Due Diligence Roof Surveys in Kenosha, WI

What the Survey Covers

The survey covers every roof section on the property. We walk the field, edges, penetrations, drains and flashings, photograph findings with dates, and mark each on a roof plan. We cut cores where moisture is suspected and where the plan needs a record of the assembly: membrane, insulation, deck.

We also review what the seller can provide: warranties, prior reports, repair invoices and installation records. Where documents are missing, the report says so. The survey ends with a rating for each section and a sorted list of items: repair before closing, repair after closing and plan for the reserve.

Equipment and access come next. We note every rooftop unit, vent and skylight, the condition of its curb and flashing, and how the roof is reached: interior ladder, exterior ladder or roof hatch. A building that needs a lift to reach the roof carries a higher cost for every later inspection, and the buyer should know that before closing.

Immediate Repairs and Reserve Items

Buyers and lenders think in two lists. The first is immediate repairs: open seams, failed flashings, clogged drains and areas where water is entering now. The second is reserve items: sections nearing the end of reliable service, with a timing range the evidence supports.

We keep the lists separate, because they feed different decisions. The immediate list informs the purchase price or a repair credit. The reserve list informs the lender's reserve and the buyer's capital plan. The capital planning format can pick up the reserve items directly after closing.

Each immediate repair carries a location, a photograph and a proposed method. Each reserve item carries the evidence for its timing: wet core, repeated repairs, a ponding record or an open seam pattern. The buyer can then ask the seller for a credit on the first list and plan the second list into the hold period. The lender sees both lists and the basis for each.

Evidence a Lender Will Accept

A lender wants to see how a conclusion was reached. The report ties every rating to photographs and measurements, and it lists the cores with their locations and results. A third-party reviewer can compare the report with the roof and find the same conditions.

Where a moisture survey is warranted, we add a map. An infrared moisture survey narrows the cores to the places that matter and reduces the number of cuts on a roof the buyer does not yet own. Every core is patched the day it is cut, and the patch is photographed.

Warranty status is part of the evidence. If the roof carries a manufacturer's warranty, we read the conditions, check for transfer terms and note whether the roof's history matches them. A warranty that cannot be transferred or that has lapsed through missing maintenance changes the value of the roof, and the report states that plainly.

Coordinating With the Seller, Broker and Lender

A survey runs through several parties. The seller grants access and supplies records, the broker schedules the visit and the lender sets the format of the report. We confirm the access plan in writing: dates, contacts, roof hatch locations, any tenant notice that applies and the safety requirements of the site.

If the building is occupied, we coordinate with the property manager and keep the work away from tenant operations. In a distribution building, that means staying clear of dock activity. In a medical building, it means avoiding areas where patient care is underway and following the facility's infection-control rules.

The report goes to the party who commissioned it, and we provide a short summary letter suitable for the lender. Findings that need immediate attention are called in the same day, so the buyer has time to decide before a contingency period ends. Where the lender asks for clarification, we answer from the file.

Building Types in the Kenosha Area

A survey here can land on several building types. Pleasant Prairie's LakeView Corporate Park spreads more than 80 companies across roughly 2,000 acres, and the village counts over 10 million square feet built there, all within Pleasant Prairie. Racine County has large manufacturing plants, and Kenosha itself holds warehouses and distribution centers tied to Amazon, Rust-Oleum, Uline and Associated Wholesale Grocers.

Medical buildings can be part of a purchase as well. Kenosha has two hospitals, and St. Catherine's Medical Center opened in Pleasant Prairie in 2002. Each building type brings its own survey issues: large fields and dock edges for distribution, process exhaust for plants, rooftop equipment and shutdown limits for medical space.

Surveying in Winter and Snow Cover

Contracts do not wait for spring. A Kenosha winter brings about 36.2 inches of snow, and the Groundhog Day storm of 2011 left roughly 23 inches by itself. A roof under snow cannot be fully walked, and cores through ice are difficult to read.

When the survey must happen in winter, we say so in the report. We clear test areas where possible, use thermal tools on cold, clear days, and list sections that could not be examined. The report can then recommend a follow-up walk after the thaw or a holdback tied to the unseen area. That clarity protects both buyer and lender from assuming the whole roof was seen.

Wind history also enters a survey. Tornadoes on January 7, 2008 touched down in Somers and on Kenosha's north side, and the Wheatland twister that day was the first confirmed in the county since 2001. For a building in the affected area, the survey looks closely at edge metal, coping and perimeter laps, and asks the seller whether any storm repairs were made and by whom. Repair records from that period belong in the file.

Carrying the Survey Into Ownership

After closing, the survey becomes the baseline. Section numbers, photographs and ratings move into the roof register, and the first scheduled inspection compares the roof against the survey. Findings that were open at closing are tracked until they close.

For a buyer with other buildings in Lake County, Illinois or Racine County, the same survey format works across sites. That consistency helps when a portfolio grows by acquisition and the facility team needs a single way to compare roofs. The multi-site roof program builds on those surveys.