Roofers With Financing Options – How to Get a New Roof Financed

We get it. Sometimes you need a new roof, but the costs for many homeowners can be too much for a one-time payment plan.

This is when roof financing options come into the picture. It can be challenging to replace your new roof without the proper funds. However, where should you start?

Today, we will walk you through a quick guide for finding roofers with financing and how to procure the funds for your new roof!

Understanding Roof Financing 101

Every home improvement project needs to start with a few things:

1. A goal
2. A plan
3. Some money to make it happen

The same goes for a new roof; hiring a roofing company isn’t overly challenging for your roofing project. Look for residential roofing companies in your area, and you will have a list to choose from.

However, understanding the contract and securing financing options can be a challenge. Keep in mind the average price to replace a single-family home’s roof can be $6,000 up to $20,000 on average.

Getting your roof replacement costs upfront is important and ensuring that your insurance company doesn’t cover the project (storm damage) is your first step. However, once you get the price for a new roof, if you decide you need financing options, here is how to start:

Ideal Roof Financing terms:

Like any loan a consumer can take out, there are good and bad loans. For a roofing loan, you want to make sure of a few things for starters:

1. There is no pre-payment penalty. Meaning if you decide to pay it off in a few months, you don’t get penalized for this.
2. Getting approved only requires a soft credit score pull
3. Has flexible loan terms and fixed interest rates (these can vary depending on the market)

Conventional wisdom says you don’t overspend, but when it comes to a new asphalt shingle or metal roof financing, you have to make sure to use fixed-rate loans. The interest rate is important. However, the terms matter more!

➡️ Roof Replacement Cost Guide

Finding a roofer with financing:

Now that you know what type of financing options are out there – or what to aim for – the logical step is to get roof replacement financing. There are a variety of ways to go about this but our best tip is to work with a contractor and the financing options they provide.

There are generally a few types of roofing companies out there:

1. Small business roofers who can’t offer financing
2. Medium local to regional roofing companies that can offer financing options (and are generally local to the community)
3. Retail roofing companies which are more national in size and can offer a variety of roofing finances, but usually cost more
4. Storm-chasing companies – stay away from

While we are biased, we advise our clients to always go with a local roofing company that has a solid reputation. Not too big, but not too small either. Roofing companies that offer to finance is a good sign.

First, it means they have been vetted by the lending company and are deemed reputable. This also means they have insurance coverage. Lastly, a roofing company that can give you the ability to finance your roof does one thing no other financing can:

You get tour PRICE upfront, then you can choose to finance! With other financing options, you get pre-approved and sometimes the price of your roof might rise to meet those terms!

Is it bad to finance a new roof?

Many homeowners will ask if they should finance a new roof or use cash. If you have the cash, this will always be your best bet or if you can pull from your emergency fund.

However, what you don’t want to do is pull form your emergency fund or cash savings and have nothing left. Generally speaking, if you can’t afford to pay for it with a check and you need the roof (or even major roof repairs) you will have to finance it.

The upside to financing a new roof is you can take advantage of early payment options and pay it off over the span of a few months instead of doing it all at once. Using a personal loan or any loan that has a high-interest rate is not recommended.

Lastly, you can do the following:

1. Pay with a lump sum or pay cash for your roof
2. Get financing options and make a choice
3. Wait, see if you can save for six months to a year

Does your credit score matter for financing a new roof?

In most cases, the roof loan you are considering is a form of a personal loan that is used for your home’s roof. When this is the case, your credit score will determine the terms and interest rate.

A credit score that is in the mid-600s and up will fair better than one in the 500s. When you have bad credit there are disadvantages to lending. We are not here to convince you one way or another, but financing anything with an interest rate that is considered high is not generally advised.

In the event you can’t find roof financing, there are a few options you can choose.

Other ways to finance a new roof:

Home equity loans

When you owe less than your house is with, you have equity in your home. While some people will take out home equity loans to go on vacation or to buy a car (neither are recommended), you can also use your equity for your home improvement project.

In this case, your project would be replacing your roof and you can use a home equity loan or HELOC to help you with offsetting the costs. Leveraging the equity in your home is a form of a secured loan (your house) and there are several loan options all based on your equity.

Personal loan

Home improvement plans are essentially personal loans with a purpose. A personal loan can be used for virtually anything when you are approved. Whether you need a roof repair or a roof replacement, you can use a personal loan to help you offset the costs.

You can use a secured loan or an unsecured personal loan to help you with your financing. Obviously, excellent credit is going to always help when determining the interest rate you secure.

Credit card

One option to consider that is maybe viewed as a bit unorthodox is to apply for a credit card and use that to finance your new roof. You can use an existing credit card as well.

Sometimes introductory offers give you several months of interest-free spending meaning you can pay off the card before the interest kicks in.

The Verdict on Roof Financing

There will be no shortage of lenders willing to lend you money for your roof financing needs. The issue isn’t finding financing options, but instead deciding which is best for you.

A roofing contractor that knows what they’re doing and has experience helping homeowners can guide you through the entire process. But as we part, here is what we recommend:

1. Get financing for a new roof when you need the roof, but don’t have the cash flow or reserves to do a lump sum payment
2. Make sure you land a competitive interest rate and fixed monthly payments
3. In house financing with a roofing company is generally your best bet
4. You can use online tools and lenders to compare rates to help you
5. Some people might elect to use their home equity in the form of a home equity loan
6. Make sure you are comfortable with the monthly payment

If you have any questions simply reach out here or learn more about the Legacy Roofing Financing options we offer here!