A roof maintenance agreement is a signed plan for seasonal roof inspections and the small upkeep those visits turn up, with every repair quoted separately. A service division is the crew and office routine that runs those visits and answers the repair calls between them. Commercial property managers have a reason to sign that has nothing to do with buying a roof: GAF says its commercial guarantees expect the owner to follow a maintenance program.
NRCA and GAF both call for spring and fall inspections
NRCA, the National Roofing Contractors Association, recommends scheduled roof inspections at least twice a year, preferably in spring and fall. Its reasoning is about shingles. Asphalt shingle roofs take the most wear in freezing temperatures and peak summer heat, so each visit catches that season’s wear before the next season starts. NRCA also advises an inspection after severe storms with hail, wind or heavy snow.
GAF gives the same spring and fall advice for commercial roof systems and publishes a Scheduled Maintenance Checklist for building owners.
Write two scheduled visits and a storm visit into every plan, and start the commercial visit list from GAF’s checklist.
A GAF commercial guarantee gives property managers a reason to sign
If a building owner skips that maintenance program, GAF says the guarantee can be cancelled. GAF also tells owners to keep the guarantee, inspection reports, repair bills, and the original drawings and invoices. Every dated report you send goes straight into that file, so the plan gives the property manager a record that the maintenance was done.
Read the guarantee on the building before you pitch, then lead with the paperwork it asks for. For finding those property managers in the first place, see Commercial Roofing Leads: Where Property Managers and GCs Find Roofers.
A service agreement puts you on the building before the re-roof is bid
An r/RoofingSales post relays a YouTube video in which Bryan Mitchell says he grew a roofing company to about $70 million, with $14 million of it from service.
The post sums up his reasoning: “only about 5% of roofs need replacement in any given year, but 100% need service.” It frames the maintenance agreement as the way to already be the roofer on the building when the re-roof comes up, instead of one of four bidders.
Note the roof’s condition at every visit, so the report trail shows which buildings are heading toward a re-roof before anyone asks for bids.
A service division should keep the property manager from chasing you
A commercial roofing operator in a Facebook group wrote that a service division improves most when you audit a repair request from the property manager’s side, starting with whether anyone confirmed the request arrived. The operator’s complaint was that “the property manager had to manage our company through the entire process.”
Reply to every service request as soon as it arrives, saying who is coming and when. After the visit, send photos and a written report without waiting to be asked.
Pitch a homeowner plan as NRCA’s schedule for any shingle roof
A roofing sales rep on r/RoofingSales worried that offering an after-care plan to someone who just bought a new roof sounds like “Hey, your roof isn’t worry-free for years to come.”
Name NRCA as the source of the schedule, so the visits read as the trade association’s advice for keeping a shingle roof in shape. NRCA publishes a homeowner guide, “Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems: A Homeowners Guide for Inspection, Maintenance and Repair,” which you can point a buyer to as a neutral reference from a group that isn’t selling the plan.
Offer the plan at the final walkthrough and price it from your own labor and drive time for the visits and reports. For what each report should contain, see Roof Inspection Report Template and Checklist.
Texas exempts a maintenance-only plan from its service contract rules
Texas regulates service contract providers under Occupations Code Chapter 1304, which the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) enforces. Section 1304.004 says the chapter does not apply to a maintenance agreement, defined as one that provides only for scheduled maintenance for a limited period. A plan that also promises to repair or replace the roof when something fails may fall under the service contract rules instead.
Before you add covered repairs to a Texas plan, ask a Texas attorney or TDLR. Outside Texas, put the same question to your state’s licensing board or an attorney before you sell any repair coverage.
Fill in this one-page maintenance agreement
The template below covers maintenance only and quotes every repair separately. Have an attorney in your state read it before you send the first one.
Roof Maintenance Agreement
- Between: [Your company name and license number, if your state issues one] and [owner or property manager] for the property at [address].
- Roof covered: [roof type], about [ ] squares, installed in [year] by [installer]. Manufacturer warranty or guarantee: [name and number, or none].
- Term: [12] months from [start date].
- Scheduled visits: one inspection in spring and one in fall, each booked at least [ ] days ahead.
- Storm visits: after hail, high wind or heavy snow, one inspection within [ ] days of the owner’s request, [included in the price / $[ ] per visit].
- Each visit includes: an inspection of the roof surface, flashings, drains and penetrations, dated photos, and a written report delivered within [ ] days. Routine maintenance done during the visit: [list, for example clearing debris from drains and gutters].
- Repairs: anything beyond the routine maintenance listed above is quoted in writing and done only after the owner approves that quote.
- Records: the owner receives a copy of every report and invoice to keep with the roof’s warranty or guarantee file.
- Price and payment: $[ ] per [year / visit], billed [annually / per visit], due within [ ] days of invoice.
- Renewal: this agreement ends at the close of the term. [Company] will send a renewal offer at least [ ] days before it ends.
- Cancellation: either side may cancel with [ ] days’ written notice. Unused visits are [refunded at $[ ] each / not refunded].
- Roof access: the owner provides access through [hatch or ladder point, and keys] and an on-site contact: [name, phone].
- Signed: [company representative, date] and [owner or property manager, date].
Check these before you sell the first plan
- Two scheduled visits, in spring and fall, plus a storm visit after hail, wind or heavy snow.
- A dated photo report after every visit, with a copy for the owner’s warranty or guarantee file.
- The building’s guarantee read before any commercial pitch.
- Repairs quoted separately, and an attorney’s answer before any plan promises to cover them.
- A reply to every service request saying who is coming and when.
- NRCA named as the source of the schedule at every final walkthrough.
If you want to see where your company shows up when a building owner searches for a roofer, try the free Google Maps heatmap. Pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.