Watch the roof on old strip centers before you sign anything

I was doing a walkthrough of a 1970s strip center in Mesa two weeks ago and the seller's guy kept steering us away from the roof access. I finally went up there myself and found ponding water sitting 3 inches deep in two spots with the membrane peeling back at the seams. Got a roofer out that same afternoon and he quoted $68,000 to replace the whole thing, which was not in anyone's numbers. We walked and the property sat another 5 months before someone else bought it. Anyone else run into sellers hiding roof issues on these older retail pads?

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the_kelly14h ago

Did the roofer give you any idea how long that ponding had been sitting there? I ask because 3 inches deep does not happen overnight, and if the decking under it was soaked you would have been looking at way more than $68K once they opened it up. Curious if the seller ever produced a roof report or if they just played dumb the whole time. Those older Mesa pads seem to always have one hidden gem like that.

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