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Cert-A-Roof® has found a unique opportunity to implement an exciting new service for meeting roofing needs while providing everyone involved the opportunity to achieve superior results and prosperity.
The Real Estate Community
Real estate ownership is a dominate thread woven into the fabric of the American Dream from our earliest history. Property ownership is so entrenched in the American mind, both as concept and desire, that the real estate industry often remains strong, even when other sectors of the economy slump.
As an industry, real estate encompasses a far-reaching network of individuals essential to the realization of this piece of American’s promise. The network includes homeowners, buyers, sellers, real estate agents, third party inspectors, appraisers, lenders, escrow account trustees, lawyers and insurers. This richly diverse network, each an important link in the real estate transaction loop or chain, we call “the real estate community.”
Each time a building or structure changes hands, everyone involved in the transaction—the entire real estate community--shares a common “top of mind” concern: the roof.
The reason is simple. A sound roof free of leaks protects a building from structural and interior water damage. A roof in poor condition doesn’t. Indeed, few features are as important to the overall integrity of a structure as a leak-free roof.
Each year, Americans invest roughly $11.8 billion for services to inspect, certify, repair or replace a roof. At any given moment, over 70 million buildings across the country are susceptible to damage to ceilings, walls, beams, draperies and furniture because the roof has flaws, is wearing out, has suffered damaged or has leaks requiring immediate attention.
Indeed, the risk to investment is so substantial that when a property is placed on the market for sale, the law requires both the seller and the listing agent to sign a statement disclosing the condition of the roof. In many states, the realtor as well as the property owner is liable for any claims against failure to disclose. This presents a situation of exposure most sellers and agents choose to avoid. What are the options?
Since few property owners or real estate agents have the knowledge to accurately evaluate a roof’s condition, most choose to rely on certification by third party property inspectors.
Because of the liability exposure, however, few third party property inspectors, feel competent enough to risk assuming the responsibility for the roof. Most sidestep this critical component by insisting that a qualified roofing specialist be called in for a comprehensive inspection of the roof.
Appraisers too, frequently recommend that a roofing specialist verify that the roof is in good shape in order to protect the interests of the lender. For most conventional loans, the decision to call in a roofing specialist is at the discretion of the appraiser. For FHA and VA lenders, it is mandatory that appraisers certify that the roof is sound.
Insurance providers are equally impacted. Each year, insurance companies pay out $6 billion in homeowner claims alone for roof-related damage, including damage to the interior of the home caused by water penetration.
No member of the real estate community escapes the need for some type of roofing service for the smooth execution of a property transaction to keep the American “dream” from becoming a nightmarish experience.
Today’s Roofing Industry
When turning to the roofing industry for help, the real estate community can depend on only one thing—inconsistency. Contractors frequently show up late, miss appointments, fail to present detailed or accurate estimates, are sloppy in appearance and careless in workmanship. There are no industry-wide standards for conduct or performance by which the real estate community can set their expectations or turn to for redress.
Currently, the US roofing industry is comprised of over 30,000 roofing contractors and an estimated 400,000 general contractors who perform roofing work. Roofers are a disparate, disjointed, fragmented group. Most are small independent contractors. Because of their independence and geographical diversity, roofers lack any uniformity of standards other than the standards of installation set down by manufacturers of roofing materials. They are, in the truest sense of the word, freelancers. The professional associations in the US are concerned almost exclusively with legislation that affects the roofing industry or with installation procedures for specific roofing materials. There is no unifying association or professional standards review organization for standardized forms, procedures, quality of workmanship or business practice. This can mean failed expectations, frustrations and time delays for members of the real estate community in need of evaluation, certification or repair as a prerequisite for closing a transaction.
A buyer from New York expecting a formal, typed roof certification for a property she’s purchasing in Arkansas might get cold feet if the “certification” is a short, scribbled note saying “OK.” Likewise, an insurance adjuster might delay claim work lacking a detailed “scope of repair” including specifications for material and labor. Confusion, anxiety and dismay waste time and energy for everyone involved.
Certifications “of convenience” to push through a deal for buyer or seller, inaccuracies and outright fraudulent statements often create havoc and expense for innocent parties as well as for the roofing contractor. Indeed, many small contractors have been forced out of business by property owner claims they were ill-prepared to meet.
The answer is fundamental. And simple. Codify terminology and procedures, establish uniform operating procedures with requirements for good business practice, standardize paperwork and formats for documentation and set coast-to-coast, uniform standards for performance. Real estate agency networks, relocation companies, insurers and other members of the real estate community each have smoothly functioning, well established national standards and procedures. Yet currently there is no unifying organization or platform for setting and regulating standards for a partner the real estate community depends on--the roofing industry.
Needs Of The Real Estate Community
With more than 5.6 million homes/properties changing hands each year, everyone within the loop for real estate transactions—the entire spectrum of the real estate community--needs reliable, accurate, standardized services from a qualified roofing professional.
With protection from law suits and peace of mind as well as large sums of money at stake, the real estate community, including insurers, is crying out for nationwide, uniform standards and procedures for roof-related services. The real estate community demands, wants, needs and merits consistently timely, high-quality, honest, uniform standards for inspections, certifications, repair and replacement.
It is unrealistic to expect independent operators to have the resources and organizational abilities to provide solutions for the real estate community. It is more realistic to anticipate that the estimated 30,000 roofing contractors and 400,000 general contractors who currently perform roofing work will remain disorganized, fragmented and without standardized training or codes of conduct.
Please view our Mission and Vision
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