The New Homeowner
The first time homeowner is one of the most accomplished feeling people you can find. After all, they did just buy their first house! Unfortunately, not long after signing the paperwork for their new home, these new homeowners often, quickly begin to realize all that they don’t know yet about owning a house. Subsequently, they may begin to feel a bit overwhelmed. As expected!
The Dilemma.
Many homeowners struggle with not having enough time to learn about how to solve their home’s current problem. Therefore, they end up having to take a crash course in whichever field the current problem requires. This causes stress because there is often more info out there, about an industry, than one can absorb in a short amount of time.
What We Are Doing.
This is the first of many blogs we will be writing to help inform homeowners, in the DFW area, of all of the options they should be receiving from roofing contractors. So, to help DFW homeowners discover helpful and easy to digest information about the roofing industry in DFW, over the coming weeks, we will be publishing continuous helpful blogs, like this one.
Including.
- “The Average Cost of Basic Roof Repair, and What Basic Means“
- “Major Roof Repair. The Solution Roofing Companies Don’t Talk About.”
- “To Repair Or Replace Your Roof – The Answer You Can Trust.”.
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Today’s Topic – “The New Homeowners Guide To Roof Repair Services”.
First. Understanding the situation.
New homeowners tend to stress more easily than veteran homeowners might when learning of problems with their home. So, before you begin to worry about things like “did I buy a lemon?”… Rest easy, you most likely did not buy a lemon house. Like there is a 98% chance you didn’t buy a lemon…
Not knowing what can go wrong, can make dealing with a roofing contractor very overwhelming. Therefore, you might be asking yourself what you need to know in order to safely navigate the roofing industry. Here are the basics of roofing, which I’ll breeze through quickly for attention span’s sake.
Roofing Basics: The Do’s, and The Do Not’s.
The Do’s:
Get your roof looked at by a professional roof repair service (not a roofing sales company*). While it is possible for you to inspect your roof, yourself, it is advised, by most, to be safe and leave climbing on the slopes of your roof to the pros. In short, old asphalt shingles can become very unsafe surfaces to walk, due to the build up of loose asphalt granules.
The Do Not’s:
Don’t put off the repairs, or at least a professional inspection. Subsequently, doing so can lead to water damage, or worse, that can spread and cause multiple thousands of dollars in damage. In addition, insurance companies aren’t big fans of covering “owner neglect”.
Do’s
Get more than one opinion. Having more than one quote will show you valuable information about what you are paying for, and give you comparisons of what different roofing companies are offering, behave like, and what their craftsmanship record is. Subsequently you can pick the one that stands out to you. If you have no comparison, they can’t stand out against anything.
Do Not’s
*Don’t hire a roofing sales company. Instead, hire a roofing repair service. Roofing sales businesses tell you what leads you closer to buying from them, and for the highest amount they can convince you to pay. Roofing repair services tell you what is wrong with your roof, and what needs done to fix it. If your roof needs an extensive amount of repairs or a full replacement, those details will present themselves. It shouldn’t be a sales pitch.
Do’s
DO make sure that whichever roofing company/contractor you talk to, or hire, is licensed IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, and INSURED, before they set foot on your roof, even to inspect it! Firstly, this will protect you in case of any accident while using their services. Secondly, it shows you that they are licensed roofing contractors (with RCAT – Roofing Contractors Association of Texas).
Do Not’s
Don’t be the one who doesn’t make sure that your roofing contractor is licensed and insured, because if a construction crew worker falls off of your roof, and they aren’t insured by whoever hired them, the injured worker CAN SUE YOU, THE HOMEOWNER. Plus, if they weren’t licensed, you can be seen as careless for hiring them in the first place. Don’t overthink it, just don’t do it.
Do’s
Consider hiring an established, local, small business, roofing company. These types of roofing companies are often family owned, or similar type environments, and customer service is often at the forefront of every interaction you will have with them. Moreover, you will most likely save money not paying the overheads of a corporate roofing company.
Do Not’s
Don’t hire a “roofing company in a truck”, or “storm chaser”. These “mobile business” types will often be the ones knocking on your door after a storm big enough to attract their attention. Not always, but often enough to just save your valued time and research and call your own roofing companies. There are over 300 roofing contractors in DFW, you don’t need to be stuck with the one who isn’t actually a company.
Do’s
Check their online presence before you commit to anything. If they are an upstanding roofing company, they should be easy to find online, and specifically, in your area (DFW for example). Additionally, if their website is very “sales-y” or “pitchy”, it will give you insights into their business model. (i.e. lots of talk about free estimates, but little talk about actual repair services will show you insights into their main foucs).
Do Not’s
Don’t hire a roofer from out of state, or one that simply doesn’t show up in a google search of their alleged company name. In short, the risk is already to high for you to proceed with them, safely. If they say they are a “new roofing company in the area”, let someone else take the risk of growing their roofing company. Most importantly, your roof needs to be properly fixed. It is not a practice field for new roofing companies.
How Things Will Go.
As in all things in life, uncertainty will be present. However, you know you have a trustworthy roofing company if you hire a Roof Repair Service who’s focus is on finding what it takes to solve your particular roof issue. You know you can trust you roofing company if they aren’t trying to maximize profits on each individual customer.
What To Do Now.
With this information, you should be able to safely navigate the DFW roofing industry. As we said above, make sure you speak to a few different roofing companies to get a feel for how they work, and look out for the things you know to look for now.
Full Disclosure.
Our blog was created to shine a light on the issues within the current DFW roofing industry, in 2019, and to show DFW homeowners there is a roofing company out there who does offer professional Roof Repair Service. Additionally, one that is focused on solving the customer’s problem, not maxing out the profits on each individual customer.
We aren’t saying you have to pick us as your roofing company. We will admit we have our own opinion about who can offer you the best customer experience, in DFW. However, putting our biases aside, we encourage you to pick the roofing company that offers you, as the customer, the honest service and solutions you should be able to receive, even if that isn’t us.
If you would like to talk to us about our professional roof repair services, feel free to follow this link, directly below.
https://cravenroofing.com/contact-us
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That’s a good idea to look up a company online before you use them. I would think that would be a good way to get a lot of information on them. I’ll have to make sure to learn about all the options so that I could get a good roofer for a low cost.
I like what you said about leaving climbing up on the roof to the professionals. I get so nervous every time my husband goes up on the roof! We probably need a new roof in the next year or two. We’ll have to decide on materials and then hire a roofing contractor.
That’s a good idea to see if they have an actual business set up. I would think that if they had an office that it would be a good sign that they are successful and good at what they do. Next time I need to have my roof fixed, I’ll have to look for that in roofing companies.