A good roofing contractor provides customers with peace of mind. Any renovation, from interior painting to replacing a roof, is going to be a complex project. When searching for the best roofing contractor, homeowners can’t settle for the lowest bid that comes in. Because the industry is listed among the top ten industries for receiving the most BBB complaints, homeowners need to do their due diligence. To find a good roofing contractor, homeowners should take the time to find the right one for the job. Read on to discover what you need to know about finding the right roofing contractor near you.

Too many homeowners focus on the cost of a roof replacement and give little thought to the quality of work. With more than half of all consumer complaints for roof replacements related to unsatisfactory workmanship, it’s important to know the contractor has the best interests of homeowners in mind. New roofers pop up every day, some with very little experience. To avoid getting taken advantage of by a contractor with little more to offer than a convincing story and a low bid, a homeowner should look closely at the contractor’s portfolio of completed roof repairs. From that portfolio they can contact those homeowners and verify the validity of the work as well as customer satisfaction. A professional contractor will have no issue providing the contact details of satisfied customers.

The next most common complaint according to an industry survey involve roofing contractors who stop communicating. Whether it’s during the installation of a new roof or a follow-up visit to fix minor problems, roofers should always be reachable during normal business hours. To avoid being ghosted by a contractor once a deposit is paid, homeowners should check local reviews of the contractors they’re considering. Rather than rely on reviews from a single source, reviews should be compared across multiple platforms including social media networks, contractor directories, local business sites, and more. The best contractors should have a good mix of reviews. It’s important to note that the occasional average (or below average) review shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Rather, homeowners should look at the content and context of all reviews, good and bad, to decide if they’re comfortable with a specific contractor.

When all the research turns up the ‘right’ contractor the next step is to get the entire scope of work and contractor agreement in writing. Few things can be more frustrating than when a contractor signs on to a roof replacement then shifts priorities, neglecting the current project to work on a more profitable roofing replacement. Among complaints to the BBB, delays or failures to start a project on time make up 16 percent of the total complaints within the roofing industry. Part of the written agreement should include how payments are made and how the remaining milestones are handled during the construction of the new roof. This way, when the job is supposed to start, and the expected completion date are clearly stated. When payment hinges on the start of work you’re less likely to have a contractor pushing out the start date of your roofing replacement.