CMBA: Warns of Fly-By-Night Contractors After Last Weekend’s Hail Storm

(KNSI) – Last weekend’s hail has led to some shady contractors looking to make a quick buck on St. Cloud area residents. Pea to golf ball size hail and rain fell in the St. Cloud area, with the largest hail hitting Sauk Rapids and Sartell.

According to the Central Minnesota Builders Association (CMBA) Executive Director Wanda Schroeder says to be suspicious of anyone randomly stopping by or calling after a storm.

“These are definitely fly-by-night companies within 24 hours knocking on folks’ doors from out of the Central Minnesota area. So, they are tracking the weather trying to find business.”

She says they use apps to see where the worst of the storm hits and target those areas. Schroder says local companies are accountable to the communities where they live and work.

“When they’re not from Central Minnesota, they’re going to have delays in getting those things fixed. And the accountability with those folks is going to be much less if there is an issue with the repairs.”

Schroeder says the best advice she can give homeowners is to use qualified, local, licensed contractors for repairs. The CMBA has a list of locally licensed contractors that have already been vetted and meet the highest standards.

One of those companies is BD Exteriors in Sartell. Owner Brian Donnay says homeowners should have their homes inspected if they were hit by quarter-size hail or bigger.

“You know one-inch hail is usually about the start where it can start doing some damage to your home. So, a quarter size hail, right around that size and bigger but for the pea-size stuff, you’re probably not going to see any damage.”

Donnay says even if your home sustained damage from last weekend’s storms, it doesn’t mean you need to get it fixed right away.

“You know the one thing about the hail damage is a lot of it is what we would call minor damage. It’s not a rush. Even if the storm chasers make it feel like you need to decide, you need to sign a contract, you need to get signed in your yard, you need to do all these things. You know a lot of these homes aren’t in dire need of anything. Most insurance companies will give you up to a year some five you two years to get the work done.”

He says some red flags to look for if you’re contacted by someone wanting to check your roof for storm damage is if they offer to pay your deductible, do things for free, or offer money-back incentives.

Homeowners should get their roofs inspected if they see cracks in their vinyl siding or dents in aluminum siding because that could indicate a hail fell with enough force to damage the shingles.

For a list of revised local contracts, click here.

For more information on BD Exteriors, click here.