Ep. 13 | Jacob Fuchs - Frazer Roofing

Jacob Fuchs says private equity firms promise big buyouts but rarely deliver the full amount, often firing the original owner within a year. He explains that one firm in Georgia now owns twelve roofing outfits under different names, so homeowners think they are getting multiple bids when it is the same company. Prices can be four or five times higher than independent roofers for the same work.

“They're going to fire you as the CEO the moment they buy your company or within a year of owning it. I have yet, I know a lot of roofers all over the country, I personally don't know anyone who has sold to private equity who goes, oh my goodness, I'm so glad I did that.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs recommends asking ChatGPT who owns the roofing company and whether it is private equity owned. He says the information is public but homeowners usually do not look it up unless they know to ask. Private equity owned companies often charge for estimates and find ways to avoid honoring warranties.

“ChatGPT, who owns such and such roofing company, is it private equity owned? It's going to answer that question for you.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs says Georgia is the number one roofing fraud state in the country. Roofers vandalize older roofs to create fake storm damage and push insurance claims. He caught one roofer on drone footage peeling back shingles on a homeowner's roof. Adjusters can usually spot vandalism by looking at damage patterns that only appear where a person can reach.

“Georgia is the number one roofing fraud state. Everyone should watch them. If you have a roofer on your roof, regardless of who, you need to watch them 100%.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs explains that insurance companies are cracking down on fraud by limiting coverage to 60 percent on older roofs and raising deductibles. Some insurers now send letters telling homeowners to replace roofs over 15 years old or lose coverage. This is because roofers target older roofs for vandalism to create insurance claims, and Georgia does not have enough storms to justify the number of claims filed.

“Insurance companies go, we expect roofers to go out there and do this now, so we're not going to pay full amount no matter how old the roof is.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs says trees cause most roof damage in Atlanta, not storms. Branches hit roofs, leaves build up in valleys and create leaks. He stays busy because Atlanta has so many trees compared to suburbs in Gwinnett County where trees have been cleared. Georgia is not a storm state and hail is usually too small to damage roofs.

“Do you know why I stay so busy in Atlanta? It's trees. It's trees hitting roofs, branches hitting roofs. We're not a big storm state.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs says Georgia does not license roofers. When a roofer says they are licensed and insured, they mean they have a business license, not a roofing license. Georgia is the only state Frazer works in that does not require a roofing license. Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida all require one.

“We're the only state that we touch that does not have a roofing license. Any roofer that says they're licensed and insured, they're meaning they have a business license, not a roofing license.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs says when a roofer makes a mistake, they should ask the homeowner what they would do to make it right. He paid $14,000 to a homeowner to fix moisture damage after a quality control issue, letting the homeowner choose the contractor. He believes doing so well that the homeowner is motivated to share the outcome is the goal, not asking them to take down a negative post.

“Ask this question: if you were me, what would you do for you? Because if the homeowner picks the answer, because sometimes if you pick it, there's no answer you're going to pick that's going to satisfy them.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs looked it up and found that if 5 percent of clients are upset, a company is still in the excellent percentile for customer service. He says happy people are not as loud as upset people, which is why negative reviews feel bigger than they are. He personally does about 350 roofs a year and Frazer does 1,900.

“If 5% of your clients are upset, you're still in the excellent percentile of customer service because you're pleasing 95% of everyone.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs worked in home energy sales doing crawl space and attic insulation before roofing. Roofers kept telling him he would do well in the industry because of his social media presence. He tried it but found most companies disorganized. He called Dominic Frazer looking for a company with solid character and Dominic told him to start his own, but then offered him a job when Jacob said he did not want to be the author of his life at that moment.

“I said, dude, honestly, I don't want to be the author of my life right now. He paused and said, Jacob, I don't think you could say anything better to me.”Jacob Fuchs

Jacob Fuchs says 99 percent of Frazer Roofing's work is retail and only 1 percent is insurance claims. He is proud of that because most roofers across the country rely on insurance for 70 percent of their business. He says just because a homeowner has a roof leak does not mean they have storm damage, and some roofers push claims when the issue is actually flashing or a nail.

“We're 99% retail, only 1% of my clients are insurance claims. We're proud of that.”Jacob Fuchs