New buyers and roofs
 

Hi all,

This is a multi-part question - I apologize in advance.

1) For those of you that were new buyers of a resale (not new) home, was the age of the roof a negotiation point in the purchase price? For example, if the roof was more than 10 years old, was the fact that you would have a problem with obtaining an insurance policy help the price?

2. Did your realtor help you out with sourcing an insurance policy during the process? Was there a discussion with the insurance about adjustments if an old roof was replaced in the first year?

3. For those of you that got a new roof - say within the last 2-3 years - could you please give me a ballpark size of your roof and a ballpark price for the replacement (PM me if you don't feel comfortable sharing $$ amounts)

4. For new buyers - did you get an "as-is" contract or a "non as-is" contract when you purchased your home in TV?

Many thanks in advance,

Kevin

1. Of course, the age of the roof should be a negotiating point for the price of a house. Also, the age of the HVAC system.

2. The buyer doesn't have a real estate agent. The agent works for the seller. But, as a buyer, I would consult with The Villages Insurance company or another company regarding the insurability of the house, not a real estate agent.

3. For a small villa house, a new roof should cost about $6,000-$8,000, which would be about 1200 SF. If the house is larger and/or has additional valleys, etc, it will cost more.

4. Most resale houses are sold as "non as-is". That is the safest way to buy a house, unless it is a fixer upper for a bargain price.

I had a new roof in November. My grandson is in the business in a northern state and he researched the best company with the best product for us. We have an extended Amarillo and the cost was $11,000 with architectural shingles.

Since leaving the above post I have been asked for the name of the roofer Roofing Contractors | All Types of Roofs | Ocala, The Villages, Belleview. Highly recommend this family owned company, but get several estimates and check the quality of the shingles and how much work they intend to do on your roof.

Thanks Madeline! - Do you know offhand the approximate size of your roof? I'm trying to get a couple of datapoints to get a rule of thumb.

We put a new roof on our current home in July 2019, shortly after we purchased it. (We had to replace it in order to get insurance, as the 20 year old roof was original to the home.) Home is about 2600 sq. ft., cost was $17,300.

In Feb. 202 we sold our previous home which was 16 years old at the time. Buyers couldn't get insurance unless the existing/original roof was replaced so we split the cost with them. Home was about 2900 sq ft, cost was $18,700.

We used McHale's Roofing which is not the cheapest around but we were very happy with our interactions with them and would definitely recommend them. Everything seems to have gone up in cost in the last year or two so the cost of a similarly sized roof might be more now.

Good luck.

kathy

SPS Roofing, (352) 347-8530 owner Scott Skipper. They are the best price and service
 

Scott Skipper. Stands by his work, fair with price, does great work

We bought a resale exactly one year ago. We had an agent whose responsibility was to us. He also lived in TV, as many of the agents do, and although we thought we knew a lot about life in TV, he knew stuff about homes I would never have thought of.
Yes, the aging yet still functional roof was a negotiating point.

Our agent did negotiate on our behalf, and I felt he got us a very fair price. We were somewhat fortunate in that our deal went through just before the market got crazy. We closed last February.
Our home was built in 2006, with the original roof. We are having it replaced this month.
Our three estimates were in the 16K- 18K range. We went with the middle guy, 17K.
I don't remember the exact size of the roof, but it is a Gardenia model, with an extended lanai and "stretch" garage, so it has a few more sq.feet than a standard Gardenia or Camellia.

We did not opt to try to get a "storm damage" freebie, although we probably could have. WE are happy with our homeowner's insurance company and didn't want to lose them. They insured our aging roof, and weren't threatening to cancel our policy, but I wanted to get ahead of that issue.

Buyers' Agent, Sellers' Agent or Transaction Agent???
 

I have never heard of a real estate agent being paid by a buyer in The Villages. Do you know a broker who has a standard written contract agreement where the buyer pays money to the broker? Every listing contract and settlement closing statement I have seen shows that the seller pays the entire commission to the broker. You are correct that licensed real estate agents must treat both the buyer and seller honestly, because they have a fiduciary relationship with them by Florida law. But, that is different from representing them as an agent in the selling process. For example, suppose a potential buyer tells an agent that they want to make an offer of $300K on a house, but they are willing to pay up to $350K if the offer is rejected. The agent would not be doing their job if they didn't convey that information to the seller, who they represent. Any real estate agent showing houses should make it clear to the buyer upfront that they represent the seller. I don't think that is always done adequately by all agents.

I tore the old roof off , replaced some decking , installed rubberized roofing paper, installed new architecture shingles … my labor 44 hours and total cost was 2300.00 year was 2005 …..26square

Sellers' Agents, Buyers' Agents and Transaction Agents
 

Personal experience in New York. It was many years ago and people were having a hard time selling. I entered a written offer on a house. I later found the home was sold for less than my offer. I contacted the real estate brokers association-whatever it is called.
They wanted me to come out and testify. The obvious question what will happen. I was told the broker, if found guilty would be fined. Who does the money go to-THE REAL ESTATE BROKERS ASSOCIATION. They were asking me to take time off from work to clean up THEIR MESS and not be paid for it.

Riding around in the brokers car. People forget the broker works for the seller. Conversation-We will offer $$$$$$$$$ but if we need to we will pay $$$$$$$$$$.
The broker presents the seller with a written offer and says I think they will go up from this offer. BEWARE.

Everything is subject to negotiation. While you are negotiating the seller may well decide to sell to someone else.

Our previous home, not in Florida, was fairly priced, we sold it for full asking price and a cash deal. The sale, THE CONTRACT SAID AS IS. There was nothing wrong with the house but I was not willing to be on the hook for years and out of state. I seem to recall in NY you if, you sold it as is need to surrender $500 to the buyer. That is what most everyone does.

I don't think that selling a house "as is" is the normal procedure in Florida, or other places I have lived. Most buyers would not agree to an "as is" sale, except maybe in a very hot market.

It is not normal but it does happen. Typically the offer is contingent upon an inspection, paid for by the buyer. When we bought our home in TV, this was the case, and any "non-cosmetic" issues up to a certain % of the agreed upon sales price ( I can't remember what the % was. Seems it was 1 or 2 %) the seller was obligated to fix. Anything more than that became a negotiating point. Parties could walk away from the contract, or negotiate a solution.
Cosmetic issues were not included. "Cosmetic" items included chipping paint, broken bathroom tiles that still sealed etc. The pavers were cracking in the driveway and I was told that was "cosmetic"...as I look back on it now I wonder if I couldn't have raised a stink about the loose border pavers, as an argument could be made that those constitute a tripping safety hazard. I probably would not have made much of a stink as we were happy overall with the price we'd agreed upon.
Seller did have a couple of thousand dollars of repairs she had to do, based upon our inspection.
In very hot markets I have heard of buyers "waiving" inspection in order to get the house. That is probably the same as an "as is" purchase, I'm thinking.