When you discover that your roof needs repairs, it can be easy to act on impulse and hire the first roofing contractor that you can find. While it is important to make sure you fix the problem as fast as possible, you want to make sure you do it right the first time and avoid a situation that ends up being costly in the long run.
If you’ve got a roofing problem, the last thing you need is another one. That’s why, when choosing a roofer to work with, it’s so important to do your research and avoid these three common mistakes many people make when hiring a roofer.
1. Getting Three Estimates Without Doing the Research
You may be asking yourself, how could getting three estimates possibly be a bad thing? Especially when many people, including the insurance adjusters and agents, recommend it!
While discussing your roof with multiple contractors is a good thing, if you are doing a re-roof project for an insurance claim and your coverage is replacement cost value, then three estimates can actually end up hurting you.
If you are not used to going through the roofing process, you may look at three different estimates but not totally understand the differences between them. For most people, price is the only thing they tend to see, but you need to be sure that you understand all that is included in the estimate (cost of materials, labor, etc.) This way you know that you’re comparing apples to apples and that each quote isn’t offering something different or holding back on something you’ll need, even if the price might be lower. Make sure you get the whole picture!
If you are only using the price factor to make your decisions, you can be doing a disservice to yourself, as you may not be getting the exact roofing requirements or the quality that you need.
What Should You Do:
When deciding on a roofing contractor, do not let the price be the main component. Instead, listen to the contractors, see if they can take care of your needs and wants. Do you trust them, like them, and want to work with them? All of these factors are important and can provide you with the type of service you want and need.
2. Don’t Let a Roofer Pay Your Deductible
The second biggest mistake many people make is believing a roofing contractor when they indicate that they will pay the deductible. Yes, saving thousands of dollars on a deductible sounds impressive; however, things are not always as wonderful as they seem.
On June 6, 2012, Colorado passed Senate Bill 38 (SB38)—or the Consumer Protection/Residential Roofing Bill—which governs the contractual interactions between the residential roofing contractors and the property owners.
Under this bill, a roofing contractor needs to have it in their sales contract that they cannot pay, waive, rebate, or discount an insurance deductible for a homeowner. Nor can they promise or advertise that they can waive, pay, or rebate the same.
Remember, the deductible is contractually your share of the costs of repairing your home, and by contract, we mean a legal agreement between you and your insurance company and, therefore, your responsibility.
What Should You Do:
When you begin interviewing your roofing contractors, see if they will take care of your deductible or ask them yourself. An ethical roofer will tell you right away that they cannot help you pay, as it is against the law.
Plus, if you think about it, no business pays its customers to get their work, so when a roofing contractor takes on your deductible, the money will be made up somewhere. Whether through the amount of insurance they carry to protect you as a homeowner or in the quality of their work.
3. Not Using a Local Roofer
Any time a significant hail storm sweeps through Colorado Springs, the out-of-state roofers come flocking, trying to capitalize on the work available. Yet, how do these out-of-state roofers get the local homeowners to let them do the job? Through the following roofing scams that you should watch out for:
- They will notify the local homeowner that the storm was so big that the local roofers cannot handle all the work and that they are doing everyone a favor by relieving the local roofers from the amount of work.
- They indicate that they are insurance claims specialists. However, no roofer is an insurance claims specialist. These out-of-state roofers may suggest that they know how to work with the insurance company to increase your claim amount, but this does not make them a specialist.
Hiring these out-of-state roofing contractors can end up causing you significant problems, especially when you have a warranty issue.
In the event that something goes wrong with your repair, working with a local roofing company, who is always present in your area, makes it a much friendlier and convenient process. An out-of-state roofing company may not be willing to come back to the area after the job is complete, which means to get things resolved you would have to introduce an entirely new roofing company to your situation.
What Should You Do:
Do your research. Look at their license plates or check out their phone number and determine whether they are local or not. Look them up on the Southern Colorado BBB website and verify their contractor information. Or to simplify the process, ask around. Check with the people that you know (insurance companies, realtors, and friends) and ask them for a local roofing contractor recommendation.
Working with local businesses helps support the local economy and it means working with your neighbors and community members who know and care about the area and its people..
By doing your research now, you’ll reap the benefits later. At Homestead Roofing, we know that repairing or replacing a roof can be an intimidating process and it’s our goal to help make that process an awesome experience.
If you’d like to discuss your roofing needs with our expert staff, contact us today for more information.
