Buying a preowned home with an old roof
 

I've been helping my friends from Boston who are looking to buy a preowned home.

Some of the homes have roofs over 15 yrs old. I asked the agents about insurance. They tell us TV insurance companies will not insure a home with a roof over 15 yrs old. But they tell us not to worry as other companies do.

My friends are concerned about paying top dollar for a home and then worrying about getting insurance or being required to get a roof replacement in a few years

I guess the obvious answer is to find a preowned home with a newer roof.

Does anyone see buying a preowned home with an older roof as an issue?

Also, I would think an honest agent would tell a buyer about this. None of the agents mentioned this until I questioned it.

this roof will most likely need replacing. i wouldn't chance it if it were me. maybe you could work out a deal that the purchase would include previous owner fixing it, or deducting cost of roof from final purchase price. idk that much about it-we bought new construction. does the home NEED to be preowned??

Yes, it is definitely an issue. The agent works for the seller. I don't think you can say that the agent is not honest, especially since they told you the age of the house.

Talk to whomever they plan to use to insure the house.

If house is 15 years old with original roof, deduct cost of new roof from your offer and state why. Most sellers would not have a problem with that, if they do, find another property.

Take $xxxxxx to cover the cost of replacing roof from offer price.
Tell the seller why, and if they do not budge on the price, Walk.
Estate agents will tell you the Pope is a Jew to get a sale!
Plent of other places to buy in TV.

Sorry to echo your post, but was typing when you made it.
Story of my life. A minute late!

In a normal market, I would agree that an old roof is a negotiating point.

But in this market, with homes selling in less than a week with multiple offers, you might not have the luxury of arguing over a roof that passes an inspection but is due to be replaced. Add $15K to the list price and ask yourself if you're still willing to buy it, because if you knock the cost of a roof off your offer, you probably won't get the house.

It really depends on the asking price. If the price would have been a reasonable price a year ago plus 10%, I'd eat the roof cost and make a full-price offer. But if the seller has already jacked up his price to take advantage of this market, you might have some negotiating room to argue over the roof, if there aren't other bidders.

We bought a house with a roof older than 15 years. The Villages insurance will insure the house but not the roof against damage. Two years later we replaced the roof and our insurance now covers everything and even went down a bit.

Several reminders. The,"agent," is a sales person. Unless you hired them as a buyers agent they work for the seller not for you the buyer.

Shopping for friends? I do wonder. Shopping for a home is something people should do for themselves. You might for example love the landscaping etc and your friend may not.

A 17 year old roof? Perhaps, an assumption but everything else is likely the same age.
Air conditioning. Plumbing etc. I don't recall when, but you can look it up. The requirement for securing the roof to the home has gotten stronger. Electrical codes have changed. Not sure of the date but they are no longer allowed to use aluminum wiring.

If the roof is in good condition then it may last another 10 years. The key is, can you find a company that will insure an older roof? Ours (American Integrity) was happy to insure our 22-year old roof but that may be because we had been with them for several years.

It’s old house also, old don’t necessarily bad, lot of roofing scams last couple years. Course everybody wants new roof, A/C, floors, kitchen, windows, paint inside and out, no bond, and the prefect location for cheap price. Good luck. Bottom line you can demand, don’t mean you’ll get it.

15 years is pretty much the normal here in Florida, for insurance companies that is..... we all struggle with it.

Your friends will not find insurance for that home unless the roof is replaced.

We had an issue with our current home and the one we sold when we bought this one. Both had to be replaced. With the home we sold we split the cost with the buyers. With this home we paid for the roof. Our insurance company (Allstate) gave us 30 days after closing to get the new roof put on. Had we not done that our insurance would have been cancelled.

We paid ~ 16-17k for each house but they are larger homes (2650 and 2900, I think). Depending on the size home your friends are looking at, the cost could be considerably less. My advice, FWIW, is that they should find the home they love and do what they need to do as far as the roof and insurance go.

kathy

Agree - I wouldn’t suggest a house for my brother, let alone a friend. I would share my experience in TV.
I am amazed people are making a $200,000 or $400,000 decision, but don’t spend $1000 for a trip to see the house.

So in contract you acquire a roof inspection, roof has 6 year life you are good to go. Anything less, owner can either pay to put on a new roof, or make an offer without. However houses are literally selling the same day. If you love the house, take that in consideration, you will get homeowners insurance, but most likely have to replace the roof in 30 days or be canceled

When we bought our previous house my sister and her hubs went to a few homes for us and we video conferenced as they walked through. (We had been here multiple times so we did know the areas somewhat.) Our sellers were willing to give us (in writing) ten days to fly down and view the property in person (and cancel with no penalty). In a hot market I don't know that many sellers would agree to that but ours did and it worked out for us.

k.

DW and I just bought a home built in 2006, and it will need a new roof soon. Still has the original.
It passed inspection, and we did get insurance, but we know, and we have it "budgeted"...well not really budgeted but we know it's gonna happen sooner than we would like.
I just considered it part of the deal.

We didn't have a hard and drawn out negotiation, but I felt the price we agreed upon was a fair price, considering the roof. I felt the seller was very reasonable.
Once DW goes back to work we'll be able to afford the new roof. (I haven't brought that part up yet....)

Ditto...

I have been a home inspector for 27 years. This question comes up almost daily. There is nothing wrong with buying a house that will soon need a new roof but your offer should reflect that.

I always explain to people the the cost of the house is not the price you are paying. The true cost is the total of the offer price, cost of needed improvements (roof, AC, Furnace, etc), and the cost of desired improvements (paint, carpet, new kitchen, etc).

If you add all of that up and you feel like you got a fair deal, then you found the right house. If you add them up and find you could not resell the house for that price, then start negotiating the sales price down or keep looking.

I know the housing prices are through the roof right now but that does not mean you should take a bath. Rent for a year and you will look like a genius!

I see what you did there.:icon_wink:

You eventually will need to replace it at 20 years , maybe sooner our roof was 19 years old ,no leaks just worn out.

Absolutely an issue that should be dealt with before buying any home with a 15 year old roof. We got a cancellation notice from The Villages Insurance Carrier because of our 15 year old roof and could not get insurance from many different carriers. We ended up using USAA Insurance at twice the cost of our previous policy. The cost of a new roof is around $10,000.00 for a typical 2 bedroom home. I would definitely factor that into my offer or just plan on putting a new roof on.

Why buy now?
 

Right now it's crazy just like it was about 20 years ago. Prices are going up 20 or 30% every year due to shortage of Labor and materials. There are some perfectly acceptable Senior communities 30 - 50% less in cost per square foot within 10 mi of The villages. Unless you must play golf every single day I'd recommend you look elsewhere whether the roof is new or old.

This is a roofing company scam. Roofs last 25 to 30 years with no issues. Many are warranted for that long. Yes you may have damage from hail or hurricane that can change that. If there is no damage it should last 25 years with no issues. The reason insurance companies are leery of insuring is they know these roofers are out here trying to scam seniors. Why else are they knocking on doors offer free inspections and a replacement at little cost to the home owner. They are ripping off the insurance company and putting an inferior product on your home.

Call any shingle manufacturer. They will guarantee their product for 25 plus years if installed correctly. Some will do 40 years with special shingles. If my shingles fail after 15 years. I am going after the manufacturer. This is the biggest roofing insurance scam going.

No the agent isnt dishonest. You dont say that there is anything wrong with the roof except age. Thats all hes obligated to disclose. He works for the seller and hes not your buddy. Thats why you have the house inspected. You know…..buyer beware

Old Roof
 

Roofs over 10 years old become suspect and begin to be hard to insure. We just experienced this when we sold a 12 year old villa. The buyer had to sign an acknowledgement that they was aware of the roof condition and age.

HB 76 gos into effect July 1, 2021 to help address insurance costs in Florida and limit roofing contractors soliciting insurance claim roof replacement.

The bill also makes several changes to tackle what insurers claim has been an explosion of roofing claims and litigation, including making it illegal for roofing contractors or any person acting on their behalf to make a “prohibited advertisement,” including an electronic communication, phone call or document that solicits a claim. Offering anything of value for performing a roof inspection, an offer to interpret an insurance policy or file a claim or adjust the claim on the insured’s behalf will also be prohibited. Additionally, contractors are prohibited from providing repairs for an insured without a contract that includes a detailed cost estimate of the labor and materials required to complete the repairs. Violations could result in fines of $10,000.

VLS agents do work for the seller, this is not to say they will mislead a buyer. Our agent was very upfront about this when we purchased our first home here. She said don't discuss thing in my presence about a higher offer you may be willing to make etc... if the seller asks me if you would go higher I am obligated to tell them. We have sold and purchased several homes through her and she has never once mislead or lied to us. The old adage buyer beware holds true do the due diligence on a prospective property.

Armed with the knowledge about roof age your friends can negotiate when purchasing a home with an older roof.

Depending on the size of the house and the age of the roof, if it is old, offer them the amount they ask, less the price of a new roof and put one on when you move in.

the villages insurance are brokers for several insurance companies, as are many other brokers

FACT: Shingle manufacturers warrantee - in writing, that their shingles will last 25 yrs. (3-tab type), and 30 yrs. (architectural type). Assuming no hail or other violent weather damage, why would those mfrs. accept that huge liability - unless they know 25 & 30 yrs. is accurate? In my 16 yrs. of daily roofing work in TV - 42 yrs. total in the business in Florida, I have seen many cases where perfectly good roofs with many yrs. of remaining life, have been unneccesarily rejected by either insurance companies or lendors. Unfortunately, most roofing companies will go along with this, at a roof inspection, because they want the reroof job. Try to find you an honest Roofing Contractor who will write you an accurate Roofing Inspection Report.

Just a note on pricing - While we had our roof replaced last year (due to a Tamko warranty issue) for $16,000 +, I would expect the price to be much higher today given the rise in construction costs. To echo a previous post, it might be wise to rent for a year to ride out the current market conditions.

If the roof is over 10 years old I would definitely consider making a discount for a new roof part of the offer

Simple don’t buy a house with an old roof insurance agencies may not insure you. Our realtor told us not to purchase a home with an old roof

I agree, just cause you get new roof don’t mean it won’t leak from snotty installation. My neighbor new roof leaks when the old on wasn’t.

They would probably have to replace roof for ins. Suggestion: have seller and buyer each pay 1/2.

Good idea....or at least a good percentage. It really shouldn't scare the buyer so much, if older than 15, well no surprise that replacement is right around the corner.
We bought older than 15 and insured thru foremost.

A Good Realtor will have discussed the Roof issue with his Seller and priced the House accordingly. As a Realtor here the Age of the Roof is one of the 1st things we look at when searching for the right properties to show our Buyers. The 15 yr mark is something the Insurance companies use as a cut off in deciding to insure or not. There are a few that still will insure, some that will insure the house and a reduced amount for the roof, some that will give you 90 days to replace. The key is have your own Realtor that is looking out for only your interest that you can rely on.

Plan on paying to replace the roof in a couple of years. But in this crazy housing market, you’re not in a good negotiating position on the price. Your best bet for your friends?…buy a new house.

Code
 

Aluminum wiring stopped in the 70s and new roof tie down codes for reroofs went into effect in 2007 so if house is older than that make sure the home inspector verifies the tie-downs and nailing of the sheathing is up to code as this will add significantly to cost of replacement of roof. Also make sure house does not have propylene plumbing used in the 90s that also makes the house uninsurable. That is Grey plastic pipe but it won't show where it comes out of wall you will probably have to check in the attic. That is part of an inspectors checklist. Lastly if they decide on the house purchase a good home warranty or perhaps make the owners buying it for them part of the deal.

It is an issue - the roof will most likely need to be replaced to be insured. I hope your friends are also looking at brand new spec homes. You can get a brand new home for roughly the same price!