Roof and attic due diligence for Michigan IRA property

A roof can look orderly from the driveway and still have a leak at a chimney, worn flashing around a vent, or an attic that tells a different story. New shingles can cover old decking. A dry ceiling on inspection day does not show what happens during wind-driven rain or melting snow. Roof due diligence works best when the exterior, attic, drainage, repair history, and proposed use are reviewed as one system.

A self-directed IRA buyer also needs to know how the account will pay for inspections, repairs, snow or debris removal, and eventual replacement. The plan cannot depend on the IRA owner climbing onto the roof, buying materials personally, or covering a contractor invoice while the custodian catches up. Those operating details belong in the purchase review, not in the first leak after closing.

Build the roof record before estimating its age

Ask for invoices, contracts, permits, final inspection records, warranty documents, photographs taken during prior work, insurance repair records available to the buyer, and maintenance reports. Match each item to the building and roof section it covers. A receipt for shingles may describe one slope, an addition, or detached garage rather than a complete replacement. The installation date also does not prove what happened to the decking, flashing, ventilation, or drainage below and around the new surface.

Look for the work sequence. If a leak was reported, identify the location, suspected cause, repair, and any interior restoration. If the roof was replaced, ask whether old layers were removed, what the contractor found after removal, and which components were reused. Keep seller statements separate from contractor records. Both can be useful, but they are not the same evidence.

• Installation dates and scopes for every roof section, addition, porch, garage, canopy, and low-slope area
• Invoices, permits, final approvals, contractor information, photographs, warranties, and transfer requirements
• Leak reports, insurance claims available to the buyer, interior repairs, and follow-up inspections
• Records for skylights, chimneys, vents, rooftop equipment, solar equipment, gutters, drains, and heat cables
• Known areas that were inaccessible, covered by snow, or omitted from an earlier inspection

Inspect the roof as a connected system

The covering is only one part of the review. Ask the inspector or qualified roofing professional to examine the visible condition of shingles or other roof materials, transitions between slopes, valleys, ridges, eaves, flashing, penetrations, edge details, drainage, and the surfaces below runoff. On a flat or low-slope roof, ponding, seams, membrane condition, drains, scuppers, parapets, and rooftop equipment may deserve added attention.

The report should say how the roof was viewed. A ground observation, camera pole, drone flight, ladder at the eave, and direct roof access reveal different things. Weather, height, pitch, fragile materials, snow, wet surfaces, occupied areas, locked hatches, and safety concerns may limit access. A useful report names those limits instead of turning a partial view into a building-wide conclusion.

Pay close attention where unlike materials meet. Chimneys, masonry walls, dormers, skylights, plumbing vents, satellite mounts, solar attachments, rooftop HVAC equipment, and additions create joints that can fail before the broad roof field does. A small stain beneath one of those points may call for a focused repair, but the professional should still decide whether the surrounding assembly or an older water path changes the scope.

Let the attic test the exterior story

When lawful and safe access is available, the attic can show conditions that are hard to see from outside. Ask the inspector to look for staining, active moisture, damaged or altered framing, daylight at openings, rusted fasteners, compressed or displaced insulation, blocked vents, disconnected ducts, animal entry, and signs of earlier repairs. The inspection should distinguish what was observed from what was hidden by insulation, finishes, storage, or limited clearance.

A moisture mark does not date itself. It may come from an active roof leak, an old leak that was repaired, condensation, an exhaust duct, plumbing, or wind-blown precipitation. A moisture meter reading on one day also has limits. Ask the inspector, roofer, and any building-envelope or mechanical professional needed for the property to trace the likely source before a stain is labeled solved.

Attic ventilation and air sealing should be reviewed together. Warm, moist indoor air reaching a cold roof assembly can contribute to condensation or ice-related problems, while a bathroom or kitchen exhaust terminating in the attic can add moisture directly. Do not assume that adding vents by count will correct the building. The right response depends on the roof design, insulation, air leakage, mechanical ventilation, and present conditions.

Follow rain and snow all the way off the property

West Michigan weather makes the runoff path worth tracing. Gutters and roof drains need to collect water, outlets need to remain usable, and discharge needs to move away without creating a foundation, sidewalk, parking, or neighboring-property problem. Look for overflow marks, eroded soil, loose or back-pitched gutters, damaged downspouts, buried extensions with unknown outlets, clogged drains, and discharge beside basement walls.

Ask how snow and ice affect entrances, lower roofs, equipment, sidewalks, and areas used by tenants or customers. A steep upper roof may shed onto a porch roof. Drifting can load one area differently from another. Repeated ice at an eave may deserve review of heat loss, ventilation, drainage, and the roof edge rather than another temporary surface treatment. Structural load conclusions and repair design belong to qualified professionals who have examined the building.

Read warranties for the roof that is actually being sold

A warranty can help only if it applies to the installed product or workmanship, remains in force, and can be used by the new owner. Request the complete document rather than a marketing summary. Check the covered roof section, named owner, installer, start date, term, exclusions, maintenance duties, notice procedure, transfer deadline, transfer fee, remedy, and whether labor, materials, disposal, or interior damage are included.

Confirm transfer requirements before closing. Some documents require notice or paperwork within a set period, and a contractor may need to inspect the roof first. Have the buyer's attorney and roofing professional review any warranty the purchase decision depends on. A warranty does not replace a condition inspection, and an active document does not promise that every future leak or replacement cost will be paid.

Turn findings into comparable scopes

Ask bidders to price the same work. The scope should identify roof sections, removal or overlay assumptions, decking allowances, underlayment, flashing, penetrations, ventilation work, insulation or air-sealing coordination, gutters or drains, permits, cleanup, disposal, and restoration. It should also say what happens if concealed damage appears after removal. A low bid may simply exclude items that another contractor included.

Roof work often reaches other trades. Chimney masonry, electrical service attachments, solar equipment, HVAC curbs, structural framing, asbestos-containing materials, lead-based paint, and interior water damage may need separate professionals and a clear sequence. If a repair changes the building envelope, ask who is responsible for design details and who will verify the completed work before it is concealed.

Michigan LARA's building-permit guidance says code enforcement may be handled by the state, county, or local unit of government and directs applicants to the appropriate enforcing agency. The correct office can differ among nearby West Michigan addresses. Ask that office whether the proposed work needs a permit, what documents it expects, and what final approval closes the permit. A contractor's statement that a permit is unnecessary should not be the only record when the answer matters to the budget or schedule.

Budget for replacement without pretending to know the exact year

A roof does not come with a reliable countdown visible from the street. Material, installation, slope, exposure, ventilation, maintenance, foot traffic, storm history, repairs, and concealed conditions all affect performance. Ask the professional to describe present condition, urgent work, expected monitoring, and the basis and limits of any remaining-service estimate. Avoid turning a broad product lifespan into a promise about this installation.

Put immediate repairs, a future replacement allowance, ordinary cleaning or drain service, professional inspections, and related interior or exterior restoration into the IRA budget. Then compare the remaining account cash with taxes, insurance, management, utilities, vacancy, and other known work. Do not erase a roof cost with assumed rent, full occupancy, appreciation, an insurance payment, or refinancing. None is guaranteed.

Plan occupied work around the building and the lease

For an occupied property, decide how inspection and work will affect entrances, parking, noise, debris, interior access, utilities, business operations, and tenant belongings. The property manager and Michigan attorney should review notice, entry, lease duties, temporary arrangements, and communication before the schedule is promised. Contractors control the work zone; they do not decide the landlord's legal obligations.

Use the same written process for access, repair response, temporary measures, and accommodation requests. HUD states that the Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. Roof decisions should follow documented building conditions, qualified recommendations, lease rights, and applicable law rather than a tenant's protected characteristics. Michigan and local protections may also apply.

Keep the roof project inside the IRA process

Ask the self-directed IRA custodian how inspection fees, contractor deposits, permits, emergency tarping, repairs, warranties, insurance proceeds, refunds, and later maintenance must be authorized and paid. Confirm the purchaser name, signer, invoice wording, and funding lead time. If the seller will complete work before closing, have the purchase agreement define the scope, credentials, permits, inspection rights, completion records, and response if the work is incomplete.

IRS prohibited-transaction guidance includes furnishing goods or services between a plan and a disqualified person and describes improper use of an IRA by its owner, beneficiary, or another disqualified person. Do not assume the IRA owner can inspect from the roof, clean gutters, patch a leak, supply materials, direct personal labor, or pay a contractor and seek reimbursement. The custodian, CPA, and attorney should review the people, work, contracts, signatures, and payment path before anyone acts.

This article is educational, not legal, tax, financial, roofing, engineering, construction, insurance, fair-housing, retirement-plan, or investment advice. No property, roof system, contractor, warranty, ownership structure, or strategy is approved or endorsed by the IRS. Have your own self-directed IRA custodian, CPA, Michigan attorney, inspector, qualified roofing and building professionals, insurer, property manager, enforcing agency, and other advisors review the account, building, records, proposed work, and transaction before taking action.

Leave closing with a roof file someone can use

Keep the inspection report, attic notes, dated photographs, roof plans when available, installation and repair records, permits, final approvals, contractor credentials, scopes, estimates, warranties, transfer confirmations, insurance correspondence, tenant communications, custodian instructions, and closing documents together. Add a simple roof diagram that marks each section, penetration, drain, known repair, and area that could not be inspected. The next service call should begin with a usable history rather than a guess from the driveway.

Primary sources for the public-rule portions of this review include Michigan LARA's Building Permit Information and Code Books pages, HUD's Fair Housing Act overview, and the IRS retirement-plan investment and prohibited-transaction guidance. They provide the general framework. The answer for one roof comes from current records, field inspection, the responsible enforcing agency, and the buyer's own qualified professionals.

Rennie can help identify West Michigan property and coordinate the real estate records, professional access, repair questions, and offer deadlines needed for this review. Roof conclusions, contractor selection, legal duties, insurance coverage, and retirement-account decisions stay with the buyer's own professionals and public authorities.