When it comes time for you to repair or replace your roof, it’s important that you hire a reputable roofing company. You don’t want to hire a fly by night operation to work on such an integral part of your home. While there are some excellent roofing companies in South Carolina, a few bad apples can ruin the bunch.
Homeowners are very vulnerable when it comes to repairs on their property. Most homeowners don’t know the first thing about roofing. Why should they? Unless you’re a trained professional, there’s no reason for you to know all that much about roofing repairs.
So, it’s important that you understand the possible problems that can go wrong if you don’t hire a competent roofing company. Always keep an eye out and, when in doubt, check it out. If you do your homework and due diligence, you should be okay. But here are a few warning signs that you want to keep in the back of your mind.
Most people are familiar with local companies. You may get a referral from a friend or neighbor who used the same company to work on their own roof. With a local company, you know you’ll always be able to get in touch with them. You’ll also be able to ask around to see what kind of work they do.
Beware of storm chasers. These are people who go to towns that suffer a major storm. They go to door to door and try to solicit roofing repair work. They’re not local. So, when problems come up, they may be nowhere to be found.
Before you agree to hire a roofing company in Greenville, South Carolina, make sure you check out their online reviews. This can be the best way to find out if a company is reputable. However, you want to take these reviews with a grain of salt.
A lot of companies pay people to write positive reviews. Or, they have their friends and family write fake reviews for them. These can be misleading. So, while it can be helpful to read the reviews, do your own homework as well.
Some roofing companies operate under someone else’s license. This is why you always want to research the company and make sure they carry their own license. If a company is trading on someone else’s insurance, they won’t be as concerned with doing quality work.
There’s nothing wrong with asking the roofing company to show you their license. Or, you can reach out to the state website to confirm that they’re licensed and that their license is in good standing.
Sadly, there are a lot of companies out there who try to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. They’ll give you an estimate of what it’ll cost to fix or replace your roof. However, they’ll demand that you make a down payment. They’ll usually ask that this be paid in cash or a certified check.
Never agree to this. You have no idea if they’re actually going to do the work as promised. If you pay them something upfront, you may never see the work get completed. A reputable roofing company like Lanier Roofing in Greenville, South Carolina will never ask you to do this.
You’d be surprised how many roofing companies are engaged in insurance fraud. They don’t think twice about submitting an inflated invoice to your homeowner’s company. This will come back to haunt you as much as (or more than) the roofing company.
What these companies do is create two separate invoices – one for you and one for the insurance company. They inflate the invoice they send to the insurance company. They promise to reimburse you for the deductible in exchange for not saying anything to the insurance company. When the company catches on and decides to pursue the fraud, you’ll be the first person they call.
One common trick is a roofing company will provide you with a mostly blank invoice. They’ll give you a vague amount for materials and labor. And then, as the work goes on, they’ll tell you they ran into “problems” or unforeseen hikes in the costs of materials.
Be suspicious if this happens. They are probably just trying to bilk you out of your hard-earned money. That’s why you should always use a local, reputable roofing company like Lanier Roofing in Greenville, South Carolina.
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