After a damaging storm, insurance companies send out their adjusters and homeowners are told to find someone to replace their roof. However, that doesn’t mean that you as a homeowner should just choose the first contractor that shows up knocking at your door. Finding a contractor that is trustworthy, honest and professional may sound difficult. And with so many roofing companies showing out of nowhere as soon as hail hits town, some homeowners consider it the biggest obstacle in the way of getting their roof fixed. But it is not!
That’s where Arroyo Roofing comes into play… We are a local company that’s been in business for more than 34 years. And we are here to give you some useful tips when choosing your roofer after the next storm:
- Find out if they are a local company. Before you hire a roofer, make sure that they have a permanent place of business. You don’t want to run the risk of hiring a fly-by-night contractor that might offer you a guarantee on their work, but will disappear as soon as they collect the money. If you have any issues such as leaks after the job is done, you don’t want to chase somebody living in a completely different state to get your roof fixed!
- Verify the quality of their previous work. Feel free to ask your contractor for referrals from local customers and even suppliers. Any roofer that has been in business for a while will be able to give you addresses of houses that they have recently done so you can take a look at their work.
- Research their Better Business Bureau (BBB) ratings. You can easily find a company’s rating, how long they have been in business and if they have any claims in the BBB website. It is also possible to call the BBB and ask for a report.
- Don’t give in to pressure. Watch out for contractors that pressure you to sign a contract before you’ve gotten an estimate from your insurance adjuster. A reputable roofer will make sure that the insurance adjuster didn’t miss any storm damage on his inspection and will allow you to take your time to compare their bid against the items that the insurance company is including as part of the storm damage.
- Ask about their schedule. Does the contractor actually have the capacity to get your roof done in a timely manner? Or are you going to be scheduled sometime next year? Before you write that down payment check to your roofer, make sure you have an approximate date (we know that Nebraskan weather is unpredictable!) for your project to be done.
- Everything looks good? Now get a couple more bids. Find at least another reputable company that meets the above criteria and compare both estimates. However, don’t always go with the lowest bid! Remember that “you get what you paid for”. If someone offers you a price that’s significantly lower than their competitors, ask them how they managed to undercut other roofers by that much.
The bottom line is that picking the right roofer could potentially save you a lot of headaches in the future. Follow these basic tips and make sure you feel comfortable with the company that you’re hiring. Back and forth communication with your roofing contractor will ensure a successful repair for your roof.