How to hire a Roofer in Orange County NY

So you want to hire a roofer? In this article, we are going to discuss 5 key points we recommend you check off when you are thinking of hiring a roofing contractor.

LOCAL

This point is especially important if you are in a storm market. We do occasionally see a few storms here in Orange County NY but thankfully nowhere as bad as other markets, however, we do recommend that your roofer is a local contractor. Bear in mind with the internet and all its capabilities in manipulating search results some contractors can appear to be local but not really be present in your market. It's simple to take out a local phone number and even have business cards printed within 24 hours that say you're local. So you really need to do some digging and make sure that the contractor does in fact have customers in your local area. This is why we show reviews on each listing so you can read the comments and see how many local jobs they've completed in the NY Orange County region.

INSURANCE

You should also ensure that the roofing contractor you are considering is carrying insurance. The big mistake homeowners make is not asking to see proof of insurance. Any reputable roofer will be more than willing to give you a copy of their insurance. You should check and make sure that it's not expired. The roofer should be completely transparent when you ask about their process, what they do, and how they operate. If your roofing project is part of an insurance claim that you are filing make sure that they have the proper training with insurance claims estimating software such as Xactimate so that they can work with your insurance. Xactimate is software that most insurance companies out there use to write up the damage for your roof and decide how they're going to pay your claim.

REVIEWS

As mentioned earlier we stress that it's important to check the roofing contractor's reviews. Make sure the roofing contractor you are considering has lots of good reviews and not just three or four from friends or relatives.  Ask the roofing contractor for their referrals. Again any reputable roofer will be more than willing to give you a referral list of customers for whom they've completed roofing projects in the Orange County area. Call the referrals to see what they have to say. You can also ask your prospective roofer if you can speak with some of their problem customers. It's just a fact of life for any contractor out there that everything isn't going to go perfect every single day. Find out what your contractor does when it doesn't go right and how those customers feel about them at the end of the process.  

BBB

Make sure your roofer is with the Better Business Bureau and that they're accredited. You can also see their reviews on the BBB and also see if they've been members for a while. Information on the BBB website is something that cannot be faked thanks to their pretty strict checking procedures.

MANUFACTURE ACCREDITATION

Most reputable and established roofers are accredited and certified with a shingle or other roofing material manufacturer and some are actually accredited with more than one. If you have your heart set on a certain manufacturer you might want to make sure that the roofer you are considering is an accredited contractor for that particular manufacturer. Popular manufacturers with certification programs are GAF, Owens Corning, and Tamko. In Orange County NY roofers do not have to be licensed with the State so a roofer that is certified and accredited by a manufacturer is one way of determining if the contractor is legit.