Don’t Hire a Roofer Until You Know the 5 Most Common Roofing Scams

In a perfect world, you could trust any roofer and eat all the ice cream you wanted without a gaining a ounce. However, we live in the real world and just like in any field, there are roofers you can trust and those you can’t.

Knowing the 5 most common roofing scams can prevent you from becoming a victim.

1. A salesman representing a roofer going door to door.

Salesman is the key word here. These aren’t roofers. They specialize in selling. Maybe they’ll promise a free roof inspection. They’ll probably find something wrong, perhaps cause some damage themselves. Then they’ll offer you a free estimate, or sometimes even a free roof.

Trustworthy roofers are busy. They don’t have time to solicit business door to door because they’re too busy doing work that was referred by satisfied customers.

2. Gypsy roofers who chase the weather.

Even in our moderate Bay Area weather, we can get the occasional storm that wrecks havoc on roofs or causes leaks at the least. After the rain or wind passes, gypsy roofers swarm neighborhoods offering their services, knowing full well that insurance adjustors are following close behind with claim checks.

Hire an established roofer in your area. One with roots in the community and has a stake in maintaining a good reputation where he does business.

3. High-pressure sales pitches and immediate demands for a decision.

Too eager roofers want deposits on the spot. Contracts signed now. Insists on the decision-maker being home for the estimate. Has to be kicked out the door.

An honest roofer isn’t afraid to leave your home to give you time to think and make an educated choice. An established roofer doesn’t mind starting a job using company money. And a roofer confident in his skill wants you to compare his quote and work to others.

4. A roofing quote that keeps going up and up and up.

This roofing scam involves a low bid assuming the homeowner is getting higher bids from reputable roofers. The homeowner is excited to get the lower quote and goes with that roofer. But soon enough, the price of materials or labor goes up, more damage is found, services are performed that weren’t included in the original quote.

Insist on a written contract that spells out the work to be completed, the materials to be used and how any unseen circumstances will be charged.

5. Take the deposit check and run.

It seems logical enough. The roofer needs a deposit to buy the materials to get started. California law even allows roofers to take deposits up to a percent of the total quote running in the thousands. The homeowner writes a check or hands over the insurance check and the roofer is never seen again.

The best way to avoid this scam is to refuse a deposit until the materials are delivered. Any stable roofer has the funds to buy materials without your help. Better yet, go with a company like Signature Roofing, Inc. that requires just $100 deposit and payment in full only after you’re completely happy with your new roof.