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ACT Contractors Forms... From The Paper Side of Contracting.

Roofing Contractor Forms. Roof Certification Form and Your Roofing Co

Posted by Bill Baird on Thu, Oct 15, 2009 @ 17:10 PM

Roof Certification Inspection

Roof Certs, Roofing Certification Form, Certification of Roof Covering Form, no matter what you call it, this form and the roof certification process, is critical to most residential real estate sales.

WHAT IS A ROOF CERTIFICATION? 

Before most lenders will write a loan for an existing home, whether it is a re-finance or new purchase, FHA, and HUD require  that the entire roof surface be certified to "find that the roof is in good condition for it's age, does not leak and has an estimated remaining useful life of over 2 years."  Usually, the roof "certifier" is also required to guarantee this by providing a 2-year, no leak guarantee.  If the roof leaks in this two year period, the certifier is required to fix any leak at no charge provided the leak is not the result of physical damage to the roof from whatever source.  

WHO DOES A ROOF CERTIFICATION?

While Appraisers and Home Inspectors often make notes about the condition of a roof when they are filling out their reports, a roof certification must be done by someone who will stand behind the certification. If the roof leaks during the period it is certified for, the person or company that made the certification is obligated to fix the leak or... HAVE the leak fixed at their expense, as stated above.  Therefore, most roof certifications are done by roofing contractors as they are equipped to make any repairs.  Also, a professional roofing contractor has the necessary expertise and skills needed to make sure the roof will last the required 2-years. 

ROOFING CONTRACTORS THIS CAN BE A GREAT BUSINESS TO GET INTO!

There are many roofing contractors who do nothing but Roof Certifications and the work related to these. Typically, the price for a basic roof certification, with no remedial repairs, ranges from $150 to $350 and that is for only an hour or two's work! If repairs or even a re-roof are needed, usually the roofing contractor certifying the roof, does the work. So you can see this can be a VERY lucrative direction any roofing contractor might want to take their business.

WHAT DO ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEED TO DO ROOF CERTIFICATIONS?

Roof Certification, just like any home inspection services, can benefit greatly by using a software program designed to assist in this process. 

 

Of course you will need the right roof certification form and having this in a software program is critical. Also, those doing roof certifications will need a way to easily and inexpensively, include photos of the roof and any problem areas with their certification. Particularly helpful is a way to transmit the roof certification form, the photos, and other documents to the property owner, realtor, and/or financial institution, electronically.

 

Roofing Contractor performing a roof certification.

A roofing contractors form software program that can easily "drag and drop" photos to a form designed for photos, and that includes the necessary, approved, roofing certification form(s) and other documents, with the capabilities of converting all these documents to a secure PDF file for easy transmittal by email, is important to the success of any roofing contractor going into the roof certification business.

 

Nothing will say "amateur" like a roof certification filled in by hand with Polaroid pictures attached, and of course, these must be faxed, hand delivered or mailed to the client. With a PDF, you do not even have to go to the expense of PRINTING out the certification documents and photos! Any hard copies will be printed out by the recipient of the emailed PDF files!

  

Do you have questions about roof certification forms and how they are used?  Thinking about a roofing contractors form software program for handling your job photos, your paperwork- both insurance and day-to-day, and "sending" these by email? Please post questions and comments below!

 

Topics: roofing contractor forms, roof certification, roof certification form, roofing contractor software

California Contractors forms must not show "bonded" and/or "insured"!

Posted by Bill Baird on Mon, Sep 28, 2009 @ 16:09 PM

California contractors forms cannot have insured or bonded on them.       I received a bid for a new roof on my house last week here in California.  At the top of his roofing bid form and at the bottom of the advertisement from him that I responded to, this very large roofing contractor proudly displayed "bonded and insured".

Behold... two common mistakes have just been made that we find regularly from California Contractors who purchase our contractors forms. 

MISTAKE NUMBER ONE- ADVERTISING YOU ARE BONDED!

California Contractors Law (section 7027.4 of the CA B&P) prohibits including any reference to the contractor being "bonded" in any advertisement, or on any company "paperwork" that could reasonable be considered "advertising", if the bond being refered to is the standard license bond that all California Licensed Contractors must have. Simply stated, unless you have a "special" bond other that the license bond, you are not allowed to mention that you are bonded!

Contractor bid forms or estimate forms, proposals, bid proposals, door hangers, letterheads and most of the other paperwork CA contractors use between themselves and their customers might well be considered an "advertisement" in many cases so it is best to leave the word "bonded" off these as well.

A CSLB disciplinary bond is not a "special" bond!

If you are required to carry a bond, in addition to the standard license bond, as a result of a CSLB disciplinary action against you, the same section of CA Contractors Law also prohibits you from advertising this bond! You have to wonder why any contractor would WANT to tell people about their disciplinary bond, you know the one they got from doing something WRONG, but apparently some do.

MISTAKE NUMBER TWO- ADVERTISING YOU ARE "INSURED"!

A few years ago, California added to the law, (section 7027.4) that has been in place for years, making the word "bonded" a no-no in advertising. These "new" laws state a CA licensed contractor can no longer advertise that they are "insured" unless they state what type of insurance it is! 

So, any reference to "insured" in your company ads and forms must, for example, be stated as "commercial general liability insurance" or "worker's compensation insurance" or better yet "We carry Commercial General Liability and Worker's Compensation Insurance for your protection!"

Silly mistakes like this can get you into trouble with CSLB and if included on your California contractors forms, can interfere with your legal rights as a contractor!

 

Questions or Comments?  Don't be shy! Comment below.

Topics: california contractor law, CSLB laws, roofing contractor forms

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