I Need a New Roof

 

...and have ever since the Fall of 2008 when my 3-tab roof blasted by small hail blowing in sideways at 50-60 MPH. The hail wasn't bigger than nickel size; most of it was marble, but by the next morning it was obvious, everybody in my small town needed a new roof.  

 

If you were a rookie adjuster, looking for textbook image hail hits, you weren't going to find them. They weren't there. Rather, the shingle damage was more like a sand-blasting.

 

All the soft metals were dinged up. The wood fences were obviously marked up, too. There was plenty of collateral damage, but the shingles only looked old & worn, though most of the homes were built less than five or six years prior.

 

 

It's not that I couldn't afford a new roof. I make plenty of money. It wasn't that I didn't know people in the business. Obviously, I can always get a good deal on a new roof. Getting a new roof is easy for me to do.

 

One reason why I didn't replace my roof after the storm was because I was always busy. After all, anything easy to do is also easy not to do. There's an old saying about the cobbler's kids not having shoes because the cobbler (shoemaker) is always busy making shoes for everybody else. My mentor in the roofing business had a big leak in his office. I also know a few plumbers with perpetual plumbing problems.

 

As the years have gone by, I've evolved into having a few more reasons why I don't replace the roof...

 

 

Obviously, once you get slammed by hail, your roof is a total loss. It may take a few years to knock it all the way out, but the damage is already done, and it's not going to get better; it will only get worse.

 

As a crude example, my Dad (who I miss very much) was diagnosed with congestive heart failure long before he died. He was also on kidney dialysis near the end of his life. Both are basically death sentences.

 

You may still be breathing, but the professional opinion of a doctor would be, "You're going to die."

 

The doctor was right. More than a decade later, after his original diagnosis, he did die.

 

It has now been eight years since my roof was totaled by hail. I have a shingle or two missing, and I've recently had to fix a split pipe boot, but my totaled roof is still shedding water.

 

Remember, a hail damaged roof may be a total loss, but that doesn't necessarily mean the insurance company will have to pay for replacement.

 

I'm no longer a licensed insurance agent or a licensed insurance adjuster, -- so this comment is purely for entertainment purposes only -- but if that claim isn't filed within an increasingly tightening, specified time frame, the insured is entitled to absolutely nothing. nada. zilch.

 

 

Honestly, I can tell you -- beyond a shadow of a doubt -- my old hail damage looks exactly like what many insurance adjusters call "blistering." 

 

 

Those hits are the same hits from the night of the big storm. It's hail damage slowly weathered in the hot Texas sun. I don't care what kind of engineering degree you might have, it is impossible to accurately simulate the aging process of hail damage in a test tube.

 

 

Would the answer be roofing contractors or insurance companies?

 

I'll just leave that question right there for you to think about for a minute. #money #equals #power

 

 

Like I said earlier, it's been more than a decade since my roof was hit. 

 

An experienced salesperson can easily tell my 3-tab is hail damaged. The granulation pattern in the weathered wood is disrupted with dark spots visible from the street. The color doesn't look right.

 

You can see the paint on the PVC pipes is blotchy and unevenly faded from the hail hits. My low profiles are dinged up. There's even a few shingles missing.

 

 

 

In the past decade, I can only remember being knocked 2, maybe 3 times. 

 

If you count the time my neighbor was getting his roof replaced, and his roofing salesman hit me up in my front yard while they were working, I guess you could say I've been pitched three times in eight years.

 

The last guy to knock on my door worked for Old Pro Roofing, LLC out of Burleson, TX. I wish I could remember his name, so I could give him his props, but I do remember he was driving a big motorcycle. He just cruised around looking for old hail damage and knocking on doors. Funny thing is, about a minute or two into his pitch, he recognized me and asked if I was the guy from the roofing sales videos. We had a good laugh!

 

 

However, if a roof hasn't been replaced within 6-9 months after a storm, there's usually a pretty good reason why. I'm not saying there isn't any money to be made later in the following years, because there's a lot of money to be made if you know what you're doing at the front door.

 

You don't need a fresh storm to make good money.

 

 

Even after a major hail storm, anywhere from 20% to 50% of totaled roofs will not get replaced within the first year. This fact is maddening for an out-of-town storm chaser because they'll look around and see tons of work left to be done, but they're going broke because they can't get people to take action fast enough. 

 

This is a major problem for salespeople who are depending on the market to move quickly. They can't afford to stick around town while the remaining 20% to 50% take their time getting a new roof. They continually need a fresh storm to maintain their standard of living.

 

Some of the people spend the money. Some roofs get denied for blistering, mechanical damage, incompetence, claims of fraud, directional hail, or any number of excuses (right or wrong). Some get sloped out and never follow through because the damage isn't greater than the deductible.

 

Some people never file the claim because they're afraid (or maybe intimidated). Some are always busy, like me, and some just don't care...as long as it's not leaking.

 

Some are owned by out of state investors with a high deductible umbrella policy. Some are managed by property managers who know the owner won't do anything about it unless they absolutely have to spend the money. Some are renters. Some are crazy. 

 

One of my neighbors just got a new roof last week. It really is true, "the work is never finished."

 

Regardless of the reason, sooner or later they'll have to get that roof replaced. 

 

 

Maybe they'll need a home equity loan to put their kid through college, buy a new car, remodel the kitchen, or take a vacation...and the mortgage company will fail the inspection. Uh oh! Time to get a new roof.

 

Maybe they'll want to move and the roof has to be replaced before the buyer will close. Or maybe they'll switch insurance companies and the new insurance company will do an inspection before issuing new coverage.

 

Who knows exactly what will trigger the roof replacement, but it will eventually happen.

 

The question is, "Will you be around, in the right place at the right time, to snag those late deals when they eventually come around?"

 

✌ Mike

 

P.S. In a choice between Strawberry and Grape jelly, I'll take Strawberry please! :-)