Roof Financing for Bad Credit in Orlando, FL

A roof replacement is one of the largest repairs an Orlando homeowner will ever face, and it rarely shows up at a convenient time. Maybe your insurer sent a non renewal letter over roof age, or the shingles on your CBS block and stucco home are simply worn out. Either way, a new roof does not have to wait until you have the full amount saved.

Home Pros Roofing and Contracting offers roof financing for good, fair and bad credit through two established lenders, Service Finance and Foundation Finance. We are a licensed Florida roofing contractor based in Apopka, and we have served Orlando and the rest of Central Florida since 2015. This guide explains how financing works with each lender, what happens at each credit level, how insurance and Florida’s 15 year roof law fit in, and when a claim may make more sense than a loan.

One promise up front: we will not quote a payment, a rate or an approval chance on this page. Those come only from the lender, after you apply, in the written disclosures for your own loan.

How roof financing works at Home Pros

Roof financing through Home Pros is an installment contract with the lender, not a credit card. A typical Orlando project goes like this:

Roof inspection and written estimate. We inspect the roof, take photos and give you a written estimate. Start with our roof inspection so the loan amount matches the real scope of work.
Choose the lender and program. You decide whether to apply with Service Finance or Foundation Finance, use your own bank or credit union, or pay another way.
Apply. The lender looks at your application and makes the credit decision. Home Pros does not approve or deny credit.
Read and sign. If you are approved, read the contract and its disclosures before you sign.
Permit and installation. We pull the permit for your address, install the roof and schedule the inspections the city or county requires.
Completion and payment. After the work is finished, the completion paperwork is signed and the lender pays the contractor. Your payments to the lender follow the schedule in your contract.

Because the lender pays after the job is complete, you are not wiring a large deposit to a contractor you just met. If you are still comparing materials and scope, our roof replacement page covers the options in more detail, and our roof repair page covers smaller fixes that may not need financing at all.

Roof financing for good, fair and bad credit

Lenders look at more than a single score, and the programs you see depend on your full application. Here is what each credit level tends to mean in practice.

Good credit

Homeowners with strong credit usually see the widest choice of programs. Service Finance lists no interest, deferred interest and long term installment programs, and Foundation Finance says promotions such as same as cash or deferred payments may be available depending on the contractor. Even with good credit, compare the total cost of a promotional plan with a regular installment plan before you choose.

Fair credit

Fair credit is where the details of your application matter most. A steady job, time in your home, your income and your current debts can all count. Foundation Finance says it considers your FICO score along with time on the job, time at residence, income, debt ratio and equity in your home. That is why two neighbors with similar scores can see different results.

Bad credit

Bad credit does not automatically mean no. Foundation Finance describes first look and second look financing, and says its second look program gives hope to customers who were declined elsewhere. Approval is never certain, every credit product is subject to the lender’s approval, and the terms for lower scores may cost more over time. If you are approved, read the finance charge and the total of payments carefully before you sign.

A few habits help at any credit level:

Check your credit reports first. You can request your reports through AnnualCreditReport.com and fix mistakes before you apply.
Ask about a soft credit pull. Foundation Finance says prequalification uses a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score, and that a hard inquiry comes with a completed application and signed contract documents.
Add a second applicant only if it is right for both of you. A spouse or other homeowner on the application shares responsibility for the full balance.

What Service Finance and Foundation Finance say about their programs

Both lenders publish consumer information on their own websites. Here is a plain summary, with links in the sources below.

Service Finance

Service Finance describes itself as a nationally licensed sales finance company and an approved FHA Title I lender, and it finances home improvement projects including roofing.
Its loan is an installment contract with a fixed amount and a fixed term, not a revolving line of credit, and your account is set up after the installation is complete.
Service Finance says there is no prepayment penalty, so you can pay the balance early.

Foundation Finance

Foundation Finance offers installment plans that work much like a car payment or mortgage, with fixed terms, fixed monthly payments and fixed interest rates.
Interest is simple interest that accrues daily, and there are no prepayment penalties.
Financing is available only through approved contractors, and promotions depend on the contractor.

The one thing to understand before choosing a promotion is deferred interest. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that with a deferred interest offer, if you do not pay the full balance by the end of the promotional period, you can be charged interest going back to the original purchase date. Ask which kind of promotion you are being offered.

You are also free to compare. The Florida Attorney General recommends reading and understanding all of the loan documents before you sign, including what you pay up front and what your monthly payments will be. A loan from your own bank or credit union is a fair comparison.

Should you file an insurance claim or finance the roof?

The honest answer depends on why the roof needs work.

Sudden storm damage. Wind that tears off shingles, a tree limb through the decking or tiles knocked loose in a named storm is the kind of damage homeowners policies are written for. Talk to your insurance agent or a licensed public adjuster before you decide to pay for the whole job yourself.
Age and wear. A roof that is simply old, with granule loss, curling shingles or tired underlayment beneath concrete tile, is usually a maintenance issue. That is where financing tends to fit, before a small leak turns into rotted decking.
Both at once. Many Central Florida roofs are older and also took a hit in a storm. An approved claim may cover part of the work, and you still owe your deductible.

Florida law draws clear lines here, and we follow them. Under section 489.147 of the Florida Statutes, a contractor may not interpret your policy or advise you about coverage unless the contractor is also a licensed public adjuster, may not offer a gift or rebate for a roof inspection or a claim, and may not waive or pay your deductible. The Florida Department of Financial Services adds that contractors cannot submit a claim to your insurer on your behalf.

What we can do is document the roof with photos and written findings you can share with your insurer, agent or adjuster. Timing matters too. Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and Florida law generally requires notice of a new or reopened property claim within 1 year after the date of loss, and for a hurricane the date of loss is the date the storm made landfall. If a storm hit your roof, do not let the decision about financing hold up the claim notice. Our roof inspection for insurance page explains what we document and why.

Insurance, the 15 year roof law and non renewals in Orlando

For many Orlando families, the push to replace a roof comes from an insurance letter. Before you finance a new roof for that reason, make sure you actually need one.

Under section 627.7011(5) of the Florida Statutes, an insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowners policy solely because the roof is less than 15 years old. For a roof that is at least 15 years old, the insurer must let you have the roof inspected by an authorized inspector, at your expense, before it requires a replacement, and it may not refuse coverage solely because of roof age if that inspection shows 5 years or more of useful life remaining. Roofing contractors are among the authorized inspectors the law lists, and roof age is counted from the last time 100 percent of the roof was replaced. The section does not apply to mobile home policies.

Citizens Property Insurance has its own roof rules. Citizens requires documentation of a full roof replacement for homes with shingle roofs more than 25 years old and tile, clay, concrete or metal roofs more than 50 years old, unless a Florida licensed inspector documents at least 5 years of remaining useful life on its roof form. For proof of a new roof, Citizens wants a permit showing completed work or a licensed contractor’s paid in full invoice.

That gives you a practical order of steps:

Get the roof inspected and the right form filled out. Home Pros fills out Citizens and insurance roof inspection forms. See our Citizens roof inspection form guide and our 4 point roof inspection in Orlando page. We complete the roof portion of a 4 point inspection. The rest of a 4 point inspection is typically completed by a licensed home inspector.
If the roof still has useful life, the form may be all your insurer needs, and you may not need to finance anything yet.
If the roof needs replacing, finance the replacement and keep the permit, the final inspection and the paid in full invoice together for your agent.

Non renewal notices come with a deadline, so start early. The application, the permit and the installation all take time.

Orlando homes and the roofs we finance

Most Orlando homes are CBS block and stucco with an asphalt shingle, concrete tile or metal roof, and the material shapes the price of the job.

Architectural shingles are the most common replacement choice and usually the lowest upfront cost.
Concrete tile is common in planned communities. The tile can outlast the underlayment beneath it, which is often what fails. See our tile roof repair in Orlando page.
Metal roofs cost more upfront and are popular with homeowners who plan to stay. Learn more on our metal roof page.

A few Orlando neighborhoods show how much roof age varies across the city:

College Park: just northwest of downtown, it has been a popular residential area for more than a century, with mature oaks over many roofs.
Lake Eola Heights: a historic district on the east side of downtown Orlando. Roof work there needs historic review, covered in the permit section below.
Pine Hills: its first subdivisions went up in 1953 along Pine Hills Road north of Colonial Drive, and the community kept growing through the 1960s and 1970s. The permit history tells you the age of the current roof.
Hunter’s Creek: most of this master planned community in south Orange County was built in the late 1980s and 1990s, so any original roofs there are well past the 15 year mark insurers watch.
Lake Nona: a planned community inside Orlando city limits southeast of Orlando International Airport, In planned communities like this one, check the HOA rules before you pick a roof color or material.

Leaks on block and stucco homes often start at pipe boots, flashing where a lower roof meets a stucco wall, or cracked stucco and failed caulk near the roof line, so we check those spots along with the roof covering. Get an Orlando specific overview on our Orlando roofing contractor page.

Permits in Orlando and unincorporated Orange County

A financed roof still needs the right permit, and who issues it depends on your exact address.

City of Orlando: reroof permits come from the city’s Permitting Services, with a dry in inspection and a final inspection along with an affidavit covering deck nailing and the secondary water barrier.
Orlando historic districts: homes in districts such as Lake Eola Heights need a Certificate of Appropriateness before the roof is replaced.
Unincorporated Orange County: many Orlando mailing addresses, including Pine Hills, Hunter’s Creek and Conway, are outside city limits, so the permit comes from Orange County through Fast Track.

Home Pros pulls the permit and schedules the inspections. Florida law also protects your deposit. Under section 489.126, a contractor who takes more than 10 percent of the contract price as an initial payment must apply for permits within 30 days and start work within 90 days after the permits are issued.

HOA approval before you sign

Many Orlando neighborhoods, from Hunter’s Creek to Lake Nona, have a homeowners association with architectural rules for roofs. Get HOA approval in writing before you sign a financing contract.

Florida law helps here. Section 720.3035(6) of the Florida Statutes requires homeowners associations to adopt hurricane protection specifications, and hurricane protection includes roof systems recognized by the Florida Building Code. An association may not deny an application that conforms to its specifications, although it may require a style that fits the community. If you want to switch from tile to metal or shingles, ask the HOA first. We can provide product details for your application.

Your rights when you finance a roof in Florida

Florida’s Home Improvement Sales and Finance Act protects you when you finance a roof.

Three business day cancellation. Under section 520.72, either party may cancel a home improvement finance contract until midnight of the third business day after it is signed, by certified or registered mail.
Clear disclosures. Section 520.73 requires the contract to show the amount financed, the finance charge, the total of payments and the number and amount of payments, along with the contractor’s license number.
Sales made at your home. If you sign at your kitchen table, Florida’s home solicitation sale law in section 501.025 also gives you a right to cancel until midnight of the third business day.
Roof contract notice. Every Florida roof repair or replacement contract must include a notice about rebates and deductibles. The Department of Financial Services says you may void a contract that leaves it out within 10 days after signing.

Keep a copy of everything you sign.

Red flags to watch for with roof financing

After big storms, out of town crews knock on doors across Orange County. Florida’s consumer agencies list these warning signs:

Pressure to sign today, or a discount that disappears tomorrow.
Blank spaces in a contract or loan paper you are asked to sign.
A promise that approval is certain, or a payment quoted before any lender has seen your application.
Requests to pay everything up front, in cash, or to sign your insurance check over.
An offer to cover your deductible.
No Florida license number. Check any contractor at MyFloridaLicense.com, including us.

Home Pros Roofing and Contracting is a member of The Good Contractors List, an exclusive network that approves contractors only after a rigorous vetting process. Very few Florida contractors meet that standard, which is why you will find so few of them listed. Qualifying work is backed by the list's $25,000 third party workmanship guarantee, free to homeowners, so you can hire with confidence. View our Good Contractors List profile.

Why Orlando homeowners finance their roof with Home Pros

Home Pros Roofing and Contracting has served Central Florida since 2015 as an Apopka roofing company serving Orlando and Central Florida. We are licensed in Florida as a Certified General Contractor (CGC1527172) and a Certified Roofing Contractor (CCC1332789), we are a TAMKO Pro Certified Contractor and a CertainTeed ShingleMaster, and we answer the phone 24/7. Financing is available for good, fair and bad credit through Service Finance and Foundation Finance, and one local team handles the inspection, the insurance paperwork, the permit and the installation.

Ready to talk about financing a roof in Orlando? Call 407-766-4388, email [email protected], or schedule a roof inspection. We’d be happy to come take a look at your roof and walk you through your options.

Orlando Roof Financing FAQs

Can I finance a new roof in Orlando with bad credit?

Often, yes. Home Pros offers roof financing for good, fair and bad credit through Service Finance and Foundation Finance. Foundation Finance looks at more than your score, including time on the job, time at residence, income, debt ratio and equity in your home, and offers second look financing for homeowners declined elsewhere. Every application is still subject to the lender's approval.

Which lenders does Home Pros use for roof financing?

We offer financing through Service Finance and Foundation Finance. Service Finance lists no interest, deferred interest and long term installment programs, and Foundation Finance offers fixed rate installment plans. You can also use your own bank or credit union.

Does checking my roof financing options hurt my credit score?

Foundation Finance says its prequalification uses a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score, and that a hard inquiry happens when you complete an application and sign the contract documents. Ask which type of pull applies before you apply with any lender.

Will you tell me my monthly payment before I apply?

No. Your rate, term and payment depend on the lender's review of your application, so we do not quote payments in advance. If you are approved, the contract must show the amount financed, the finance charge, the total of payments and the number and amount of payments.

Should I file an insurance claim or finance my roof?

If a storm caused sudden damage, talk to your insurance agent or a licensed public adjuster about a claim first; notice is generally due within 1 year after the date of loss. If the roof is simply worn out from age, financing is usually the better fit. We document the roof with photos and written findings you can share.

My insurer wants a new roof. Do I have to replace it?

Not always. Under section 627.7011(5), if your roof is at least 15 years old your insurer must let you have it inspected before requiring a replacement, and it may not refuse coverage solely because of roof age if the inspection shows 5 or more years of useful life remaining. Home Pros fills out Citizens and insurance roof inspection forms, so start with an inspection.

Can I cancel a roof financing contract after I sign it in Florida?

Under section 520.72 of the Florida Statutes, either party may cancel a home improvement finance contract until midnight of the third business day after it is signed, by certified or registered mail. Read your contract for the exact cancellation steps.

Do I need HOA approval before I finance a roof replacement?

If your Orlando home is in an HOA community, get the board's written approval for the roof material and color before you sign a finance contract. Florida law requires HOAs to adopt hurricane protection specifications that include roof systems recognized by the Florida Building Code, and an HOA may not deny an application that meets them.

How do I get started with roof financing in Orlando?

Call Home Pros Roofing and Contracting at 407-766-4388 or email [email protected]. We start with a roof inspection and a written estimate, then walk you through the Service Finance and Foundation Finance options so you can apply for the right amount.

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Roof Financing for Good, Fair and Bad Credit in Orlando, FL