A few months ago we began a series we have titled, “7 Questions To Ask The Roofer Who Is Knocking On Your Door.” These questions are designed to help protect you from getting ripped off by the door-to-door roofing salesman who are now heavily canvassing many of the neighborhoods in Colorado Springs. Remember, as I always say, “Not every roofer who knocks on your door will rip you off, but every roofer that will rip you off will knock on your door.”
Here's Question #5 You Should Ask The Roofer You're Thinking About Hiring.
If you ever are approached by a “roofer” who says he needs you to pull the permit, or gives you any excuse whatsoever for why you should pull the permit, you can bet that this is a scam and not a legitimate roofing contractor.
The most probable reason that he would be asking you to do this is because he is not licensed in El Paso County. To be able to pull permits in El Paso County, a roofing contractor needs a recognized, valid license in another jurisdiction that would transfer here, or he must take and pass the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department test and become licensed here.
The license applicant must also demonstrate a history in the roofing industry, either working for another company, or his own, and in many cases, the person applying for the license must appear before the county's licensing board and be interviewed.
A lot of out-of-towners and fly-by-nighters don't want to hassle with all of this, or they don't want the scrutiny that comes with it, so they come up with stories to convince homeowners that it's better if they pull the permit.
We have encountered several people who have called us about their roofs and when we do our research we have found out that the roofing contractor who did the previous installation never pulled the permit.
Hopefully after reading this it should be easy to see that a homeowner should never, ever pull the permit for a “roofer.”