Yes, Your HOA Should Let You Choose Better Roofing Otions. Here Are 6 Reasons Why

Key Points:

• Outdated HOA rules and requirements may prevent homeowners from choosing more durable, sustainable and easy to maintain roofing options.

• When updating their rules for what is allowed, HOAs would be wise to consider important benefits that better options can provide to their homeowners and communities at large.

• MRA provides a list of benefits that homeowners can take to their HOA board to help convince them to allow for longer-lasting, reliable and beautiful metal roofs.

  
  

Throughout the country, local Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) have a massive influence on what is and isn’t allowable from an individual homeowner and neighborhood perspective.  Good HOAs operate under what is best for their neighborhoods, helping protect property values and enforcing rules and standards that contribute to the overall quality of community living.

But on the flipside, too many HOAs still have outdated rules and requirements that are at best, sub-optimal and worse, put their own neighborhoods at risk by preventing homeowners from choosing durable, sustainable and easy to maintain options that better protect their long-term investment.

Case in point is metal roofing. While asphalt shingle roofing is all-too-often the default roofing in the U.S., it’s a choice that can come with some serious disadvantages – especially depending on what region of the country you live in.

HOAs need to recognize that metal roofs can add long-lasting resiliency, easier maintenance and tremendous curb appeal to benefit homeowners and their neighborhood.

HOAs would be wise to endorse and allow for better options such as quality metal roofing for a number of reasons, but mainly for the benefits it provides to homeowners and communities at large, including:

1.       More durable and protective: Especially in hurricane, tornado, wildfire, hail and heavy snow/ice regions, metal roofing installed correctly can withstand severe climate conditions better and prevent costly repairs and replacements. In hurricane regions, metal’s ability to withstand high winds and impacts can mean the difference between a home that survives, and one that is leveled by strong storms. With wildfires getting worse, metal is among the most protective ignition-resistant roofing material available, making it a far more protective choice.

2.       Longer lasting: Even under brutal conditions, metal roofing can last up to 50 years. That means, homeowners are much less likely to have to pay for multiple repairs and replacements over the lifetime of the home.

3.       Better home insurance rates: Rates keep going up, and in some neighborhoods where climate threats are high (wildfire and hurricane zones in particular), insurers are often giving preference and discounts to homeowners who opt for more protective materials, like quality metal roofing.

4.       Lower maintenance and upkeep: For HOAs concerned about keeping their neighborhoods neat and tidy, metal roofing with high performance coatings are extremely easy to clean and maintain, often just requiring a squirt of water and mild soap. Compare that to expensive annual treatments that require a professional to tackle and it’s easy to understand why homes with metal roofs often look a lot better maintained than other types.

5.       Stylish with serious curb appeal: Metal roofing comes in a huge array of choices and can mimic other types (including slate, tile and even asphalt shingle) so closely, even the experts have trouble telling the difference. And for those concerned metal might be too “shiny” or cause a glare, thanks to today’s high tech coatings, nothing could be further from the truth. Metal roofs come in rich, deep shades and beautiful patterns and designs that help neighborhoods uplevel their style standards.

6.       Sustainable and energy efficient: For neighborhoods that allow solar, metal is the perfect platform for solar systems – lasting as long or longer than the panels themselves and making installation a snap. Quality metal also is energy efficient, helping HOA homeowners and the neighborhood save money on energy costs. At the end of its very long life, metal roofs can be recycled unlike asphalt roofing that ends up in the landfill and contributes tons of waste.

For these important reasons and more, it’s high time HOAs make sure and adjust their covenants as needed to keep up with the times and the realities that many communities and homeowners now face.