How to Vet a Roofing Contractor in West Michigan: A Homeowner's Checklist

Published July 31, 2026 by Quality Roof Repair Grand Rapids

Every big hail or wind event in West Michigan is followed by the same thing. Trucks you have never seen roll through the neighborhood, someone knocks, and the pitch is always urgent. Your roof is damaged. They can get insurance to pay for it. They just need a signature today.

Some of those crews are fine. Plenty are not, and the damage they do is slow. The shingles go on, the check clears, and two winters later a seam opens up and the phone number on the contract is disconnected. Here is how our team tells the difference, in the order you should check it.

Step one: verify the Michigan license

This is the fastest filter and most homeowners skip it. In Michigan, roofing is licensed work. Anyone contracting for roofing valued over 600 dollars needs either a Residential Builder license or a Residential Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license carrying the roofing classification, issued through the Bureau of Construction Codes at the state's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Getting that license is not a formality. Applicants complete 60 hours of approved prelicensure education, pass a state exam, and renew on a three-year cycle with continuing competency hours attached. Michigan does not require a state surety bond for the license itself, which makes the license lookup even more important as a screen.

Ask for two things: the license number and the exact legal business name it is issued under. Then look it up yourself in the state's public license verification tool. You are checking three boxes. Is the license active. Does the classification actually cover roofing. And does the name on the license match the name on the contract you were handed. That last one catches a common trick, where a legitimate license number belongs to a different entity than the one you are signing with.

Step two: get the insurance certificate from the insurer, not the contractor

A roofer should carry general liability and, if they have employees, workers' compensation. Everyone says they do. The verification step is simple: ask for a certificate of insurance sent directly from their agent or carrier, listing you as a certificate holder. A PDF forwarded from the contractor's own email is a document, not a verification.

The reason this matters is uncomfortable but real. If an uninsured worker gets hurt on your roof, that exposure can land on your homeowners policy. A three-minute request avoids it.

Step three: read the contract before the ladder comes off the truck

The contract is where good roofers and bad ones separate. Ours runs long because everything is written down. Here is what should be in yours:

• The full scope. Tear-off versus overlay, how many layers are coming off, decking replacement terms and the per-sheet price, ice and water shield coverage, underlayment type, ventilation work, flashing replacement.
• Material brands and product lines. Not "architectural shingles." The manufacturer, the specific line, and the color. Vague material language is how a premium quote becomes a builder-grade roof.
• Decking allowance spelled out. Nobody knows what is under the shingles until tear-off. A fair contract states a per-sheet price up front so the change order is arithmetic, not a negotiation with your roof open.
• Both warranties, separately. The manufacturer covers the material. The contractor covers the workmanship. Ask for the workmanship term in writing and ask how long the company has been operating in West Michigan, because a 10-year workmanship warranty is only worth the company behind it.
• Payment schedule tied to milestones. Deposit, progress, final on completion. Not a lump sum before work starts.
• Permit responsibility. The contractor pulls it. Roofing permits are required across most of the region, and a contractor asking you to pull the permit is asking you to carry the liability. Our guide to Kent County roofing permit requirements covers what that process looks like.
• Cleanup and magnet sweep. Written in, including landscaping protection and nail sweep of the yard and drive.

The storm chaser playbook, and how to spot it

Storm chasing is a business model, not an insult. Crews follow hail tracks across the Midwest, canvass hard for a few weeks, sign volume, subcontract the labor, and move on. The roofs frequently go on acceptably. The failure is structural to the model: when a workmanship issue shows up in year three, there is no local company left to call.

The pattern repeats often enough that the tells are reliable:

• They found you, right after a storm. Unsolicited door knocks in the days after a hail event, often with "we're already working on your neighbor's roof."
• No local footprint. No Michigan address, out-of-state plates, a phone number that rings to a call center, an LLC registered weeks ago.
• Urgency that does not match the damage. Real storm damage rarely requires a signature in the next twenty minutes. If it is actually an emergency, a tarp buys you time, which is what our emergency tarping guide is about.
• A form that is not what they call it. The "authorization to inspect" or "work authorization" is sometimes a binding contract or an assignment of your insurance benefits. Read every line above your signature.
• They want to handle the whole claim for you. A contractor can meet the adjuster and document damage. A contractor negotiating your claim as your representative is a different role with different rules.
• "We'll cover your deductible." Covered below, because it deserves its own section.

The deductible offer is the biggest red flag on this list

It sounds like a gift. Your deductible is 2,500 dollars, and the roofer says they will eat it, so the new roof costs you nothing. Walk away.

Your deductible is your obligation under your policy. It does not vanish because a contractor says so. What actually happens is that the estimate submitted to your insurer gets inflated to absorb it, or the scope quietly shrinks to match what insurance pays. Either way, information that is not true is going to your insurer with your claim attached to it. Michigan treats knowingly submitting false or inflated information to an insurer as insurance fraud, and it is your claim and your policy in the middle of it.

An honest contractor tells you what your deductible is, explains where it lands in the payment schedule, and prices the actual work. If you want to understand what your policy should and should not cover before anyone knocks, read our walkthroughs on when insurance pays for a new roof in Michigan and the hail damage claim process.

Michigan gives you three business days to cancel

If you already signed something at your door, you are probably not stuck. Michigan's Home Solicitation Sales Act covers sales over 25 dollars that are solicited at your residence and signed there. Under MCL 445.112, you have the right to cancel until midnight of the third business day after you sign a compliant agreement.

Do it in writing. Mail or deliver the cancellation to the address on the notice of cancellation that should have come with the contract, and keep proof of the date you sent it. Do not rely on a phone call. If the contract did not include a cancellation notice at all, that is worth raising with the state.

Compare bids on scope, not on the bottom number

Three quotes only help if they describe the same roof. Most of the time they do not. One includes a full tear-off and new decking allowance, one plans an overlay, and one quietly leaves out the ridge vent. The cheapest number usually corresponds to the smallest scope.

Line the bids up side by side on the items that actually drive cost and lifespan: tear-off versus overlay, underlayment and ice-and-water coverage, flashing replacement versus reuse, ventilation, decking terms, and the workmanship warranty. Our Michigan roof repair cost guide and the overlay versus tear-off comparison are the two references that make that comparison fast. If the numbers still look far apart after that, the gap is in the scope, not the price.

The short version

Verify the license with the state, not with the contractor. Get insurance confirmation from the carrier. Insist on a written scope with real product names and a decking allowance. Keep the deposit small. Say no to deductible offers. And give yourself a night to read it, because the roofer who cannot wait until tomorrow is telling you something useful.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do roofers need a license in Michigan?

Yes. Roofing work valued over 600 dollars requires either a Residential Builder license or a Residential Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license with the roofing classification, issued by LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes. Applicants complete 60 hours of prelicensure education and pass a state exam. Ask for the license number and verify it yourself.

How do I check if a Michigan roofing contractor is licensed?

Get the license number and the exact legal business name, then look it up in LARA's public license verification database. Confirm the license is active, the classification covers roofing, and the name matches the entity on your contract. A number that belongs to a different company is a common tell.

What is a storm chaser roofing company?

A crew that follows hail and wind events, canvasses neighborhoods door to door, signs as many contracts as possible, subcontracts the work out fast, and leaves the state. The roofs often go on fine. The problem shows up in year three, when the workmanship warranty belongs to a company that no longer exists here.

Can a roofer legally waive my insurance deductible in Michigan?

Treat any offer to cover, absorb, or eat your deductible as a red flag. The deductible is your obligation under your policy, and a contractor who hides it usually inflates the estimate to the insurer to make the math work. That is misrepresentation to an insurer, and it puts your claim and your policy at risk.

How long do I have to cancel a roofing contract signed at my door?

Under Michigan's Home Solicitation Sales Act, a sale over 25 dollars solicited and signed at your residence can be canceled until midnight of the third business day after you sign. Cancel in writing and send it to the address on the cancellation notice. Keep proof of when you sent it.

How much should a roofer ask for up front?

A modest deposit to lock in materials and a slot is normal. A demand for half or more of the job before a single bundle arrives is not. Reputable West Michigan roofers carry material on account, so a large cash advance usually signals a cash-flow problem you do not want to fund.