cash vs check for a roof

teller80

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
We can get a 3% discount for paying cash for our roof instead of writing a check. Do you see any disadvantages of doing it? My only thought is the warranty through the manufacturer, but the company is an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor and has been in business for over 25 years. They have a good rating on both Angies List and the BBB.

There is a 2% upcharge to put it on a credit card.
 
Cash = zero proof you paid.

There should be no penalty to a contractor for taking a check. The only reason they would want to do that is to not report all the sales in their books. That means you might have no record in their books of payment. That could impact you financially down the road, could mean no proof of warranty and should you have any roof issues later they might not have you in their records.

Depending on where you live a contractor/vendor may be able to put a lien on your home and you never even know it. Happened to my mother from a roofer. The roofer took all her money but he didn't pay the shingle supplier for her supplies. The supplier put a lien on her home. When she sold her house many years later they said they would have to take that amount out of her sale proceeds to give the vendor ... even though she had already paid in full to the roofer.

There is no way I'd pay for any contractor work in cash ..
.... unless you are doing work under the table and willing to take on the risk.
 
I'm guessing the penalty comes when a check bounces. I was helping a client through the organization where I volunteer to pay for a moving truck. They wouldn't take a regular check from the non profit because they have too much trouble with them. Would only take a cashiers check or money order. They would take a cc but we don't have one.

If you get a receipt saying you paid in full and the company has been around that long you should be ok. I don't know if I would chance it though.
 


Check. But I'm the suspicious type and would want to know I had full-fledged proof I paid in full if I ever needed to use that warranty.
 
A cc or check is proof that you paid - cash does not give you that- the ‘savibgs’ To me wouldn’t be worth it


Cash = zero proof you paid.

There should be no penalty to a contractor for taking a check. The only reason they would want to do that is to not report all the sales in their books. That means you might have no record in their books of payment. That could impact you financially down the road, could mean no proof of warranty and should you have any roof issues later they might not have you in their records..


Check. But I'm the suspicious type and would want to know I had full-fledged proof I paid in full if I ever needed to use that warranty.

Yup, this is exactly what I was thinking - proof of payment. I know with cash he'd give me a receipt, but I like the security of a bank transaction. Thank you for confirming what I already knew.
 


As long as they give me receipt, with their company name on it, should be no issue as far as warranty.

The guy who put my last roof on got tired of dealing with paying suppliers, having customers checks bounce and being on the hook for materials and having to provide lien releases* so he would get the material price from the supplier, but the financial transaction for the shingles was directly with the supplier at time of delivery. Then I paid the roofer for his labor separately . At least here, most roofers limit their warranty on labor to 5 years. Besides, if the shingles fail, their warranty is from the manufacturer, not the installer. They may have their own roofers to honor warranty claims, and given that most shingles have a 25 to 50 year warranty, there is a pretty good chance the installation company will have closed, and the owner retired decades later when you have a claim.

The contractor who replaced my driveway had a credit, check and cash price, each a bit lower than the first. But he gave a receipt.



* You should get a lien release in every instance where you have a contractor buy material for your project.
 
One reason he wants cash is to pay workers in cash off the books. Or only take part of the money as taxable income. I have no problem with that because it’s none of my business but if you do then you should expect that to happen. Also make sure you get a detailed receipt of payment on official letterhead signed by the company representative not just a small receipt torn out of a receipt book. And as someone said a release of lien.
 
As long as they give me receipt, with their company name on it, should be no issue as far as warranty.

* You should get a lien release in every instance where you have a contractor buy material for your project.


I've never heard of a lien release, thank you.


One reason he wants cash is to pay workers in cash off the books. Or only take part of the money as taxable income. I have no problem with that because it’s none of my business but if you do then you should expect that to happen. Also make sure you get a detailed receipt of payment on official letterhead signed by the company representative not just a small receipt torn out of a receipt book. And as someone said a release of lien.

I thought the cash discount had to do with taxes, and thank you for the suggestion for letterhead etc.


The $300 savings for cash is very tempting. BUT - I'm doing some math and even though I'd pay $200 more to put it on a credit card it might be worth it to get the opening bonus (I see two that I can get $500 back, maybe both my husband and I could open one). Thanks everyone for your input!
 
if you get a receipt that is paid in full and signed such and staple the receipt from your bank of the withdraw -- i would save the statement as well it is proof that you paid make sure all is done on the same day or a withdraw the day before and only for the exact amounts you paid.
While it may sound fishy getting a discount for a check a lot of companies do not deposit checks in the bank they use a third party or a lot of credit card back ends offer this service as well. To try to make sense everyone hears credit card processor, you need a back end IE the credit machine between you and the processor that charges a fee as well. It is far more complicated than that but a check a fee would be charged by the back end and guarantee payment to the vendor without going to the bank depositing it waiting for it to clear and running the risk of a stop payment or scam.
 
I only pay vendors with a check. It's the same as cash (no processing fees), but it creates a paper trail. A reputable person would have no hesitation taking a check, and they won't charge you extra for it either.
 
I've heard of a price difference for cash vs credit, but never a difference for paying by check vs cash. If I thought a contractor was trying to pay people off the books or cheat on his business records, I would not hire them. It would make me wonder what else they were cheating on, perhaps materials or insurance? Last time our roof was done, a worker fell off the steeply pitched part. It was covered by the contractor's insurance.
 
I've never heard of a lien release, thank you.

You should insist on one if materials are purchased by a contractor from a supplier and you pay the contractor directly instead of the supplier.
Example: You pay your roofer for a new roof. He never pays the supplier who provided the shingles/felt/underlayment etc.
The supplier then comes after you for the money, and you are legally obilgated to pay them, or they put a lien on your house until you do pay them. A lien release is a note from the supplier saying that the roofer has paid for the materials in full.

Here is a fuller explanation. https://www.angieslist.com/articles/what-contractor-lien-release-or-subcontractor-lien-waiver.htm
 
We can get a 3% discount for paying cash for our roof instead of writing a check. Do you see any disadvantages of doing it? My only thought is the warranty through the manufacturer, but the company is an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor and has been in business for over 25 years. They have a good rating on both Angies List and the BBB.

There is a 2% upcharge to put it on a credit card.
What about a cashier's check? The funds are guaranteed. You get the top part of it as a receipt (at least where I work). Physical proof of payment.
 
What about a cashier's check? The funds are guaranteed. You get the top part of it as a receipt (at least where I work). Physical proof of payment.

I might ask, but right now I'm leaning to opening a credit card to pay it off. But thank you for the suggestion.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top