Heaven help me. I cannot believe I might actually contract with Sears Home Services Roofing for my roof job. I got 3 quotes from local companies and was pretty much decided on one. But I heard an ad on the radio and had no idea Sears did roofing. The motivational thought in the back of my mind turned out to be true, Sears offers 24 month 0% interest financing in our area on roof jobs. Assuming Sears can match my quotes, that means not spending $10,000 out of pocket, and spending $400/month over 2 years (pretty much). That's a real 'carrot' for me and will indeed allow me to budget other home improvement projects wherein I will spend money with local professionals. But Sears? for a roof? I know. I've read good & bad reviews on them online. Anyone out there contract with Sears for their roof? Satisfied? Sears is coming by today to give me a presentation & quote. I kind of hope their quote is wildly beyond the others so I can omit considering Sears altogether. I will learn today, but I am pulling out a magnifying glass to read the actual proposal contract. Comments on Sears roofing appreciated. Andrew
I assume Sears subcontracts this out to local roofers, so I would find out who is actually going to do the work. My experience with Sears and home repair work is they are pricey (had them give us a quote for replacement windows five years ago) but have no idea how it would be for roofs.
What PeggyC says...I'd assume you are paying a subcontracted roofer AND overhead to sears in order to get your financing. May be worth it if it improves cash flow, and if you get trustworthy roofers.
But the odds are good that Sears is not getting the top recommended roofers, who are more likely to operate under their own name.
No experience with them on roofing, but recently had an appliance delivered and installed by their subcontractors, and Sears was no help whatsoever when I had problems. They gave me the runaround and took no ownership of the problems. So understand what you actually get by going through Sears...
Good luck! (I have roofers outside finishing a big job as we speak, thanks to this burst of warm weather, and just got off the phone with hubby, checking on amounts as he moves money to checking to cover!)
They are subcontracting. I looked to them when replacing my furnace and prices seemed to good and this was for a Carrier brand. I called later in the week and asked if they are subcontracting out can you provide me information, insurance, etc on the company that will be installing. Never got back to me. Just make sure you are provided insurance, liscence # and state reg# when hiring someone. If they don't provide it, move on. Good luck!
edt: do not sign amything until you get this paperwork. you also have 3 days after signing contract to withdrawl 100%. It is a consumer protection state law.
Follow up. Sears came over to my Maplewood home to examine the roof and quote me. The quote exceeded my lowest quote from a local roofer by 105%, it exceed the quote from the local roofer I was leaning toward by 93%. Yes, they were twice the price, shockingly. The main difference in the quotes is Sears claims they use a newer style of under laying membrane material. Sears claims they do a lot of roofs in Essex county and people use them for the financing and belief Sears will be around in 15, 20, 25 years to honor the guarantee - warranty. He did say they sub-contract and take responsibility to confirm the crew is fully insured, licensed, drug tested, etc. He was also very specific in saying the guarantee and warranty on the quality of work is with Sears and lifetime (in contract) if you go with the Owens Corning lifetime shingles. I will not be contracting with Sears, thanks for the input.
Sears isn't the only company using that new underlayment. Tico's is about to do our roof, and the owner Jorge is making a big deal about the new underlayment called "Tiger Paw." I can't recommend the company OR the underlayment since I haven't experienced either one yet, but Sears is making false claims if they are saying they're the only game in town on that new underlayment. In addition, there is a lifetime warranty from Tico's that is transferrable to the next owner of the home, in case that's needed. The warranty is from the manufacturer of the shingles, not Tico's. I really doubt Sears will be around in 15, 20, etc. years, unfortunately for them.
I'm kind of glad you aren't going with them... Sears seems to have fallen apart in recent years, which is a pity. There was a time when I would have trusted them with quite a lot and bought all my appliances and power tools there. Not so any more.
Good choice on two fronts. I just used sears for a boiler and they were terrible. Also, the thing to do with any big company likie Sears or Home Depot after you get the quote is say no, no matter what the price, even though you are giving up the "special 3 days only" pricing. Three days later there will be a follow up call. If you liked the company, admit that it was only the price that was a problem and they will offer you 20% off.
Hah. Clever, FilmCarp. I've actually gotten two bids from Sears in the past (windows and furnace/water heater), and both times they were by far the high price, so that might be worth considering down the road if I need anything that doesn't require a warranty. Then again, why bother?
I met with Sears Home Services once...they gave me a bid on installing a sliding glass door and 6 other windows in my home...the bid was over $10,000...I kid you not...than they had the gall to call me a couple of weeks later and ask why I did not choose them...ultimately, I went with Thermo-Tite and their price for materials and installation was around $3,500...
Update. Out of curiosity I had Home Depot come over and quote the roof job. They offer 12 Months 0% interest financing on the job (the carrot for me), this is their standard Home Depot Card which I already have. They were 59% higher than my lowest quote, 48% higher than the quote/company I am probably going with (Scott's). Fortunately I can afford to pay for the job outright (which I will), it's just a 0% financing deal would have enabled me to get multiple home improvement projects started this Spring (like building a deck and a whole backyard remodel making it true living space like the stuff you see on HGTV, etc.). Home Depot does offer for roofs there general "project loan" program wherein you pay nothing for 6 months, then can pay for the job over the course as long as 8 years if you want, at 8% interest.
All my comments were for IKO 3 tab (Marathon) as opposed to IKO Architectural (Cambridge) shingles.
