Roofing Inspection Needed Prior to Hiring Roofer?

Question

Greetings,

My rental duplex may be due for a new roof (asphalt shingles),but I’m wondering the best way to get an honest opinion on this. Roofers have their obvious interest so I’m thinking of hiring an inspector to just look at the roof.

Any thoughts?

Much thanks.

Manco Snead · Answer

@Scott M.  Much thanks for the feedback. I'll incorporate that into my approach to the roofing conundrum. As of now I'm leaning towards just getting opinions/estimates from 3 different roofers and weeding out some common thread truth from the average of the 3.

Scott M. · Answer

Yes, finding a roofer who won't say "yes" is a valid concern.  Getting multiple roofers to look is good.  Also looking at rating services like yelp/angies list might be useful.  I found a mechanic based off a yelp review that said "I took my car in for X and they told me I didn't need X, I needed Y.  X would have cost around 1,000 and Y cost $50."  You might get lucky with a review like that.  I think hiring an inspector is a great/creative way to solve the issue as well.

You can also post photos here and get some feedback.  There are roofing forums too that you can post photos too (off of BP).  And you can look inside of the home/attic for signs of leaks...or have the inspector do that too.

Best of luck with this project!

Manco Snead · Answer

@Robert Belz

Much thanks for the experience based advice; will be incorporating it into my plan.

Jesse

Robert Belz · Answer

Hi @Jesse Stein,

The best advice I can offer is to get multiple estimates from different roofing companies. Be very upfront and ask how many years do you have left on your roof. Credible companies should give you the honest assessment. Ideally, try for at least 3 estimates from different companies.

I recently had a roof replaced for one of our properties, and asked the same company to take a look at the roof of another property. He gave me the honest answer of "call me back in 5 years."

Good luck!