Accu-Spec Consulting & Construction, LLC

Thank you Revdex.com for your action ,as of this time,there is no contract to send ,Accu-spec refused any refund ,it was stated that an estimate of real value to secure the job was necessary at this time house has been repaired ,two contractors were contacted and confirmed NO structural damage House has been repaired to our satisfaction and insurance companyAccu-spec will have to be investigated under ohio revised code,(c)

I am rejecting this response because: AT THIS TIME OUR PICTURES AND MONEY HAS YET TO BE RETURNEDFURTHER ACTION MAY BE NECESSARY FOR RESOLUTION
Regards,
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I was contacted on 9/9 by Mrs. Homeowner.  She said a tree had fallen on their house and she would like an estimate for repairs.  I asked her if she had contacted her insurance company and she said yes.  I explained to her that we do not give estimates because the insurance...

company works with the contractor to determine the cost of the repair.  I told her I was a licensed insurance adjuster as well as a contractor and my husband specializes in and has had many years of experience with complex structural issues.  She was excited about our credentials and asked me to come out that day and take a look.   She was emphatic that family or friends not be involved in the project and did not want ‘one of those contractors/roofers you see on TV or in all of the ad campaigns’ her husband see’s and wanted to do the job.  She was especially did not want friends or family involved at all.  The house is one story with a 4/12 gable roof.  My initial inspection revealed structural damage to several trusses on the rear slope of the roof on the left side.  Not only were rafter tails sheared off but the top cord of several trusses were crushed.  The front left slope had some damage.  In addition, the tree created a hole into the master bedroom ceiling.  The room had suffered minimal damage from rain. I called my husband to inspect the house for structural damage.  I also asked him to bring the necessary tools and tarp so we could secure their home from the elements.  We documented the damage, took pictures and measured the roof notating all current components on the roof (chimney, satellite dish, vent pipes, etc).  The roof is not vented nor is there ice and water guard or drip edge all items necessary to meet code.  After we installed the tarp, we met with the homeowners, reviewed the pictures and the damage seen from the ground.  We answered their questions.  Then I explained how the insurance company determines the value of the job and how that would be our payment.  They agreed.  She said we were exactly what she was looking for:  an experienced company who would deal directly with the insurance company on their behalf, experience with insurance companies AND then repair the structural damage to the house.  She asked me to meet the adjuster on 9/15, and I agreed.  She stated she was an honest person and wanted us to do the job and her husband agreed.  He compared us to XXXXXXXX, another business owner who he knew, liked and admired.I sent her an email later that day on how to file a claim with her mortgage company:  phone number, hours to call, documents to request, documents we will have to mail to them, etc.  Mrs. Homeowner thanked me because she did not know she had to call her mortgage company and had no phone numbers, no idea who to call or what to ask for or what they would request.   She contacted her insurance company, asked them to document in her file that we were her contractor and we had her permission to contact them about this claim.  In addition, she asked them to provide us with any documentation or information about the claim when requested.  She then provided me with the adjusters name and contact number and reminded me again about the meeting with the adjuster the following week. She then asked for a building estimate which I normally don’t do because of the hours it takes to write.  However, she wanted to see it just to ‘get an idea’.  I told her the adjusters write their own estimate based on the damaged they see and their knowledge.  Then I get a copy of it and add the items needed for the repair and send it back to the adjuster.  We then have a ‘meeting of the minds’ and hopefully reach agreement within a week or two. I explained all of this to her.  However she was adamant, she wanted an estimate so I complied by spending the time to write it and sent it to her via email.  I cautioned her that this was an estimate and that the adjuster and I would work together for the cost of repairs.  She was shocked at the cost.  Again I told her it WAS AN ESTIMATE.  I would work with the adjuster to determine the cost.  I met with the adjuster.  We inspected the damage on the roof.  He said only one truss needed to be replaced and I explained to him that at least three were damaged, possibly four and since the homeowners would be moved to a hotel for the duration of the repairs and ordering trusses takes 3 to 4 weeks, that he might want to authorize 4 trusses in lieu of 3.  I pointed out to him that the additional cost to keep the homeowners in a hotel in the event 4th truss had to be replaced, would be much, much more than the cost of this additional truss, not to mention the additional stress placed on the homeowners.  She wanted to be back in her home as soon as possible so to facilitate the repair of the home, on her behalf, I asked for the additional truss.  The adjuster agreed with me.  It was at this time she told me she was concerned about her husband and the large sum of monies she knew they would receive for the claim from their insurance company. She said he did not make sound financial decisions and she was very, very concerned.  She said she was going to open a separate account to deposit the funds.  She wanted to make sure the money would be there to pay us.    She revealed he had past issues and tended to spend money in an ‘inappropriate manner’.  I asked her if there would be a problem receiving payment for the job but she assured me that we would be paid. I use the same computer program Xactimate that approximately 85% to 90% of the insurance companies use to determine the cost of an insurance claim.  We purchase a license for the use in our company.  We use the same pricing, items, etc as an insurance company.  Items and pricing listed in the program are determined by Xactimate.  Pricing is by zip code and new prices are published monthly and are available for download.  As a licensed insurance adjuster, I go through the same background investigation, finger printing and training as the insurance company staff adjusters.  I have worked for State Farm, USAA, Allstate, FEMA and several small insurance companies.   In addition to meeting with the insurance adjuster, writing the first building estimate for the claim per Mrs. Homeowner’s request, reconciling the insurance adjusters first building estimate with the actual cost of the repair, meeting with the homeowners five to six times, contracting with a structural engineer, calls to officials, suppliers regarding the fabrication and delivery of the trusses, etc. our company has invested in excess of $5,000 in this job.  The only reason I continued to work for her is because she and her husband were emphatic that we would do the repairs.  She said she was an honest person and repeatedly stated she wanted us to do the job.  She acknowledged we were spending a lot of time on the claim and appreciated the work we were doing on her behalf with the insurance company.  She definitely wanted us to do the job.  Both she and her husband stated that on many occasions during our visits or with her during our phone conversations. I would not have worked on this job AT ALL after the initial visit but she committed to giving it to us on many occasions.   I do NOT have the time or desire to spend 60+ hours working on a whim for a job we may or may not do.  Again, she stated many times she was happy with us, that we were doing a lot of work.    Both she and her husband definitely wanted us to repair the house.  So, I wrote the building estimate to reflect the damage to the house:  remove and replace four trusses, remove roof decking on rear elevation (house & porch).   This is the only way we could ensure there was no additional damage beyond the readily viewable damage from the tree.  We would be really fortunate if  the other trusses of the home and rafters for the porch were not damaged.   I explained to the adjuster this would be “forensic demo” and hopefully, there were no other issues with the house but since we didn’t have x-ray vision, we would have to remove the decking.    Because of the long standing relationship my husband had with the structural engineer, he was kind enough to drive out to their house on a Sunday.  The time was set for 2PM to inspect the damage.  Unfortunately, we were scheduled to go out of town for several days (9 hour drive to Mississippi) so rather than return north to Columbus to drop off the truck and then turn around to go south again, Mr. & Mrs. Homeowner were kind enough to let us leave our truck at their home for several days.  This saved us about two hours on an already delayed (to accommodate them) start.  He met with the homeowners and answered their questions.  He explained the house was structurally damaged.  He said the rear decking of the house and porch would have to be removed because there could be additional unseen damage from a ‘ripple effect’ from the tree hitting the house/porch.  He explained that it might take longer than they think to fix the house.  He urged them to have patience.  (That is what I wrote for:  replace 4 trussses, remove decking on porch & rear of home.) The homeowner’s statement that we wanted 2x the insurance estimate is a common misconception on the part of a homeowner.  Insurance companies must repair the house within the homeowner’s policy limits.   Insurance companies never pay more for a job that what the cost is to repair the home.   Most homeowners simply don’t have the knowledge or experience to estimate labor and material for a structural repair.  The cost or dollars assigned for labor or material is determined by Xactimate not the insurance company or contractor.I have to write a supplement for the items needed for the repair that the adjuster has not allowed for in his first building estimate.  I assured her on several occasions, that we would do the job for what the insurance company said the job was worth. However, part of the process of determining the actual cost a repair (claim) is for the adjuster to have a ‘meeting of the minds’ with the contractor.  Understand that most adjusters have a limited knowledge of the intricacies of not only what is needed for a repair but also code issues required for a repair.   Part of my job is to identify the specific code issues and provide the appropriate documentation and cost as allowed in the policy.  CONTRACTORS MUST HAVE THE NECESSARY COMPONETS (MATERIAL & LABOR) TO REPAIR DAMAGES TO A BUILDING PER THE HOMEOWNERS POLICY – THAT IS WHAT THE HOMEOWNER PAYS FOR IN THEIR POLICY.Why would a homeowner accept anything less?This whole process is normal in the insurance claim world which I explained at length, answered questions and assured them the insurance company would pay for all the damage as allowed in their insurance policy.  The house is located in Pleasant Township.  All permitting and inspections are done by Franklin County.  Again, the homeowners are under the misconception that a permit is not needed for the repair of their house which would be true if it was truly a repair but it fails to qualify as a ‘repair’ due to the structural damage from the tree.  Consequently, I received a text message from Mrs. Homeowner telling me a she had contacted Franklin County and they told her she did not need a permit for a repair which is true but as I texted her:  THIS IS NOT JUST A REPAIR – THE HOME HAS STRUCTUAL DAMAGE.  I asked her if she used the word ‘structural damage’ and told them her house had broken trusses and she said no. I said she should have called me first.  I would have given her the name and phone number of who to talk to at Franklin County and what to say (structural damage).  I told her it becomes time consuming on my part to try to explain to a homeowner why the information they now have (now she thinks she doesn’t need a permit) is erroneous.  I told her we had to have a permit because it must be inspected due to the structural damage. We were to sign a contract on 10/18, but were running late and rescheduled the following day.  The next day, I called to let them we were on the way when Mr. Homeowner answered the phone, he said “You're done, we can do this ourselves.  We don’t need to replace the entire porch roof and we don’t need a permit, it’s not structurally damaged.”  I explained it needed to be inspected and the entire porch roof (deck) and part of the house deck had to be removed, inspected and replaced.  I also cautioned him the damage would have to be disclosed to a future buyer bylaw.  He said I was wrong, it was his house, he didn’t have to tell anyone anything and it didn't need to be inspected.   He could get the permit himself but he didn’t need one and he didn’t need to tell anyone about the damage.   It is unrealistic to believe that anyone would drive out to a clients house (50 minutes round trip), five or six times, spend 18 to 20 hours writing and reconciling estimates, making calls (length of time to fabricate trusses) to various suppliers/officials, contacting and meeting with the engineer to come out on a SUNDAY to inspect the damage at their house (all in an effort to expedite the repair process for the homeowners in an attempt to diminish their stress) and receive nothing for their work product?  We were assured by Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner on many, many occasions that they wanted us to repair their home.   We were prepared and willing to repair the home for what the insurance company paid.  It seemed to only become an issue when they saw the amount of the claim.   Then accusations and threats were made:  she would go to what ever measure she could to destroy us and cause us problems.We deserve to be paid for our work product and time expended for them.  It is what they asked us to do.$ 425             Tarp - (Temporary Repairs Line Item 68)   168             Electrician (Temporary Repairs Line Item 69) 5,025            67 hours @ $75 hr building estimates & reconciling estimates,                        trips to house, phone calls, etc.In conclusion, I would like to point out that most of the money we received came from O & P (overhead & profit) paid by the insurance company and did not come from costs for actual repair of the home.  When claims such as this are paid by an insurance company, a feature called O&P kicks in.  Insurance companies realize contractors hired for such a job by the homeowner will have substantial hours involved in the claim:  meeting with the adjuster, reconciling the estimates, ordering material, drawings, consulting with structural engineers, subcontractors,  inspections, etc.  The length of time I spent trying to resolve issues for Mrs. Homeowner were above and beyond a normal claim: she would call and cry about her problems, her kitty dying, her husband and no money, their anniversary, family coming in and no where to put them (extra bedroom available so I could NEVER figure that one out), the cost of the project, concerns about the cost of packing material, etc.  I found the experience exhausting.  Offered the job now, we wouldn’t take it.  I was just completing the next stage of submitting our latest estimate to their insurance company before I was notified we were ‘done’.  The components and labor needed and that were included in our latest estimate but not submitted to either the homeowner or the insurance company because were 'done', were substantially over and above the current estimate from insurance company.  As contractors, we are well aware and well versed on all aspects on the repair of a home.  The cost of those components are assigned by the computer program Xactimate.   These homeowners are too concerned about the cost which I never really understood because that’s what their insurance policy covers.  Their out of pocket expense was their deductible.The policy covers dwelling damage regardless of the cost (within policy limits).  I don’t make up the numbers.  It’s the total items needed, labor, material, permits, engineering, etc that determines the amount of the claim. It’s not what the insurance company wants to pay or what the contractor wants to make on the job.  IT’S THE ACTUAL COST OF THE JOB.  Because of the years of our experience in construction and years I’ve worked as a licensed adjuster, we feel we bring an above level of knowledge and service to the homeowner.The homeowners want to do the work:Ø Without a permitØ Without structural drawingsØ Without rebuilding the porch as stated in the building estimate Ø Without inspectionØ Possible lead remediation due to the age of the home - serious infraction.    EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP Rule) - I am certified    Fines $10,000 per violation