Roof issue
 

roof question

Call a lawyer.

You might want to check with Seniors Vs Crime before spending anything a lawyer. They may be able to give you some guidance on what to do next.

Seniors Vs Crime in The Villages

never ever use anyone that the realtor wants you to use.

This is a heavy duty issue. You make mention that you purchased the home based an insurable roof. I am not sure what you mean by this? However it suggest that you knew the roof was a problem? Was it disclosed by the seller/realtor? and to what extent? you spoke of a few shingles and then explain that your insurance carrier claims the roof is uninsurable. You state the realtor recommended the inspector. This may be a conflict of interest?

In any event there are a number of potential defendants if this case goes to suit. FOR YOUR SAKE DON'T SPEAK TO ANY ONE ELSE UNTIL YOU CALL AN ATTORNEY. KEEP ALL WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION YOU WERE GIVEN CLOSE AT HAND WHAT YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY SAW, SAID AND DID IS ALSO CRUCIAL EVIDENCE.

This is not something Senor v Crimes should be consulted about

Good luck

Why did your agreement specify that the roof was insurable?

Since it did and you have an insurance company that will not insure you could sue for breach of contract and damages.

A defense would be another insurance co that will insure the home at normal rates. I would get several quotes from other insurance con's and if you have a problem with all hire a lawyer.

Thank you all. Calling a lawyer.

The house was built in 2005 so we added the clause to our offer saying we wanted assurance the roof was insurable. The home inspector said the roof was in great shape and would last another 10 years. We closed with that, called our previous insurance people, sent a copy to them and they gave us insurance but after the hurricane, we saw a couple of shingles on the ground. For safe measure, we had it checked and you know the rest.

Just for possible back up information a representative from Certainteed( Roof Mfg) told me that a warranty on a home means little 20-30-40 yrs because most roofs only last 15 years and since their stats indicate people move every 6-7 years they never make claim.

so you have two issues 1) this roof is now 12 years old
2) according to your carrier poorly constructed. This means that depreciation is going to be applied to any settlement and based on its warranty be it 20 30 40 years

Based on your comments you do not have written but spoken assurances.

Pivotal in this issue is going to be the realtors opinion vis a vis the carrier's opinion as to the utility of this roof. It may require that 3rd party inspector be brought in that is agreeable to both sides to decide.

Expenses wise it may be beneficial to mediate this dispute before going through a long drawn out and expensive lawsuit . There is a a legal rule called spoliation of evidence be sure noting disturbs the roof until everyone connected to this situation has had an opportunity for inspection and possibly re-inspection

It is indeed disheartening that you have to be drawn in to such a dispute and I question, hoping I am wrong, that anyone will come forth and do the right thing.

Personal Best Regards:

I would ask three reputable roofing companies and Frank D'angelo to evaluate your roof before you spend a lot of money on lawyers or new roofs.

I think Frank's evaluation of a home is worth every penny of his fee. He is ethical, thorough and very helpful.

I agree with gracie call Frank. In your 2:59 post you stated you had serious structural issues, you better call someone Quick.

Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate it.

Just for the record, I do not know the gentleman who posted this thread....I did not do this inspection. We are usually so busy doing warranty inspections that it is often very difficult for us to fit in "new buyer" type inspections. We do our best, but the feverish pace of The Villages growth usually does not leave us time to do specific problem inspections.

Just a few random thoughts....

Usually a home inspection carefully checks the roof for obvious leaks, signs of damage or improper installation, wear, etc. As the inspection is typically not invasive, we do not remove shingles to check nailing patterns, etc. There ARE many issues we sometimes find on a roof, and when found are documented with pictures and video if needed.

It has been my experience that in Florida, roofs will rarely last more than 15-20 years. The new homeowner stated that the home was 12 years old, so I would assume this was the original roof. I have seen 12 year old roofs look pretty good, and after checking for them to be sealed down, etc. MAY last another few years. No matter what, I would tell the client that it may be wise to budget for a new roof within the next 5 years or so. A 12 year old roof will have some degree of granular loss, brittleness, etc.

Then we have a category one hurricane come over our homes....an unprecedented event. NEW homes with NEW roofs, even if correctly installed, in some cases had damage. How a 12 year old roof fared could vary.....my experience has been that many older roofs had no damage, but some of course did....even new roofs.

The term, "insurable roof" is something I have never heard. An Inspector documents the roof age and condition. In all my years experience I have not ever heard of an Inspector deeming a roof insurable or not, as different insurance companies have different standards. I know a few years ago State Farm would not insure ANY roof older than 5 years old. So...to them this roof , (at least a few years ago) would not be insurable. To many other Insurance companies it probably would have. An inspector would have no say or even any knowledge if a specific insurance company would insure a home.....that is up to the insurance company of course, not an inspector.

There is a lot we do not know from this post. Was there installation problems? Was the work sub standard? If so, what were the defects, and were they observable?

Inspectors have an ethical obligation to the potential buyer. They work for the potential buyer...not a Realtor or anyone else. The potential buyer should have had an established working relationship with no one "in between". I know it is not always possible, but I always recommend that the client be at the inspection.

Also, something was mentioned about the inspector returning with tools. He might have been doing a wind mitigation report.....but a good inspector would never be doing repairs or fixing anything. That if done would be unethical and against our standards.

Anyway, Again, I do not know anyone involved here. I do not know who the inspector was here and would not want to know. I always try to be helpful here and the thread interested me, so I thought I would try to be helpful and share a few thoughts.

Without seeing the report and speaking to all parties, there are simply facts here we do not know, so I could not make any assumptions about the situation. I hope for all concerned everything works out for all.

Respectfully, Frank D.

Frank, I agree with your assessment but the issue of the condition of the roof has become a legal one because the OP on belief of good faith dealing from the realtor bought the home. An independent examination by a neutral ( a third roof inspector) will be highly unlikely volunteered by the seller/realtor. it is going to take a lawyer,or a small claims action to get them to act. Perhaps I am wrong, actually hope I am wrong and the OP can convince the seller to replace the roof

the inspector for the insurance carrier obviously reported his findings of a potential increase risk hazard citing the roof as likely to create water damage. what hasn't been addressed is if in fact water has already penetrated the home.

The roof needs to be replaced down to roof boards.

The OP has to decide if the cost to pursue v simply replacing the roof is worth the effort. Again small claims court is a good remedy

Dear Rubicon,

Sadly, I agree. What may be difficult to nail down now, (no pun intended) is what the condition of the roof was prior to the hurricane. We also do not know what the insurance guy saw that was so obvious....and was it an issue in installation, or a manufacturer's defect, or could it have been seen non invasively.

What we do know is that it was a 12 year old roof in unknown condition prior to the hurricane, and even after the hurricane. The issues were not disclosed.

We also do not know if the inspector even knew about the "insurable roof" provision. Sometimes a Realtor will just call an inspector and schedule the inspection. This is why I always speak to the person who is the client, not the realtor, and discuss their concerns and expectations. As said earlier, only the insurance company can say if they will insure a home or not.

Appears that it boils down to a possible communication and expectation problem. Very unfortunate.

I hesitate to comment on contentious issues, especially when all the facts are not known or disclosed. I hope all works out well for all involved.

Frank

Frank:

Again I agree and it the reason I have offered the OP alternatives. However what the OP said was that the offer of purchase was based on the condition of "an insurable roof". I took that to mean that the OP had some concern/question about the roof.

While I am very familiar with differences of opinion by experts (all) it would seem unlikely that the realtor's inspector was not aware of the condition of this roof especially given the carrier's inspector found it uninsurable ie we are not talking one or two shingles but the entire roof

State Farm will not insure you for sink hole unless an inspection of the insured premises is made and it appears this carrir would not accept the risk (home) unless the roof was replaced

Many insurance companies demand photo of cars, homes ,etc before they will insure. as to cars its not only if they are already damaged but if in fact they even exist:D

I cannot know what is true or untrue here but if true then I hope the OP prevails.

Personal Best Regards: