Watch for Home Repair Scams Following Severe Weather

MAY 2025

Wisconsin summers often bring severe weather including strong winds, hail, and tornados. Following these storms, criminals often go door-to-door offering repairs. They might even say they happened to be driving by and noticed a problem with your roof.

However, these solicitors are not always reliable or reputable. Often, they are "storm chasers" - scammers who follow storms across the Midwest using high-pressure tactics and completing sub-par work, or taking money without doing any repairs.

When you hire a contractor to repair your home, make sure your money doesn't go into a scammer's pockets.

Be wary if a contractor:

• Demands cash payment up front. If they’re asking for cash up front before the work gets started, before a contract can get put into place, that's a red flag.
• Shows up uninvited. A good contractor is busy and isn’t searching for business door-to-door.
• Can start immediately. A good contractor usually has a backlog of jobs and clients.
• Offers surplus materials. A builder may show up and say they were working nearby and have leftover material. They offer you a deal on, for example, redoing your driveway. But what you’ll get is incomplete or shoddy work.
• Has no truck, or uses a rented truck. A contractor using a U-Haul isn’t professional.
• Pressures you to hire them immediately. Scammers may make a special discounted offer to push you to make a decision right away. A good contractor will give you time to look the offer or contract over.
• Doesn’t provide a written agreement or contract. Everything should be in writing.
• Appears after natural disasters. If your house has been damaged by fire, flood or other natural disaster, you likely are at your most vulnerable. Scammers may promise fast, cheap repairs, or try to persuade you to sign over a payment from your insurance company directly to them.
• Offers financing. Scammers may try to talk you into taking out a home-equity loan or reverse mortgage to pay for repairs and arrange for the lender to pay them directly. This gives them little incentive to finish the job or do it properly.
  

• The Perfect Scam podcast episode: "Contractor Defrauds Wisconsin Homeowners"
• How to Avoid Home Improvement Scams
• After Storm Damage, Be Wary of Door-to-Door Repair Crews (WI Dept. of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, April 29, 2025)