What’s bad for the homeowner is turning out to be good for the city of Abilene Texas. Since the baseball sized hail storm hit on April 24th, the city has issued over 7,200 roofing permits. The city is also getting a boost from the 2% sales tax.
Additional Roofers in Abilene
Roofers are paying sales tax on roofing supplies, estimated at $50.00 per job plus putting money into the local economy. Roofers from out of town and local roofing companies are hiring additional workers to handle all the extra roofing jobs since the storm.
According to the City of Abilene Texas website from April, 24, 2011 to October 15, 2011, 7,282 roofing permits were issued and $371,417.20 in permit fees was collected.
BBB Lists New Roofers
Abilene has seen an influx in roofers, the Better Business Bureau knows of 79 new roofing contractors in the service area of 13 counties, 11 contractors are from out of state and 13 are new to the roofing business.
The problem the homeowners are having is too many roof repairs, and not enough roofers. They can’t wait for months or years for their local contractors to have the time to repair or replace their roof. The scammers and fly by night companies are taking advantage of the situation.
Watch Out For Scams
Local roofing contractors are warning customers of scammers that chase storms, get the money and then disappear. Shoddy jobs are also a problem, costing the homeowner sometimes triple the original amount to repair the damage made by inexperienced roofers.
Insurance companies are paying the claims, the homeowners and businesses are paying the roofing contractors who are in turn buying the permits, roofing supplies and paying their employees, who pay their insurance…and the city of Abilene Texas is getting a nice increase in revenue.
