Your inspector tells you what's wrong. I tell you what it costs. A registered contractor's written, itemized estimate for the repairs on your inspection report, in the form your attorney needs to negotiate, inside your attorney-review window. This is a cost estimate, not a home inspection.
Bring your inspection report. Site visit usually within 2–3 days of booking. Written estimate within 72 hours after.
| Activity | Amount |
|---|---|
| Roof, rear slope: two layers of shingle, soft decking at the valley. Tear-off, replace rotted sheathing, ice and water shield at eaves and valleys, architectural shingle | 11,800.00 |
| Provide and install new code-compliant guardrails (2) on second floor. Existing guardrails do not meet code height or spindle spacing | 8,200.00 |
| Provide and install attic insulation to meet 2021 IRC minimum of R-49. Existing cellulose at ~5" is ~R-16. Includes soffit baffling and air sealing around recessed cans | 3,800.00 |
| Electrical: install 3 junction boxes where exposed wiring and tape splices observed. Provide and install exterior GFCI outlets | 980.00 |
| Provide and install kick-out flashing both sides of chimney to stop water penetration and gutter overflow, as evidenced by staining on both sides of chimney | 600.00 |
| Remove and replace rotted pressure-treated 6x6s on driveway retaining wall | 600.00 |
Sample items and figures. Comes with a one-page cover note: which items to negotiate, which are safety, which can wait.
Your inspector tells you the roof is old. I tell you what it costs to replace, and whether that's a $9,000 job or a $14,000 job. I don't inspect the house. Your inspector already did. I price the work. I've been doing that in Monmouth County since 2004. I literally wrote the book on this: Home Buying & Renovation, on Amazon.
Pay the fee online or call. Send me the inspection report and your attorney-review deadline so I can schedule around it.
We meet there, usually within 2–3 days. I look at what the inspection flagged and what it takes to fix it. If I notice something the report doesn't cover, I'll tell you to have your inspector or the right licensed trade look at it, and I'll price it in case they confirm it.
Within 72 hours: the itemized written estimate and a total, ready to forward to your attorney or agent.
A real number, in writing, from someone who prices this work for a living. Whether the seller moves is between the attorneys. Whether you know what you're buying is settled.
I've done this for friends for twenty years, and they've saved tens of thousands. Sometimes I got the job. I never charged for the estimate. This is the same estimate, open to anyone buying a house in Monmouth County.
No, and that's the point. I'm not bidding your job, so the numbers aren't a sales pitch. The estimate says so on its face: a good-faith cost estimate for negotiation, not a bid, with RSC not engaged to do the work. If you want RSC to do work after you close, that's a separate conversation with a separate proposal.
No. New Jersey licenses home inspectors, and I'm not one. Keep your inspector. An inspection tells you what's wrong. This tells you what it costs to make right, and which items actually move the deal. I work from your inspection report and price the fixes.
I'll tell you, and I'll tell you to get your inspector or the right licensed trade to look at it. Then I'll price it. What I won't do is write up the condition of the house. That's their job, and the law says so.
Call me. Nearby parts of Ocean and Middlesex are sometimes possible. Travel is extra and I'll tell you the number up front.
Usually within 2–3 days of booking. If attorney review ends sooner than that, call instead of using the form and I'll tell you honestly whether I can make it.
Address, your attorney-review deadline, and what the inspection flagged. I reply within one business day, sooner if your deadline is close.