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Hello, I would appreciate agents opinion regarding this please, before I talk to mine again....
We have had the same people look at the house 3 times...the only thing we have heard was they have 'issues' with the roof.
Shake roof, app. 15 yrs old, could last 10-15 more years under optimal conditions,does not leak, no missing shakes, no visual signs of problems, everything looks fine...no difference to when we bought it last year. We are of the if it ain't broke, don't fix it school.... and the roofer we had out eariler in the year's opinion was the same.
It was suggested that we get a roofer (s) to give us a signed statement regarding their opinion of condition of the roof and maybe estimates, to provide to the interested buyer.
The roofer that came before wasn't too keen on putting anything in writing for us, because of potential liability...and he is kind of in the middle of a he said-well, he said issue now.
We are hesitant to get other roofers, who just for the sake of CYA will say oh my god it needs replaced ASAP. Financially we can not, nor will we put a roof on just because.
Shouldn't it be the buyers responsiblity, working with their agent, to obtain said opinions for themselves??? After all they have the 'issue', we do not. (btw, interestingly their agent is the same one that had the house listed when we bought it.........biting my tongue.....)
Why should we have to 'prove' something to someone who hasn't even thrown any sort of an offer out?
If I was a buyer I would want to get MY own opinions and not rely on the seller's opinions...and that is what the consensus is amongst those we have spoken with about this.
are we missing something here??? Or looking at it worng?
I wanted to add this is the 8th home we have owned, and something like this has never come up;
the buyers always researched anything they wanted to know beyond what was presented or disclosed.
Sounds to me like they are looking for a discount on the house. If I were in your shoes, I'd tell them you are not replacing the roof, nor are you going to get a roofer's statement that the roof is fine. As buyers they are fully in their right to hire an inspector, provided you are willing to have your house undergo an inspection at this point.
I've sold Real Estate in two states (California and Oregon) and the buyers look at roofs differently in each state. Part of the reason they had different views were the lender requirements. I see that you are in Kansas. Are roofs in Kansas a lender issue? Or, have there been recent articles about shake roofs in local periodicals? When they say issues, can they be more specific? and what does your agent have to say about all this?
Shake roofs are pretty expensive to replace...Is there anything on the roof that would indicate that there should be some "issues", discoloration or whatever?
It seems to be that the normal way of doing things is for the buyer to make an offer subject to the results of the inspection, and if the inspection shows that the roof needs to be replaced, you can offer to lower the price, depending on what the buyer seeks.
I'd try to have buyers draw attention to other things around the house, like flowers.
Maintenance....required. Has it been, to your knowledge, treated with preservatives? I understand that now isn't a good time for you to do major work on it but that could be a selling point, that it's been inspected and treated. Have the papers on file.
See, if the roof is the sticking point in a sale, and buyers aren't getting beyond that point, it sort of is up to you to deal with it as you're able to do.
Many cities have banned wood shingle roofs due to fire hazards. In our area getting insurance is getting next to impossible.
Most wood shingle roofs here have been replaced with composition shingle and if I show a home with wood shingle will usually advise my client to keep looking.
If you want to sell your home to this particular buyer you've got to try & answer their questions.
(btw, interestingly their agent is the same one that had the house listed when we bought it.........biting my tongue.....)
I would have your agent call the other agent and ask her, since she was the original listing agent and it's only been a year, if she is aware of some defect in the roof.
Out here buyer's tend to shy away from shake roofs. I think they worry about the maintenance of them. They just don't like them, in good shape or not.
Sellers provide roofing certificates all of the time out here. I don't think I would get any roofing quotes. I mean, have the home inspector take a look and provide an opinion. No point in spending a lot of time of something, when you don't even have an agreed upon offer.
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