a chimney re-pointed pretty much consists of fixing the broken mortar in between the bricks, and depending on how badly it needs repointing, even I can tell that it will need to be done. If I see that there is loose or missing mortar when we list your home or when we go about finding you your new home, I will tell you up front that it should be looked at.
Well, a few contractors came out and give this seller their estimates, and the prices varied widely.One contractor came in at $500, and another came in at $900, and another came in at $1200. Figuring that three estimates was enough, and since no one else called him back, the seller went with the $500 estimate and got the job completed. What's not so funny is what happened next.
One of the other contractors that never initially called back, finally called to say that he was out to look at the house, and the repair would cost $1,100.. Smart guy that the seller was, he asked the contractor when he looked at the chimney, and the contractor replied that he had just come out that morning.
(By the way, the repair was already done the previous week).
Could it be that the contractor that did the repair didn't do the job? Or was it that the contractor that just came out was scamming the seller? In this case, the seller asked the second contractor if he went up on the roof to look at the job, and the contractor replied "no, and that he eyeballed it from the yard". That seller could have gotten scammed very easily, but he was savvy enough not to fall for the trap. (The timing just gave it away) As he told the contractor that the repair was done already, the contractor had little to say, except to just hang up.
Okay, so not all contractors are honest, and not all contractors are scam-artists. Just do your due diligence, and check the contractor out thoroughly to make sure that he is licensed through the State of Connecticut and has a good reputation. Get those references!! They are important!