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The bitterness of a cheap repair.

I had a call today from a client I worked for several years ago. Back then, he was concerned about his house and asked me to take a look. I made several recommendations and actually recommended several qualified contractors. That was the last I heard of it... until today.

Apparently, he had listed and sold his house, only to have it fail a home inspection (by a different firm, not mine). Serious problems were found. He had a contractor review the problems. The contractor has recommended an extensive and expensive repair process. The home owner called me to confirm the contractor's findings and recommendation (smart move!).

Apparently, way back when, the home owner decided to hire a cheaper contractor than the ones I had recommended, and, you guessed it... he didn't even get what he paid for.

In fact, the repairs may have actually caused the conditions to worsen. I'll know more when I take a look again next week.

Why are we so tempted by a lower price? What ever happened to paying for quality and a job well done?

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.

Tom Sinclair

About the House - Home Inspections

Fairhope, Alabama

(251) 990-3169

www.InspectTestAnalyze.com

Posted by Tom Sinclair : About the House - Home Inspections on 05/01/2007 11:42 PM

Comments (7)

cheap, regret, lesson, hard way

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7 Comments on The bitterness of a cheap repair.

MAY

2007

Tom.... you bring up a few great points. Referrals.... recommendations.... But some people just like to cut corner's because of cost. They think if they can find something cheaper, that it's still a good deal, And yes, you get what you pay for.

jeff belonger

I hear what you are saying. They try to get out cheap. Why I will never figure it out.

Tom,

It seems everything is a commodity these days and those cursed with a Walmart mentality get what they pay for... And often times less! A fool and his money are soon parted. What I'd like to know is how they got together in the first place!

Cheers,

David Swierczynski

MAY

2007

Many people just don't get it.. too many are penny wise and dollar foolish.. it's cheaper to do it right the first time then to have to re-do something over and over..

In a vast majority of the cases....the 'cheap' repair just isn't the way to go. Find someone qualified/certified and get the job done right the first time.

A friend of mine had a great saying for this, "they step over dollars to pick up pennies". All to often, quality doesn't necessarily even cost more. I sure prefer working with contractors who are referred to me.

JUL

2007

Howdy Tom

I want to give you my congrats on a good blog post.

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