1. Out-of-state plates and a temporary phone number
Storm chasers follow the weather, work a town for a season, and leave before the callbacks start. A local address you can drive to, a local number that has been answered for years, and a permit history in your county are the minimum. Ask how long they have been in the area and check it.
2. Pressure to sign on the first visit
'Sign today to hold your spot.' 'The price goes up after the storm rush.' 'Just sign this so we can talk to your insurance.' A real estimate is a document you can read overnight. Anyone who needs a signature in the driveway is selling urgency, and urgency is not a roofing product.
3. Offering to eat your deductible
It sounds generous. It is insurance fraud in most places, and it tells you the roofer is either inflating the claim or cutting the roof to make the math work. Either way you are the one on the hook when it surfaces.
4. No proof of insurance, or a certificate they will not let you verify
Ask for general liability and workers' comp certificates and call the carrier on the certificate to confirm they are current. If a worker gets hurt on your roof and the roofer is not covered, that is your homeowners policy and your lawyer. A legitimate shop expects this question.
5. A one-line estimate
'Replace roof: $14,500.' With what shingle? What underlayment? Ice-and-water where? New flashing or reuse? Ventilation? Decking replacement price per sheet? Cleanup and magnet sweep? A real estimate spells it out, because a real roofer has to buy those things and knows what they cost. On insurance jobs, the estimate should be in the same line-item language the adjuster uses; a shop that writes in Xactimate® is speaking the carrier's language on your behalf.
6. Cash only, or the whole price up front
A material deposit is normal. Full payment before a shingle goes on is not, and cash-only with no paper trail is a company that does not plan on being reachable. Pay by a method that leaves a record, on a schedule tied to work completed.
7. They will not put you in touch with a recent customer
Not a testimonial on a website. A person you can call, from a job in the last year, in your area. Every real shop has a dozen of these and is happy to make the introduction. If they cannot produce one, there is a reason.
The questions that separate the real ones
How long have you been in this town? Who is on the roof, your crew or a sub? Who is my point of contact during the job? What is the warranty on labor, separate from the shingle warranty, and who honors it if you close? Can I see the certificate of insurance and call the carrier? What happens if the adjuster and your estimate disagree? A shop that answers all of those without flinching is a shop we would hire. We would know; we tried to be one.