Ya, there are plenty of guys that will do work cheaper. They also probably don't have a successful legally run business. Saying that Troy is no better than being a cheap HO that can find a homeless man to do the work cheaper. We hear that from some adjusters, and it just sounds so unprofessional.

Thanks for the info that it is not a software problem, but a data entry problem by the lazy user.

Let's look at what he really said - because you are twisting it into something more sinister.

I doubt that Troy is pulling a price out of thin air. At a casual glance, not being focused on the zip code he is working - the price doesn't sound terribly low. And he is aware of what is or isn't included, and when to add for high, or steep.

Let's not throw him under the bus. Some adjusters (and roofers) should be thrown under, but it is a small %. Most of us are trying to do the right thing.

I agree Bob....most of us try to do the right thing. That is the reason for my original post.

We get and do all of our jobs by referral of homeowners. We see many different adjusters and ins. companies. Why should we do a job for less money on job "A" with Adjuster "#1", rather than doing job "B" for more money with adjuster "#2". These programs are zip code specific and line item specific. Why can an adjuster lump line items into one price category, when the next adjuster will pay exactly what the repairs are?

When I write estimates for a roof, I have a line item for removal, a line item for replace, a line item for replace tar paper, a line item for I&W. Some adjuster's have a line item for shingles R&R including felt and also pay I&W........well, not all of that roof gets tar paper(even though it should, different subject), some of it only gets I&W. Now with that line item lumped they are paying for tarpaper where it isn't even applied.

My point being, I try to be as fair as possible. I only want to be paid for what we actually do. On the same token, I need to get paid for exactly what we do. If we have valleys that take more time, it should be paid. If we have step flashing that takes an extra hour, it should be paid. If it is a straight roof or siding, then it should be a base price that doesn't include valleys, step flashing, etc....

This whole business could work much better if we were all on the same page.

Gotcha. If a price isn't right, just ask the adjuster to print out exactly what is included in the repair item. With Xactimate, they just F8 the repair step (or click on the picture to the right of the repair description, to get "more info").

Like we were touching on earlier, people don't always REALLY understand what is or isn't included in a repair step. I think the most common error I see in newer adjusters is what ISN'T THERE. They haven't stayed in one place long enough to LIVE through the supplements - or calls from homeowner when they cannot seem to find a contractor to do the work for the price allowed. Then you find they didn't know if the database price included dumpster or not, they didn't check for multiple layers to remove, and on and on.

The devil is in the details, and if the scope of repair is described right, and the tools of the software are understood (including what is included for that repair item) then the task of estimate reconciliation gets a lot easier.

And I agree that the lowest bid is not always the right one. I was managing property 20 years ago when a roofer took off the roof of an apartment building just before it poured rain, we discovered the liability and bond insurance were fiction, and the guy had so many jobs open when the rain came that he basically folded (changed names...)