You may not realize it, but the roofing structure on a commercial building is an incredibly important feature.  While flat roofs are easily the most common type of commercial roof and flat roofs also happen to be one of the most disposable components of a commercial building.  So, how can you use a flat roof as a negotiating tool when you are purchasing a new building?  Know your stuff, that’s how.

Indeed, retrofits of flat roofs, of any type of roof really, are very expensive.  Depending on the square footage of the roof, a retrofit of a flat roof can cost anywhere from thousands to millions of dollars.  As such, before you agree to purchase any building it is very important to get as much information as you can about the condition of the roof; after all, installation, repair, or replacement of a new roof will have a significant price tag.  When you decide to spend your money on a new building, you don’t want to find out later on down the road that you need to spend a bunch more on a new roof.

Using a flat roof as a bargaining chip in commercial building purchases is nothing new.  Savvy real estate investors know how to make many features of a building work in their favour and ultimately reduce the price of a property.  Indeed, if you have a roof properly inspected and you know that you’ll have to do major roofing repairs soon after you take ownership of a building, than you will most likely be able to have the price of the building reduced by an amount similar to the cost of the roofing work.

So how do you know about the condition of the roof?  Obviously, you need to insist on having the entire building inspected before you agree to purchase, so you should also consider hiring a qualified roofing inspector to review the condition of the flat commercial roof.  During the inspection, this professional will review all elements of the roof from materials to fixtures and provide you a comprehensive report and appraisal of the roof.  Your inspector should even give you an estimate for the cost of any repairs or maintenance the flat roof may require.

There are also side benefits to negotiating purchasing price on commercial buildings with flat roofs.  In fact, you may want to seek out properties with flat roofs because of the flexibility they offer.  If you can negotiate a great price on a commercial building with a flat roof, you have the option to install solar panels or other advanced roofing technologies that can further translate into significant savings on energy and heating costs.

More about Commercial roofing services – http://www.bcroofing.ca/commercial-roofing-vancouver/