Your Best Roof Replacement Financing Option And How It Works

Does your roof know how much money you have in the bank? Of course not, which is why your roof chooses now to finally fail. You know you need a complete roof replacement, but you also have nowhere near enough money to pay for it. What can you do? You can finance your necessary roof work with a loan arranged through your roofer. 

Paying for Roof Work

Take a drive through your neighborhood. Those home projects you see throughout southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Cape Cod are not all paid for from savings. Many are possible because of loans, and many of those loans are lined up through the contractors themselves. 

Roof replacements are not on a par with getting new windows, adding insulation, or replacing gutters. A roof is not a luxury item; it is a capital investment. It is a necessity. 

Think about it: with drafty windows, you pay more energy bills but can keep living in the drafty house. Without a functioning roof, you cannot live in your home. 

Options for paying for roof replacement, even in an emergency, are relatively limited:

• Pay with cash (the average American household savings is only $5,300)
• Pay by unsecured loan (a credit card)
• Arrange a loan from a bank or credit union (this could be a Home Equity Line of Credit or HELOC, a personal loan, or a second mortgage)
• File an insurance claim (only if an act of nature destroyed your roof)
• Arrange a loan through your roofer

Let’s go through those neighborhoods again. Do you think every homeowner getting a new roof knew the old roof was near the end of its life? Surely not — many of those roof replacement jobs are unpleasant surprises for the homeowners. They had to find the money somewhere. How did they do it? How can you do it? 

Not Alone

You are not alone in being faced with the need for a full roof replacement but unsure how to pay for it. Chances are, you are also unfamiliar with the steps you need to make the project happen, even if your savings account only rises to three figures. Five, if you include the dimes and pennies. 

No roofer expects full payment for a complete roof replacement upfront. Even an emergency roof replacement takes a few days to arrange. Most roofing contractors ask you to pay one-third of the total estimated cost before beginning. The estimate is based on your decisions about the new roof:

• Type of roofing (fiberglass-asphalt shingles are North America’s #1 residential roofing material, but you can also investigate metal, tile, flat, or composite roofing)
• Price line of materials (architectural shingles cost significantly more than three-tab shingles, but also look far better and boost home value)
• Color, cut, and style of shingle (if you wisely choose economical shingles)
• Your decision to expose metal flashing in the valleys or cover it with shingles
• Natural versus synthetic underlayment
• Water and ice shield (very nearly a requirement in this area)

In other words, the total cost is not thrust upon you; you select what you want from a menu of options, working out details with your roofer. The one-third down payment allows your roofer to order materials and schedule a crew. 

On the day work starts, you will need to pay an additional third of the total cost. At the end of the full roof replacement, with final inspection comes final payment. 

Roofs are usually replaced in one day. This means your first payment could be needed on Monday, the crew arrives Thursday so you owe another third, and the final payment is due Friday at the close of business. 

A Loan 

Getting a loan through your roofer makes a lot of sense for most homeowners. The roofer works with a select group of finance companies. Those companies work exclusively with borrowers who have equity (their homes) and faithfully repay their loans. You are probably an excellent ‘credit risk’ and can snag excellent terms. 

Some of the best roofers, including Couto Construction, can connect you with loan programs offering 0 percent interest for six months, no down payment, and no repayment for six months. After six months, you can take as much as 10 years to pay off the roof. 

Such a loan works for you, works for the roofer, and works for the lender. Your home is your collateral. Your new roof protects your investment. Your family is safe and snug, and your neighbors are left wondering how you managed to afford that fine, new roof! Please contact us at Couto Construction today to learn more about our financing options for your home. Be sure to ask about our offer for 0 percent interest, no money down, and no payments for six months!