Nobody budgets for a roof. It goes on the list somewhere behind the water heater and the car, and then a hail storm or a ceiling stain moves it to the top of the list overnight. When that happens, the question homeowners ask us after “how bad is it” is “how do people pay for this.” Here’s how roof financing actually works, including the part most ads leave out.
Two kinds of plans that do two different jobs
Riddle Brothers offers financing through Service Finance Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Truist. Any customer can apply on any job type, repairs included. The loan is between you and Service Finance. We’re the roofer, and we’re not the lender.
The plans fall into two groups, and they’re built for two different situations.
The first group is 0% APR if paid in full within 6, 12 or 18 months. These are for homeowners who have the money coming (a bonus, a tax refund, a sale closing) and want to spread the roof across a few months without paying interest.
The second group is a fixed 9.99% APR over 5, 10 or 15 years. These are for homeowners who want a predictable monthly payment that fits alongside the mortgage and the car and don’t plan to write a five-figure check anytime soon.
The one we point most homeowners toward is the 10-year plan. It’s the middle of the range, and the payment tends to be the one people can live with.
What “0% if paid in full” really means
This is the part worth reading twice, because it’s where the roofing industry’s advertising gets slippery.
A 0% if paid in full plan is a deferred interest plan. Interest is calculated on your balance from the day the loan starts. It’s recorded, and it isn’t charged, as long as you pay the full balance before the promotional window closes. Clear the balance in time and you paid exactly the price of the roof.
Miss it, and the interest that has been accumulating in the background since day one gets added to whatever you still owe, at the rate in your loan agreement. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s guidance on these offers makes the same point: the word doing all the work in “0% if paid in full in 12 months” is “if.”
The trap is the minimum payment. Service Finance requires a monthly minimum on these plans, and paying only that minimum will not clear the balance in time. The number that clears a $15,000 balance in 12 months is $15,000 divided by 12, or $1,250 a month, every month. If that figure doesn’t fit your budget, the 0% plan isn’t the right plan, and a lower fixed monthly payment probably is.
The fixed-rate plan we’d point you toward
The long-term plans work like a car loan. Fixed rate, fixed payment, fixed end date.
On a $15,000 roof at 9.99% APR over 120 months, the payment is $199 a month with no down payment (120 monthly payments of $198.14, total of payments $23,777.17). Stretch it to 15 years and the payment drops but the total climbs. Shorten it to 5 years and the total drops but the payment climbs. Our financing page has a calculator that runs all six plans on whatever roof price you type in, and it doesn’t ask for your name.
There’s no prepayment penalty on any of these plans. If you start on the 10-year plan and want to pay it off in three, you can, and you’ll pay interest only for the months you carried the balance.
What doesn’t change when you finance
The price of the roof. A financed roof costs the same as a cash roof at Riddle Brothers. The estimate you get is the estimate, and how you pay for it is a separate conversation.
The timing of your first payment is worth knowing too. Service Finance releases funds after you’ve signed a completion form saying the work is done to your satisfaction. That means your first payment comes due after the roof is finished, and there’s nothing to pay while the crew is still on your house.
Why the low monthly number in someone’s ad isn’t the whole story
You’ve seen the ads. A new roof “from” some very small monthly figure. Most of those numbers come from a deferred interest structure or a very long term, and the ad is under no obligation to tell you which.
Two questions sort it out. First: what’s the rate after the promotional period, and does interest go back to day one if I don’t pay it off? Second: what’s the payment if I take the full term, and what’s the total I’ll have paid at the end? Any roofer who offers financing should be able to answer both on the spot. If they can’t, or the answer is a shrug toward “the lender handles that,” keep asking until someone answers.
We put the calculator on our site for exactly this reason. Run the numbers yourself before anyone is standing in your kitchen.
Start with the roof, not the loan
Financing is the answer to “how do I pay for this.” It’s a bad place to start if you haven’t answered “do I need this” first.
Our inspection comes before any conversation about payment. We get on the roof, photograph what’s there, and tell you whether it needs replacing, needs a repair, or is fine. Plenty of the roofs we look at fall into that last category, and when that’s the case there’s no loan to talk about. When a replacement is the right call, you’ll have an itemized estimate in hand, and you can decide whether to pay in full, clear it over 12 months, or spread it across 10 years.
Quick answers about financing a roof in Texas
Does financing change the price of my roof?
No. The roof price is the same whether you pay in full or finance. Financing only changes how you pay it.
Is there a down payment?
No. Funds release after you sign off on the completed work, and your first payment comes due after that.
Can I pay it off early?
Yes, on every plan, with no prepayment penalty.
Can I finance a repair, or only a full replacement?
Every job type is eligible to apply, repairs included. The lender does set minimum loan amounts that vary by plan, so smaller repairs may fit some plans and not others.
What happens if I don’t pay off a 0% plan in time?
The interest that accrued from the start of the loan is added to your remaining balance at the rate in your agreement. If you’re not confident you can clear the full balance inside the promotional window, a fixed-rate plan is the safer choice.
Which plan should I pick?
If you have the money coming and can clear the balance in 6 to 18 months, the 0% if paid in full plan saves you the most. If you want a payment you can forget about, the 10-year fixed plan is the one we’d point you toward.
Rooted in Rowlett since 2013
Riddle Brothers has been on North Texas roofs since 2013, based in Rowlett and working across Rockwall, Garland, Wylie and the greater DFW area. The owners are still on the jobs. Book your free inspection or call (214) 884-8346, and we’ll start with what your roof actually needs.
