Real NM homeowner questions. Real answers from a 20-year roofer.

Three ways to tell without climbing up. First, look at your gutter downspouts for granule piles that look like coarse sand — that's the top layer of your shingles washing off after a hail hit. Second, check the softer metal on your property: mailbox, AC condenser fins, downspout elbows. If they're dimpled, your shingles almost certainly took the same impact. Third, look at your neighbors' roofs from the street — if they're getting tarps or new roofs three houses in each direction, you're in the damage cone. If any of those check out, get a written inspection BEFORE you file a claim. Filing without documentation gets your claim rewritten by an adjuster who won't remember it in December. I do free walk-arounds for exactly this reason.

It's free the way a timeshare presentation is free. The 'inspection' exists because it's the cheapest way for a roofing company to get onto your property and generate an estimate. You will get a photo and a quote. What you won't get: a defensible written scope you can shop to three other bidders, an independent second opinion on whether repair vs replace is the right call, or someone whose paycheck doesn't depend on you saying yes. Nothing wrong with getting one — just don't confuse it with a real inspection. If you want the actual document — the one insurance takes seriously and contractors bid apples-to-apples against — you pay for it. Mine start at $149.

Both can be technically correct. Adjusters work off a specific scope: they need to see a certain number of hail strikes per square (usually 8+ in a 10x10 test area), of a certain minimum size (typically 1 inch or more), on specific roof planes (usually north and west). Your roofer sees the same roof and says 'that is damage' — because it is. But your adjuster's job is to match the carrier's threshold, not confirm damage exists. Your play: get a written independent inspection with test squares documented per plane, matched to Xactimate line items, and file a reinspection request. Denials get overturned in NM all the time when the documentation is right. I do this — the report is $349–$799 depending on complexity.

Manufacturer says 30 years. Real ABQ answer: 18–22 years on south and west slopes, 25–28 on north slopes. UV is brutal here — we're at 5,000 feet with 300 sunny days. South-facing shingles lose granules and get brittle 30% faster than the label says. If your roof is 15+ years old and south-facing looks noticeably different from north-facing, you're in the last third of its life. Not urgent, but stop putting off the plan.

Neither, until you have a scope. The $7k gap almost always means one of three things: (1) different materials (30-year vs 50-year shingle, cheap vs premium underlayment), (2) different scope (tear-off vs overlay, plywood replacement included or extra), or (3) one is padding and the other is under-scoping to win. You can't tell which without a written spec. Ask both to bid against the same document. If they refuse, that tells you something. I do bid reviews for $199 — it usually saves people multiples of that.

Not required, but strategically smart. Every ABQ buyer's home inspector is going to look at your roof and either say 'looks fine' (rarely) or 'recommend further evaluation by a roofing professional' (usually). That second phrase kills deals — it's ambiguous enough that the buyer assumes the worst. Getting an independent inspection BEFORE listing gives you a document you can hand the buyer's agent that closes the loop. Cheaper than a $5k price reduction at closing.

Open the door if you want to be polite, but don't sign anything. Not a contract, not an 'inspection authorization,' not an 'assignment of benefits' form. Those forms give a company legal right to your insurance claim proceeds. Some are legitimate; many are not. Rule I give every client: if a company approached you unsolicited, they cannot be your inspector or your contractor of choice. Their sales incentive is too strong. Get an independent inspection first, then decide.

This is exactly the question my whole practice exists to answer. The problem isn't finding an honest roofer — plenty exist. The problem is that YOU, as a homeowner, have no way to tell before you're committed. Every roofer is going to say they're honest. The workaround: get someone who doesn't install roofs to tell you what the roof actually needs first. Then any roofer's bid gets held against that spec. That's my whole job. I have a bench of ~15 NM contractors I refer people to after — small guys through regional — but the report comes first.