What a buyer actually receives
A document that survives being handed on. It names the roof systems, rates each section with the evidence behind the rating, places every photograph on a plan, sets out what we could not see, and describes the repairs as a scope that a contractor can price. That last point is what turns a finding into a negotiating position. A seller shown photographs, locations and a bid is being shown a number. A seller shown a line saying the roof needs further evaluation is being shown an opinion, and opinions get waved away.
We also write it knowing where it will end up. It will be read by someone who was not on the roof, usually under time pressure, often by a lender or a partner who wants to know the worst case quickly. So the significant items come first and the reasoning follows.
What we will not do
We will not give you a replacement cost. We can describe the scope of work and say what makes it larger or smaller, but the price belongs to a contractor bidding the job, and a number invented on a roof helps nobody in a negotiation.
We will not open the assembly without written permission from the person who owns the building. We will not rate what we could not reach. And we will not tell you the roof has a fixed number of years left, because that figure depends on maintenance, on traffic and on weather that has not happened yet. What we will give you is a range, the reasoning behind it and the evidence it rests on.
When buyers book one
Most often in the first days after an offer is accepted, when the diligence window has just started and the date is still comfortable. Sometimes earlier, before an offer, where the buyer wants to price the roof into the bid rather than argue about it later, and the seller allows a walk.
The late bookings are the ones that hurt. A buyer who calls a week before the contingency expires can usually still get a visit, but not a moisture survey, not a second visit for access that was refused, and not much room to negotiate with what comes back. Where the roof is old, where the building has several roofs of different ages, or where someone has already mentioned a leak, the roof is the thing to start with rather than the thing to get to.
Common questions
When in a purchase should the roof inspection happen?
As early as the access allows. Book the roof at the same time as the rest of your diligence, because a roof finding is the one that most often needs a second step.
- A visual inspection can tell you the roof is suspect, not what is under it
- Core samples or a moisture survey need permission, a separate visit and the right weather
- Access to occupied and multi tenant buildings is slower than anyone expects
- Work backwards from your contingency date rather than forwards from today
Decide when the report has to be in your hands, allow for the writing and the testing visit, and that gives you the day to book. Tell us that date when you enquire and we will say plainly whether it fits.
What should a pre purchase roof report contain?
Enough for someone who was not there to act on it. Each roof section named and rated, with the observations behind the rating rather than the rating alone.
- Every finding photographed and placed on a roof plan so it can be checked
- The roof systems present and how many are on the deck where that is established
- Repairs described as a scope a contractor can bid, not as a total
- A limitations section: what could not be reached, opened or seen
Layer count decides whether the next roof is an overlay or a tear off. Ask who the report is addressed to as well, because a lender or a partner who wants to rely on it should be named at the start rather than added at the end.
What if the seller will not allow core samples?
It happens, and it is not automatically a red flag. Cuts make holes in an asset the seller still owns, and a careful owner wants the risk settled first.
- Agree in writing the number and location of samples and who repairs them
- Ask early, because a refusal you learn about late leaves you no route at all
- A visual inspection still shows maintenance, details and where the roof sits in its life
- It cannot show the layer count, the insulation or the deck condition
Those are the two things that separate a repair budget from a replacement budget, so where cores are off the table, say so in the report and price the uncertainty as a range with the assumption written next to it.
Can my lender use the report?
Only if the report says so. A report is addressed to the party who engaged us, and other parties cannot pick it up and treat it as theirs.
- A letter naming the lender is agreed at the engagement stage
- Adding names to a finished report is slower and worst done near closing
- Name equity partners and a likely refinance now rather than later
- Ask your lender what it actually requires
Some want a full property condition assessment with the roof as one section, and a roof report written to support it rather than replace it. The assessment gives a standard format, the roof report gives you the depth to negotiate with. Tell us the whole list when you book.
What happens if parts of the roof cannot be reached before closing?
The report says which parts, why, and what that means for the conclusions. We do not rate a section we could not reach.
- Screened equipment, solar arrays, locked tenant areas, unsafe parapets and weak decks
- A second visit once the seller arranges access, where the section is large or old
- A view from a lift or a drone shows condition but not what is underfoot
- Or price the risk into the negotiation and move on
What matters for your file is that the gap is visible. A buyer who knows one section was never seen can make a decision about it. A buyer who believes the whole roof was inspected cannot.