I also rec'd an offer like this quite some time ago. Looked really "good"! ZERO % FOR LIFE!!!??? I continued to receive those offers at least once a month for many months. But, I'm always leary of the "too good to be true". I finally sat down and picked it apart (reading ALL the fine print), and decided it WAS too good! The "catch" was - you MUST make at least 2 purchases per month -(and I think at one time they even had a minimum of $15.00 or something per purchase) - and if you did NOT make thoses "charges" twice a month, the whole deal goes to heck! (I think there was some other "catch" also - I don't remember) PLUS - like someone else said...be careful. If you default on ANYTHING (a different c.c. - or even late on a utility bill, etc., COULD hurt you really bad.) In "my" case, I KNEW I would get into trouble with this offer. I knew it would be hard to remember to charge something twice a month ("their" billing cycle month) - as I just don't go out and charge stuff daily! Plus - I don't need another pain in the buttocks...I don't need a card who in recent past has caused so many headaches for so many people - (Yup! Big deal about a "discovery" type card a few years back!)- and I certainly don't need my credit score to take a dump for applying for this card which I would have to mark calendar to be SURE I make purchases every month! (Not to mention the additional "junk mail" I would have to deal with!) The offer looked SO GOOD...on the outside. Like a wolf in lamb's clothing. WHO?!!! would offer to LOAN $$$ for nothing - forever??? There HAD to be a catch! I'm sure someone could maybe benefit from something like this...but not for me.

I can't answer all your questions, but I can offer some advice based on my own experience. First, from what I can see in the pics, your roof doesn't look that bad. Nothing against the knowledgable neighbor, but if he isn't a contractor, appreciate what he has to say and seek professional advice. Don't give contractors the impression that you're worried about your roof falling in, because SOME may feed into your 'paranoia' for lack of a better term, and no offense intended by that comment. I'm saying this because I've had situations where we obtained quotes on tuckpointing our chimney, and of course there's one contractor out there who tries to scare us into thinking our chimney is going to fall down tomorrow and it better be rebuilt for a whopping $25k. We got it tuckpointed by another contractor for $300 who laughed when we told them about the other quote. I'm not implying that ALL contractors are dishonest, I'm just saying this was my experience with this particular contractor. If roofs weren't designed to support three layers of shingles, there wouldn't be an ordinance allowing this many layers on your roof in the first place. Three layers are the maximum allowable. I would also go around the neighborhood and ask for recommendations for a roofing contractor rather than just pulling out of the phone book. Go to your local church and ask them. Word of mouth, in my opinion, is best, and sometimes contractors who don't spend money on advertising costs have more reasonable, lower rates. Get several quotes, and compare them. The more you do your homework, you'll get a good feel for what the job is worth. ASK your contractor for references, and contact prior customers and ask them questions - would they have done anything differently, is there anything they could recommend that you wouldn't have thought to ask at the very beginning, etc. Submit all change requests in writing. Similarly, our roof was a three-layer complete tear-off, which of course is going to be pricier than just adding another layer of shingles. Be sure EVERYTHING they're replacing is written in the contract - flashing, gutters, etc. I'd recommend a 'ridge vent' for proper ventilation, not sure if this is standard these days?? I'm not sure what you mean by, 'You may as well open up the main ceiling to be vaulted as well'?? This could be a simple matter of adding more vents in your attic when the roof is replaced. Problem solved. If you need gutters replaced, now's the time to do it - you'll get a better 'package' deal, at least we did. I had some ill-placed gutters re-routed. Since our entire roof was a tear-off, we added a master bath rough-in for just maybe $800 extra, as we were only paying for lumber - the roof was already being torn off, so all they had to do was expand the frame. Can you expand the roof anywhere? Now's the time to do it! You can probably inspect the underlayment from inside your home yourself. Go around with a flashlight to check for signs of leaking. We were told our roof needed to be replaced as well, but we also saw signs of leaking and later found carpenter ants in our attic on the underlayer of original cedar roof shingles that were covered over. Not good. Also, for this reason, if there are any tree branches near your roof line, cut them away as carpenter ants will use this as a conduit to your roofline. They love moisture. Be sure to replace any rotting wood. We also used a pesticide in this area of our attic for the next two years just to be safe. From a financial standpoint, I would look into taking out a home equity loan for the roof fund, if feasible. Even if you don't do the roof now, you know that the funds are available in an emergency if necessary. When the time comes, be prepared that when the roof comes off, there will be less weight on your house, the house may have minor shifting due to less weight on the support beams, and you may or may not have very minor surface cracks in the walls afterwards (we have an old 1920's home), but nothing major that simple patching won't cover over. If you use your attic for personal storage, competely cover your belongings with tarps or remove EVERYTHING and store elsewhere until the roof is done, and plan on using a shop vac when the job is done - nails, dust, etc. Prior to the start of the job, clear areas in your attic so the contractor can properly inspect the roof from the interior as a precaution to locate potential weak spots. They'll appreciate that and I'd imagine they recommend it for their own safety. Cover ALL plantings outside. The contractors will do their best to discard all materials on tarps, but it's inevitable that you will find nails and refuse on your lawn and in your plantings. Don't let them talk you into storing a dumpster on your driveway. It will become so heavy you risk cracking your driveway, and residential driveways aren't designed to hold all that weight. You may have to pay a little extra to have a dumpster on the city street, and of course a permit may be required depending on your municipality, but I'd insist on it and pay the extra $. Lastly, be good to your contractors and they'll be good to you. We supplied them with a cooler of refreshments (they were on the roof on the hottest days of the summer - talk about hard workers). They don't like to be watched over, it makes them nervous and you don't want a nervous contractor trying to balance their footing on your roof. Our contractors didn't like the fact that our neighbor plopped himself out there everyday on a lawn chair and watched them from dawn to dusk. Ugh. That's another story! Very important - you should obtain a lien waiver from your contractor when final payment is submitted. This is especially important if you are working with a company who subcontracts their work. THEY are responsible for paying the subcontractor as part of your original contract agreement, not you. Good luck!

Once I asked my Financial Planner's assistant (the CFP works at our bank) to transfer $5,000 out of one of my accounts and into an investment. I got a phone call from my banker (who works at a different branch than our Financial Planner) early the next morning, she was curious as to why I was $44,000 overdrawn on one of my accounts. I told her she was asking a really good question! It seems the assistant put $5,000 into the investment as asked... but transferred $50,000 out of my account to do so! What shocked me most was that the bank allowed the transaction to go through! I would've thought it would set off all sorts of bells and whistles and management would have been alerted before I ever heard about it, but not so. But this is my bank... with whom I have a relationship... and my banker recognizes me by name when she sees me. I bump into these people when I run errands in our village. Were I dealing with strangers, I'd be involving my state's attorney general and all sorts of regulatory people (BBB, local news stations, etc.) IMMEDIATELY.

Correct - Homeowners Association. Our HOA charges for a resale certificate and then a transfer of membership fee. Apparently, this is pretty common in my area (TX), so I'm just curious about what others may have been charged.