Boom Lift Financing for Roofing Contractors

A telescopic boom with a material-handling attachment moves membrane rolls, insulation boards, and equipment to a commercial roof faster than any other method short of a dedicated material hoist. Roofing contractors who do consistent commercial work figured this out a long time ago, and the ones who own their access equipment go into every bid with a cost structure that rental-dependent shops cannot match.

We fund booms for commercial roofing contractors: straight telescopic booms for material staging and large-area flat roof work, articulating booms for coping, flashing, parapet work, and jobs where the platform needs to come up and over a setback, and rough-terrain units for jobs where the approach to the building is unimproved. The funding process is designed for contractors who work fast and cannot wait three weeks for a bank to finish a credit committee review.

Flat commercial roofing, TPO, EPDM, modified bitumen, BUR, the work happens on top of a building that may be anywhere from 15 to 60 feet above grade. The boom does two things: it gets the crew up for edge work, coping installation, and penetration flashing, and it lifts material from the ground to the deck. A unit spec'd for both roles needs enough platform capacity to carry a meaningful material load (some manufacturers spec the platform to 500 or 750 pounds) and enough height to clear the parapet with room to work.

For one-to-three-story commercial buildings, a 45-foot telescopic or articulating boom covers most scenarios. The 45-foot class new runs $80,000 to $110,000; used units in clean condition trade from $40,000 to $65,000, which can land just below our $50,000 minimum. A 60-foot boom handles four-to-five-story buildings and is one of the most versatile units a roofing company can own. Used 60-footers in the $55,000-$85,000 range are common in the secondary market and finance cleanly.

For larger commercial, institutional, or industrial buildings with higher parapets, the 80-foot class is the standard. These machines new run $130,000 to $180,000; used from $80,000 to $130,000. At those prices, an short-doc deal handles the transaction without requiring tax returns or financial statements, which speeds the close considerably.

Roofing contractors have cash flow that looks seasonal and lumpy from the outside. A big commercial reroof contract pays at completion or on milestones; residential storm work comes in waves; slow winters show up in the statements. Our underwriters read those patterns for what they are, not against a standard-business-revenue template that does not apply to construction.

The file is: short application, recent operating bank statements. Decision in a day. Funding in roughly two weeks. For transactions under $400,000, no tax returns. That covers virtually every boom purchase a roofing contractor makes, even a fleet purchase of two or three machines.

For roofing companies running multiple crews on commercial work, a credit line for equipment can be more flexible than individual transactions. Set up the line now, draw on it as you buy machines through the season, pay it down as jobs complete. The line stays available for the next purchase without a full re-underwrite.

Roofing companies tend to accumulate equipment quietly. A boom bought six years ago for $90,000, paid down to $15,000, and now worth $70,000 on the market represents $55,000 in idle equity. Multiply that by two or three machines and you have meaningful working capital sitting in the yard doing nothing.

A sale-leaseback unlocks that equity without selling the iron. We buy the unit at fair market value, pay you the cash, and you lease it back at a monthly figure. The machine stays in your yard and goes to the next job. The cash goes to the slow-season operating line, materials for a new contract, or a piece of equipment you actually need to add.

A cash-out refinance is a simpler alternative if you want to keep the ownership structure: we refinance the existing note at the current value, pay off the old balance, and cut you a check for the difference. Both structures work; the right one depends on your accounting setup and how you want the machine to appear on the books.

Single-crew commercial roofers who just landed their first large flat-roof contract and need access equipment to do the job without eating the profit in rental costs. Multi-crew companies that are tired of renting and have finally reached the job volume where ownership is obviously the better deal. Established roofing companies with old iron and equity they have not thought to touch.

Credit matters less here than it does at a bank. We work with roofing contractors coming off a slow year, a worker's comp claim that hit the bank account hard, or a tax lien that is being addressed. B and C credit programs are a standard part of what we offer, and the underwrite rests on what the bank statements show, not on a credit score in isolation.

Storm restoration roofing companies have a specific cash-flow pattern: large deposits after hail events, slow periods between storms, and insurance payment timing that does not match normal business cycles. We underwrite those files based on the aggregate deposit pattern, which usually tells a strong story even when the timing of individual deposits looks irregular.

If the boom goes to the same building type every month, you should own it. One application, three months of statements, funded in two weeks. Bring us the machine you want and we will close the deal.