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We currently have a $495K house under contract out of state. The home was built in 1960ish, so it’s an older home. We’ve lived in an older home before, so we had realistic expectations and were prepared to spend some money without being overly picky on seller repairs. The sellers disclosure made reference to the 10 year old roof having a leak “one time” during an ice storm, and they patched with tar, and never had an issue again. They also noted “some” water getting into the crawl space durian “extremely heavy rains”.
Fast forward to the inspection, we are in due diligence, so we can back out for any reason and pay a small termination fee if we don’t agree on repairs. We’ve had the general home inspection as well as inspections by a roofer and crawl space expert. Multiple opinions on the roof are saying it’s beyond repair. Tar everywhere, flashing installed wrong, boots missing, shingles deteriorating, etc. The seller now has their own roofer coming out with an insurance adjuster to take a second look.
The crawl space has about $8k worth of work to be done, including foundation support, a sump pump, and ground cover. The sellers seemed less surprised about the crawl space but still no answer on agreed repairs yet.
Are insurance companies less likely to cover roof replacements if they know the house is about to be sold? Would it help our position to get my insurance company (USAA) out there to inspect and see if they’d even insure it in this condition?
Any experience with similar situations is appreciated! :-)
Edit: I should add that the roofer did see “some hail damage”. Not sure how that works when a roof is also completely worn out and useless.
Last edited by mjedwards409; 01-23-2021 at 05:44 PM..
This appears to be deterioration over time and not direct damage. I doubt that any insurance company will pay for that roof under the conditions you describe.
Your own insurance company isn't likely to inspect before you buy the policy. The cost of inspections is not within their cost of doing business. Insurance law gives them 60 days after issue to cancel if adverse underwriting conditions are discovered. Besides, you are obliged to reveal the condition of the home when you apply for coverage. I suspect if you got any insurance at all it would be in a high risk category.
Make sure you get your own roofer to give you a price on all the roof and attic repairs. The seller was less than forthcoming about the condition of the property so don't believe anything that the seller or anybody else tells you, not even your own agent. Independently verify it.
This appears to be deterioration over time and not direct damage. I doubt that any insurance company will pay for that roof under the conditions you describe.
Your own insurance company isn't likely to inspect before you buy the policy. The cost of inspections is not within their cost of doing business. Insurance law gives them 60 days after issue to cancel if adverse underwriting conditions are discovered. Besides, you are obliged to reveal the condition of the home when you apply for coverage. I suspect if you got any insurance at all it would be in a high risk category.
Make sure you get your own roofer to give you a price on all the roof and attic repairs. The seller was less than forthcoming about the condition of the property so don't believe anything that the seller or anybody else tells you, not even your own agent. Independently verify it.
Thanks for the feedback. I went back and edited to add that the roofer did see “some hail damage”. Not sure how that works when a roof is also completely worn out and useless.
Does not compute. 10 year old roof may have a singular problem though that is rare. But a 10 year old roof should otherwise be in very good shape.
Our 35 year old concrete tile roof is in good shape. Have had one major repair do to a diabolical AC unit. It is roof mounted and was leaking condensate down one of it support legs and through a mounting screw into the roof plywood. Had to rip out a few hundred square feet at a cost of a few grand.
But we expect our roof will go 50 years or close. And by then it is unlikely either of us will still be here.
Does not compute. 10 year old roof may have a singular problem though that is rare. But a 10 year old roof should otherwise be in very good shape.
Our 35 year old concrete tile roof is in good shape. Have had one major repair do to a diabolical AC unit. It is roof mounted and was leaking condensate down one of it support legs and through a mounting screw into the roof plywood. Had to rip out a few hundred square feet at a cost of a few grand.
But we expect our roof will go 50 years or close. And by then it is unlikely either of us will still be here.
Here’s the write up:
Upon inspection of the back of the house roof, I documented the following (3-tab shingles):
Exposed nail heads along ridge, on pipe boots, and box vents. Also noted nail heads backing through shingles. Heavy grandular loss on shingles. The chimneys are not flashed correctly and have exposed nail heads. The attempted repair to the valley is failing and cracking. Pipe boots and box vents are loose. One pipe missing pipe boot. Shingles are too short at gutter line. The shingles in some areas are not installed correctly. There are a lot of places where fiberglass is exposed on the shingles.
Upon inspection of the front of the house, I documented the following (architectural shingles):
The chimney is not flashed correctly. There are exposed nil heads in ridge and around chimney. The shingles are not installed correctly in areas. Pipe boot is loose.
It is my professional opinion that the roof is not repairable, and would required full replacement.
Thanks for the feedback. I went back and edited to add that the roofer did see “some hail damage”. Not sure how that works when a roof is also completely worn out and useless.
Coverage for the hail would depend on when it happened and if it happened during the term of the policy.
It seems clear that the seller lied about the age of the roof or had no idea. How long has the seller owned the house?
I'd be looking at a serious reduction in price, maybe $25,000 or $30,000.
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