Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Autumn Thoughts

Well, interest rates can't get any lower than this. They're already at all time lows of just around 4 1/4% for a 30 year fixed. Yet, I heard today on CBS Radio News, that demand for mortgages is down for the third straight month. I know it's tuff out there and that people are still worried about their jobs. But is it more that, or is it bankers and mortgage companies are being a little tighter with their money?

And also, this time, I'm the consumer giving you some advice from first hand experience. I just had my roof done and also new gutters and downspouts added. Now I had a second layer and shingles put on in 1996, along with new gutters and downspouts. This though, is more about the roof than gutters and downspouts. My home is 43 years old. Last week, I signed a contract for the work, which included 100 free square feet of plywood to replace the old plywood that had been on the roof since 1967.

Well, once the roofing company got up there, they discovered a ton of decaying, rotting plywood which had to be replaced, far more than the free, 100 square feet, far more. Also, several cracked trusses had to be shored up, at an added cost for 2 X 4's which were not in the contract. And the facia boards, on which the gutters hang, were rotting away and 75% of those had to be replaced at still more cost per board foot, not in the contract.

My point being, the cost of my roof job, has exceeded the original estimate on my signed contract by 16%! So be aware of these things. The roofing company, when they come out and give you an estimate of the costs, has no idea how much bad wood they'll find up there. My roof and my gutters look beautiful now and I've got a 30 year warranty on the shingles, PLUS a 30 year warranty on the company's workmanship. And yes, in case you ask, I was invited up on my roof, 4 or 5 times to see just how bad the wood was and what their plans were to fix it. I accepted each invitation, so I could see first hand, what was going on and I wholeheartedly agreed on the repairs.

I'm happy, but just be aware of these things if you're planning a roofing job in the near future!