A roofer warns elderly homeowners about a scam targeting them with fake urgency. An 80-year-old woman got a quote for $92,100 to replace a roof that needs nothing for 3-5 years; the real cost is around $30,000. Always get at least three quotes before agreeing to major repairs.
That's why it's a good idea to get at least 3 quotes. In some cases, people are comfortable getting 5 quotes these days. So I was at an elderly lady's house. She was about 80 years old, been in the house 45 years, and had gotten 2 other roof quotes before I got there for a new SBS roof, and she already had an SBS on. Both companies told her that she needed a roof absolutely in the next few months or it was going to leak. After my inspection, she has some minor UV cracking, and my estimation was 3 to 5 years before she absolutely needed a roof. So we got into a polite conversation and she, you know, asked if I wanted to see a quote from another company. I said, sure. She told me before she showed me it was for $92,000 for approximately 2,000 square feet of roofing, which I honestly thought, being elderly, maybe she was just confusing the issue and thought maybe $9,200 for repairs or something. After she brought up the quote on her computer and she had the name blacked out of the company because I probably would have taken some action if I knew who they were, $92,100. $1,987.26 for a roof that going market value was about $30,000. So after my telling her she did not need a roof right away, she was very thankful, and I think she actually contacted our concrete lifting division as well because she had an issue with there. So I put her in touch with Simon. The other quote was basically that she got was market value for what had to be done if you're getting a new SBS roof, but she also— they told her that she needs a roof right now, and she absolutely does not. She's got a Minimum of 3 years left, maybe 5 depending on weather.
