Should Your Repair Or Replace The Roof When Selling Your Home?

SchippertRoof repairs can be expensive, so to many homeowners looking to sell their home, the temptation to sell a home “As Is” can be attractive.

Preparing a home to sell can be time consuming and costly, so many homeowners are always looking for way to sell quickly with as little muss and fuss as possible.

“Is the paint really that bad?”, “Will replacing the shingles on the roof really factor in to how fast or how much my home sells for?”, “Do I really need to repair my 20-year old roof?”

Sellers can spend hours, days, even weeks going back and forth on why or why not make repairs. If you find yourself wondering what to do about your roof before your sell consider the following:

 

Making The Decision

Take stock of your home, the current market conditions, and nearby home sales activity. Like any major part of your home such as electrical, appliances, and plumbing you should know as much as you can about your roof before listing your home.

Get a complete inspection from a local home inspector to get a better picture of what could and could not be problems for home buyers or lenders (if financing is required). If the inspection reveals potential problems with the roof, whether minor or major than you should answer a few more questions.

What Is Wrong With The Roof?

A home inspector isn’t an expert in roofing, but if he brings up some potential problems with the roof, now is the time to call in a local, reputable roof contractor to inspect further. Bring in a few to compare prices and so you can factor in whether it’s worth fixing pre-sale or whether it’s reasonable to simply lower the price of your home to compensate.

Why Would You Choose To Repair The Roof Prior To Listing It?

The main reason to repair a roof prior to listing a home on the market is to sell it faster. Well-maintained homes sell much quicker not only because they look better during tours but makes things much easier on the buyer who can make a decision without deciding on what is and what is not “worth the hassle” when it comes to problems with the home.

Why Would You Choose To Sell It “As-Is”?

The main reason anyone would sell a home with roof problems is generally they either can’t afford it or simply don’t want to deal with it. In both cases it’s important to know that this decision can have a negative impact on the final sales price. This is where knowing the current market conditions and what similar homes around you have sold for come in handy.

If you are in a “sellers market”, you could get lucky and the home buyers may accept the home including minor maintenance problems with the roof just to ensure they get the home without affecting the final sales price. However, if a lender is involved, this could complicate matters.

Normally, lenders don’t make a big fuss over minor issues with a roof, but if the roof is older and nearing the end if it’s useful lifespan or has major problems, they could (and often will) make roof repairs a condition of the loan being approved. This puts the repairs back into the sellers hands and is usually required to close. Although in some cases, extremely motivated buyers will split the costs or cover a percentage, don’t count on it.

So basically it all comes down to, if the roof is near the end of it’s useful life, just replace it, if not, consider how quickly you want to sell, current market conditions, what similar homes around you sell for and what is actually wrong and how much it will cost to fix and make a decision based on those answers.

In Metro Atlanta, call Atlanta Roofing Specialists at 770-419-2222 for any questions about your roof and to schedule a free roof inspection today!

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