We had just sold our home to an FHA buyer and were beginning to go through the contingency period…read more I was expecting that our roof would get flagged by either the home inspector or the FHA appraiser, as it was 9 years old and we had never done anything to maintain it. There were no leaks, or anything visibly wrong that we could see, but I started to reach out to roofers anyway to see if they could just come out to look at my roof and let me know what, if anything, needed to be done.
I got an email from Derrick the same day I submitted a request for an estimate through the website. He said he'd be glad to come out and have a look and let me know what needed to be done. He ended up not being able to come out for over a week, because it rained pretty much every single day. But in the meantime, during that week, I got estimates back from two other roofers, and the home inspection was completed.
The two other roofers both gave me quotes for full roof replacement, full skylight replacement, and all kinds of stuff I wasn't expecting to need, totaling over $2500. But when Derrick got back to me with his estimate, it was almost $2000 cheaper - and I had to do a double take! I thought for sure he'd left off a 1 at the beginning or something. I had been bracing myself to shell out thousands of dollars for a new roof. But then I read his estimate, and compared it to the home inspector's report that I'd just gotten back, and guess what? The items that the home inspector said we needed to address were the EXACT SAME ITEMS that Derrick said we needed to address (aka NOT a new roof - just some maintenance to extend the life). I can't even begin to tell you the amount of relief I felt! I even exchanged emails with Derrick to make sure - to really make sure - that this was correct. I sent him the inspector's report, and he confirmed that his estimate would address everything the inspector was asking us to address. I even sent him another one of the roofer's estimates, which had pointed out something about delaminated plywood sheathing, and asked if he'd noticed anything else like that up there. He said he didn't but he'd be happy to have another look.
He came back the next day and completed the job! Completed - the job - the next day! Another thing I should mention is that he included pictures of my roof in his email to me with the estimate attached, and no other roofer I contacted did this. He sent me 'after' pictures when the work was completed and I was able to clearly see what work was performed and that it was indeed complete.
I can't say enough good things about this company - it was such a pleasure to work with someone like Derrick at a time when, as sellers, we are most vulnerable to being taken advantage of to simply get through the contingency period. It was refreshing to know that we were dealing with an honest tradesman, which seems to be a rarity these days. I was so impressed with his honesty and work that I shared his name and number with my realtor. She said whenever she sells a house in Philly, she has a hard time recommending a roofer because she's had so many bad experiences. I hope this ends up bringing Derrick more business. Nice work - keep it up - you get more flies with honey!!