How to Negotiate a New Roof When Buying a Home

2 years ago

For most people, buying a home represents the largest single investment they will make. Obviously, they want the best value their budget can buy, but there are times when that perfect home has a major, big-ticket flaw like a leaky roof. Do you walk away or do you try to negotiate a new roof with the seller?

You can negotiate a new roof and you can do it in a way that meets the objectives of both the buyer and the seller.

Suggested Buyer Strategies for Negotiations

If you have a talented, experienced real estate agent working for you, he or she should already be suggesting these options.

The reason you know the roof needs repair or replacement might be because of the property inspection report generated as part of the contingencies in the purchase contract. With that detailed Home Inspection Report, you can then find a licensed, reputable roofing company like Roofstar Arizona to inspect the roof and give you an honest assessment of the roof’s condition and estimate for repair.

Why Should I Pay For a Roof Inspection When I Can Get a “Free Estimate”

“Free Estimates” are not free for contractors. There are costs for driving, inspecting, and creating a report or estimate. Thus, contractors “tweak” that “free estimate” to their advantage to sell the work and recover those costs. Some details may be left out in order to enhance the contractor’s chance of getting work.

When buying a home you need honest, accurate information to negotiate your purchase. Roofstar’s nominal fee for Roof Inspections allows us to give you the whole story of your roof’s condition and what you can expect in the future. You have paid for our time so we give you a thorough report just like your Home Inspector. Home Inspections only provide a visual overview of the roof. Roof Inspections remove tiles to view the roof’s underlayment and flashing construction, parts that provide the real waterproofing seal for your home.

Getting The Roofing Work Done

A bad roof can have serious consequences for both buyer and seller.

Based on the age of the house, lenders may ask for a roof certification. Bankers want to protect their interest in the home and will withhold the mortgage on a house that has a damaged roof.
The age of the roof, whether it is sound or not, is also important to insurance companies and they may not bind a policy on a home if they believe it is damaged or will need replacement within a few years. As a general rule, insurance companies will not issue a policy on a roof constructed of standard asphalt shingles that are 15 years old, 20 years for architectural shingles, or 30 years for tile or metal. No insurance policy means no mortgage.

So both buyer and seller are set up to lose unless an agreement is made to repair the roof.

Here are a few common solutions:

Split the Repair Cost. The old/damaged roof issue is not going to go away once it is identified. That means the seller is going to have to deal with it whether it is with you or the next interested buyer. Consequently, he or she will be motivated to get it resolved so the house can sell. A common solution is to split the cost of repairs. This typically takes the shape of the seller offering credit on the sales price.
Increase Financing on an Under-Appraised Property. If it is the seller’s position that the original sale price was already reduced because they knew there was a roof issue, and if the sale price is less than the lender’s appraisal and the amount you are approved for, then it is fair for the buyer to pick up the cost and cover it by increasing the amount financed.
What NOT to do. Typically, time is of the essence with roof repairs. Unless your lender and insurance have no objection, the repair/replacement needs to be made before the closing of escrow. Under no circumstances agree to the seller handling the project. You do not want a cheap Saturday night special repair job by a less than qualified contractor. You can mutually agree on a contractor or use the contractor of your choice.

Get The Truth About Your Roof

Buying a house is stressful enough. Adding the need for a new roof and the unexpected cost doesn’t help. What can help is using a professional, licensed roofing contractor like Roofstar Arizona to provide you with a thorough inspection and a detailed estimate of costs. Let us help you resolve the roofing issue by providing high-quality roofing that will last for decades.

This is a great company to work with. Worked with them twice over a 10-year period and both great experiences. The last experience involved a very difficult leak in a sun room/solarium and the owner, Jeff, came out and hunted down the leak and made sure that it was resolved. Cannot recommend them high enough. Thank you to Jeff and the Roofstar team.

Michael K.

I have a new roof today thanks to Roofstar. From the estimate with Chris with understanding the process. Able to talk to all top brass with the care and interest in sharing the process through the team that showed up and did The work. Always willing to answer my questions I am thrilled with the results. Thanks Jeff, Jose, Juan, and Chris. I would highly recommend your team. Your onsite workers were fabulous.

Nancy H.

If you are looking for honesty and integrity, look no further. I just had Roofstar repair my roof and they did a great job. We had another company re-do our roof 6 years ago and we were not expecting to have issues. I had a few roofing companies come out and give us estimates on fixing what the other company did wrong. All of the other companies said we had to re-do our whole roof, quoting around $12,000. Roofstar was recommended by my brother who is an insurance agent. He said he has used Roofstar for the past 15 years and said Jeff the owner was the nicest and most honest person he has worked with. He recommends all of his clients to Roofstar.

Bill came out and looked at the roof and said we had a unique issue with the roof. He said he didn’t want to miss quote us and wanted to talk to Jeff (the owner) to get his opinion. The quote came in, but I had a question on how something was going to be fixed. Jeff (the owner) came out to my house and spent at least an hour looking at what need to be done. Tell me, what other company’s owner would come out personally and look at a roof??? Especially in the hot Arizona summer??? Not only did Jeff come out, he figured out that we only needed to repair 50% of the roof and saved us over half of what all the other companies were going to charge. Seriously, who does that these days??? Most companies try to over sell so they can make a larger profit, Jeff didn’t do that!

The crew was great, on time and very professional. They did a great job and made sure they cleaned up after they left each day.

It’s sad that we had to have our roof re-done after only 6 years, but now I feel safe knowing the job was done right.

Thanks to Jeff and Bill for the professionalism and the high level of integrity!

I will recommend Roofstar to all of my friends.

Tino G.

Gilbert, AZ

Very impressed with Jeff’s response to my concern over a rain caused leak in our ceiling.

Jeff arrived promptly in the a.m. for an evaluation, congenial, confident – integrity fully present. The same characteristics I respected, wanted and needed and had happily experienced the moment I met him. After observing the
rather slight damage to the ceiling we went to the roof where he promptly flattened himself atop the shingles and like a practiced detective began to assess shingles and flashing, etc, in order to create a likely scenario that might have generated a leak. His minute attention to detail was impressive.

Having isolated the potential problem he proceeded to caulk here and there. He also took the time to address other concerns that I had regarding roofing issues going forward.

All in all Jeff delivered the kind of prompt, competent service all homeowners seek, are entitled to, and hope for in a tradesman.

Thank you, Jeff for living the kind of values that make owning a home worth the while.

Bob H.

Phoenix, AZ

Roofstar provided professional inspection and detail quotes on the repairs needed to be done for our properties. We collected a few quotes from different roofing companies for comparison. Roofstar repair cost was very competitive and reasonable. We ultimately chose to go with Roofstar because we felt confident that they would take care of the problems. They came back to correct the minor issue that we had and finished the job to our satisfaction without further questions. We would highly recommend Roofstar to our families and friends.

Andrea S.

Just met Santiago. Every business should have a representative like him!

George D.

Sun Lakes, AZ

I want to extend my compliments to Santiago Sr & Jr. I really appreciated Santiago Sr’s sense of ’ownership’ with the job and recognize and am grateful for the effort that he and his son put into making sure the job was done well. They did excellent work! Thank you.

Louie B.

Scottsdale, AZ

Excellent service! They install some bird barriers that other companies do not. They explained everything in easy to understand terms. Very friendly and very knowledgeable. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a quality and reputable company.

J R.

Extremely pleased with our extensive roof repair work. The crew showed up early and we could hear them working on the roof all day for a number of days. The price was extremely fair for the scope of the job. I had other roofing companies give me a bid prior to Roofstar. But once Roofstar came out, inspected our roof and told us what needed to be done, I knew they were who we’d hire. They have integrity and honestly which is refreshing when hiring contractors.

Gail B.

Andrea S.

Free Assessment for Homeowners

We can handle all kinds of residential roof repairs. Call us today to schedule an assessment with one of our Field Inspectors. We also assist with insurance claims. Learn more about Our Real Estate Services.

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