Roofing FAQ: Answers From Across Our Guides

It depends entirely on who is offering it. The Better Business Bureau has issued scam alerts about free roof inspection offers, and the pattern is consistent: someone arrives unannounced, claims to have spotted damage from the street, and pressures you to decide immediately. A free inspection you requested from a licensed contractor you looked up yourself is a different thing entirely.

Because a real number requires seeing your specific roof — anyone quoting sight-unseen is guessing.

ACV pays what your roof is worth today, factoring in age and depreciation. RCV pays what replacement actually costs, without depreciation. It directly affects your out-of-pocket cost, so it's worth knowing before you file.

No — PACE programs and some government-backed options (like FHA Title 1 loans) are based on factors other than credit score, including home equity and income. FHA Title 1 loans specifically don't have a minimum credit score requirement in many cases, though lenders still evaluate overall ability to repay.

No. Architectural (dimensional) shingles are heavier, wind-rated higher, and hold up better under thermal cycling than basic 3-tab shingles, which is why 3-tab is rarely the right call here even though it costs less upfront.

It depends on how long you plan to stay in the home. Metal costs more upfront but typically lasts two to three times longer than asphalt, so the math favors metal the longer you own the home and disfavors it if you plan to sell within a few years.

Response time depends on current scheduling — call and a reputable contractor will give a real answer rather than a promise they cannot keep. Active and urgent leaks get priority, and during monsoon season every roofer in the metro is busier, which is the honest reason to call at the first sign of water rather than waiting.

As soon as reasonably possible. Your policy sets a notice requirement that is typically much shorter than New Mexico's four-year statute of limitations for property damage, and damage that sits through later storms gets worse and harder to attribute to the original event — which is exactly the argument a carrier uses to reduce a claim.

Settling cracks are typically hairline and follow predictable stress points, especially the corners of windows and doors. Storm damage tends to be sudden, irregular, and often accompanied by impact marks elsewhere on the property. An inspection can tell you which you are looking at, and the answer matters because only one of them is an insurance claim.