Candace Anger Real estate agent shares hailstorm damage journey

Tennessee Hail Damage Reality Check: My Insurance Claim and Roof Replacement Journey

August 14, 20259 min read

Honest experiences, practical tips, and market insights from Williamson County's housing market — helping you laugh, learn, and navigate your home journey with confidence.

Adventures in Real Estate with Candace Anger | Brentwood, Tennessee


A bit of a personal story.....

On May 20th of this year, a storm came through Williamson County and dropped baseball sized hail on Franklin, Brentwood and other areas.

We live in Brentwood and our roof, gutters, downspouts and one car got hit hard.

I happened to be further north sitting in my car in the Target parking lot chatting away with my daughter and the storm did not hit us, so I had no idea except that our family text thread started going crazy with pictures and videos of large chunks of ice dropping from the sky.

Baseball sized hail stone next to actual baseball showing storm damage size Tennessee

Roof Inspections Begin

That week roofers and roofing companies started knocking on the door asking if they could do a free inspection. I called my dear friend Mackenzie Willy, a female roof inspector, who is a friend from church because I had a few friends who she also helped. I only know her as Mom, church dresses and fun events. But the roofer Mackenzie who came over- looking beautiful in jeans, work boots, baseball cap - slapped that ladder and hopped right up onto my roof to check for damage. I was soooo impressed.

She saw the damage and encouraged me to put in the claim. I called insurance and when they asked me if there was damage to the windows, landscaping etc. – I learned to say “Not that I am aware of now” instead of "no" in case there was damage I missed. 💡


The Adjustor Visit

Next the adjustor scheduled a time to come out and I asked Mackenzie if she would come over again and meet me with him.

I had this image of the movie The Incredibles with the mean manager and that giant stamp that said DENIED. So, Mackenzie basically held my hand. 😅

Tennessee had gotten hit so hard that they were busy, and the adjustor went up the ladder and down again and was done pretty quickly. The next day or a few days later we got a call, and insurance had approved a new roof, gutters and downspouts (they totaled our car too – another story). 🎉


Picking a Roofer and Color

I was suddenly struck with the idea that I was now going to have to pick a roof color and a roofer.

If you know the right people, both can be easy. We got several quotes, and being in the real estate business, we have a lot of roofing contacts. Some of the larger companies gave us quotes over the amount we were receiving from insurance, and I went back to them and told them to adjust it so there was nothing out of pocket. They seemed to think only having to pay a few thousand out of pocket was not a big deal. I was like.. no. 🙅‍♀️

We settled on James Connor of Ecoview Windows and Certified ProRoofing. We have given each other business in the past and he made it the most economical with the highest-level shingle. All we had to do was schedule a date and with the hail damage- roofing crews were busy. We learned that the roofers pull from the same crews and so he waited for us to get the best crew and scheduled on that date. We were also travelling for 2 weeks, and I wanted to be here, so we set the date out a bit.

For the color, I didn’t overthink it like I might have in the past. I worked with my favorite Nashville stager, Marcie, who had also helped with my home’s exterior design. Our goal: soften our house’s stark black, gray, and white palette with warmer tones. The roof would be dark but not black — with subtle brown tones.


Shingle Shopping

Older and wiser. The color could have been trickier. When I was younger, I would have gotten the board with the little squares and had angst about it for days while holding it up in the light and dark etc. trying to figure out which color to use. That 30 year roof color can hang over your head. Instead, in the last few years, since meeting, Marcie, the top stager and designer in Nashville, through a real estate friend, I reached out to her immediately. She has staged a lot of my listings, and I am obsessed with staging. When I take a listing, if you let me, I go through your house- room to room - and stage with your furniture or we bring in the big guns and Marcie Anderson of Homestyled Nashville stages and brings in furniture from her warehouse. Staging can cost a little money - or time - or both and some elbow grease, but you increase your purchase price so much when you sell that you make that money back. Or you sell what was before staging an awkward and less than desirable house.

One day about a year ago, I came home and thought about the advice I was giving all my clients about getting their house sell ready. When I took an honest look at my home, it was a little plain and sad. It was like the cobblers kids who had no shoes. I had not even put but one picture on the wall in 12 years. So, I asked Marcie if she would “stage” my house. She helped me with the interior (a future blog), and we had just met about the exterior. This was perfect timing now that I was forced into a roof color.

My husband is from New York and when we go up, we always drive to the Hamptons, and I love to stop at the Ralph Lauren Store in Southhampton. I am obsessed with the little cottage behind the store that used to be the home collection. It has a herringbone brick walkway that leads back to this charming entrance. It has green plants around and this dark green trim color. I have tons of videos of it, and I sent it to Marcie as my inspo for the exterior.

Ralph Lauren SouthHampton

We talked about two things that day she came over. My house is painted off white and the sidewalk and driveway are gray, and the roof is black. In addition, I have all green and white landscaping. This color combo made the house a little cold and stark, which doesn’t really reflect our personality. We decided to add herringbone brick on the front like RL (its not done yet but I have it picked out), change out the outside light fixtures that look like they are from the gilded age and then when we change out the roof, no solid black roof. Lastly we will add some more planters and have some grasses and soft vegetation to go in the front to soften it more (also not done yet). The roof would still be dark, but it would not be black.

So, after the hail damage, the timeline was moved up and it was time to put the design into action. I had to run to a roofing warehouse by Nashville airport (BNA) and pick out my shingle. Every roofer has their shingle vendor, so I went to James’ place and Marcie met me there. I had one day to do it before I left out of town and luckily Marcie’s kids were in camp, and she met me right away. The guys in the warehouse were so helpful. The sample room was a little barren so they would run into the warehouse and tear open a bag and bring me a full 2 strips of a sample I liked so I could see it. We looked at several and quickly narrowed it down. We were in and out in less than 30 minutes. It was a miracle. You can also bring your house color with you on the color wheel if that helps too. They gave me 2 long strips of the roofing sample to bring home and see it real time. Honestly, I threw them out on the front porch and looked quickly because I was leaving the next day for 2 weeks and I was pressed for time. 🙌

When I returned home, they did the roof in one day. Then the gutter guy came out and we came up with a plan. He fixed the damage, and we troubleshot a few difficult places that had been giving us trouble. Then in one day he was done. I also noticed some outdated lights that didn’t work or were ugly that I am taking down and will replace with up lighting on phase 2 of exterior upgrade. I am also about to wage war on some spider webs and dirt! Amazing what you notice when you start looking. Tedd worked with the insurance company on all the checks and money stuff, and he did all that end of it so I can’t speak of that part, but we had the money and paid everyone with not a dollar out of pocket.


The Wrap Up: Important!

The last step I will do is have a 3rd party inspector, Nashville Home Inspections, come out and inspect the roof and gutters. I want a neutral person to come out and look at everything especially while we are fresh in everyone's minds in case something needs to be tweaked. The gutter guy already came out and fixed a little area that was not on the original plan. Anyway.. better now than later. Side note: Insurance also totaled our car. Our daughter, Alexa, was the expert who helped us find a new one. We now have an Audi - thank you hail! 🚗✨


Let Me Know if You Need Help With Home Projects or Real Estate!

I am so thankful everything went smoothly. If you need any help, have questions, or need suggestions on roofers or any other vendor or another part of the house – let me know. If you are wondering what you need to do to your house to get it ready to sell or what to watch out for when you buy, feel free to reach out to me. I have an extensive list and am happy to share all my experience!!

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About Candace Anger

Candace Anger - Brentwood Real Estate Agent

I’m a real estate agent in Brentwood, Tennessee, who believes in treating every client like family. With a background in national marketing and a heart for helping people, I’m here to make your real estate journey as smooth and stress-free as possible.

  • 📧 Email: [email protected]

  • 📱 Phone: (615) 210-1719 (m), 615-656-3000 (office)

  • 🌐 Website: www.candaceanger.com

  • 📍 Serving: Williamson County & Surrounding Areas

  • 🏅 Licensed Tennessee Real Estate Professional with Brandon Hannah Properties

I'm a real estate agent in Brentwood, Tennessee, who believes in treating every client like family. With a background in national marketing and a heart for helping people, I'm here to make your real estate journey as smooth (and stress-free) as possible.

Candace Anger

I'm a real estate agent in Brentwood, Tennessee, who believes in treating every client like family. With a background in national marketing and a heart for helping people, I'm here to make your real estate journey as smooth (and stress-free) as possible.

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