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Don't let yourself be pressured into a roofing contract

Posted by Clyde Hutchins | Jul 11, 2018 | 0 Comments

Be careful about your roofing contract

This time of year sees frequent hail storms in Northern Colorado and Wyoming. Already this year, there was a significant hail storm in Northern Colorado on May 23rd, and then again on June 18th and 19th. Hail storms often cause damage to roofs.

In the wake of any significant hail storm, local roof repair companies are swamped and cannot readily take on all the roof repair work. This leads to opportunities for out of town roof repair outfits. The out of town outfits can come in and promise to take care of your roof damage long before the local companies can get you scheduled. Many homeowners use out of town outfits because they do not want to wait weeks, or even months to have their roof repaired.

In my practice over the years, I have seen scores of problems with roof repair companies. Many of them over promise the timeline for repairing your roof. Some of them never finish the work. Some of them try to pad their work to squeeze extra money from the insurance companies, or homeowners. Some of them even go out of business shortly after taking the insurance money and doing the repairs. A lot of them are vague on their promises and do not provide any certainty about (1) the cost; (2) the estimated time to repair; or (3) the scope of the work.

There is some protection for homeowners. Under Colorado law, roofing contracts must have certain terms to ensure that homeowners know what they are getting into. The contract must state the following terms:

(a) The scope of roofing services and materials to be provided;
(b) The approximate dates of service;
(c) The approximate costs of the services based on damages known at the time the contract is entered;
(d) The roofing contractor's contact information, including physical address, electronic mail address, telephone number, and any other contact information available for the roofing contractor;
(e) Identification of the roofing contractor's surety and liability coverage insurer and their contact information, if applicable.
 
The contract should also include the cancellation policy and it should inform the homeowner of the right to cancel the contract if the insurance company does not cover the cost of repair. Additionally the roofing contractor cannot pay, waive, rebate, or promise to pay, waive, or rebate all or part of any insurance deductible applicable to the insurance claim for payment for roofing work.
 

If you believe that you have entered into a roof repair contract that does not provide these essential terms, you may have a basis for challenging the contract. Please contact Harmony Law if you need assistance.

Wyoming adopted a similar law last year.

***We are looking into the practices of a roofing company called Renovate Colorado. Please contact Harmony Law if you have had a bad roofing experience with Renovate Colorado or have concerns about a roofing contract with that company.***

About the Author

Clyde Hutchins

Clyde Hutchins is the founder of Harmony Law. Mr. Hutchins started his legal career in Cheyenne, Wyoming as a law clerk for the district court judges. Mr. Hutchins then entered private practice with a Wyoming based litigation and business law firm. Later, Mr. Hutchins went to Alaska, where he was the chief litigator for a firm that engaged in bond law, corporate law, securities law, and municipal law. The State of Wyoming hired Mr. Hutchins from Alaska to represent the State of Wyoming in the national tobacco arbitration and act as its tobacco settlement attorney. While in that position, as a hobby, he developed an enforcement unit for consumer protection for Wyoming residents. Mr. Hutchins moved to Colorado in 2016 and founded Harmony Law, LLC. Harmony Law is primarily engaged in civil litigation. It is also a general practice firm in the areas of business law, estate planning, consumer law and family law. Harmony Law is active in all state and federal courts throughout Wyoming and Colorado.

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