weird that you didn't counter-offer, maybe it is a local TX thing?

did you disclose the roof age in disclosre docs? if so, i don't think they are allowed to ask for money/repairs of already disclosed items, as part on inspection negotiation. however, i think they can ask for this in offer/counter, just not as an inspection discovery. this is because it would have been a known fact via disclosure prior to inspection, if you disclosed the roof age. now if leaks show up in inspection, that would not have been disclosed so is open to negotiation as part of the inpsection.

Sweet tea,

Yes, it does appear to be a Texas thing (from what I googled after the fact). Realtor made it seem like no big deal but from a few forums I found it seems to turn buyers off. If we get another offer from this buyer I am not going to do this invitation thing again UNLESS we have other potential offers coming in. This seems to be the only reason to do it (since it doesn't lock you in to anything...but still pretty much lays out your counter offer).

Yes, we did disclose the age of the roof. They didn't ask for a replacement or anything...just mentioned that they were concerned with the age of the roof in the email that accompanied the offer. I think it was their way of justifying the low offer.

Thanks for replying!

My biggest concern is if it is true that a bank or insurance company will nix the deal because of the age of the roof as the realtor is now claiming...

deaniesue - I don't think the invitation to do a new offer is a Texas thing. I've bought and sold several houses in Texas and never heard of it. It is fairly common in Texas for a seller to make oral counteroffers rather than doing so in writing. You got a decent offer -- it might be too low but still decent. If I was a buyer I would think you weren't going to be reasonable if you didn't respond and I would never bet against myself. If I was you I would counter.

Sweet tea - the inspection process, etc. is typically different in Texas. The usual situation is seller does disclosure. Parties agree on terms. The earnest money contract usually has an option period in it (10 days is common). During that 10 day period the buyer can do inspections or whatever and can cancel the contract for any reason. If the buyer thinks the roof is too old or doesn't like the house any more or finds a house the buyer likes better, etc. then the buyer can freely cancel.

If the contract is not cancelled before the option period expires then the right to cancel is over. The contract can be cancelled for other contingencies in the contract such as financing but due to anything else.

So...let's say the buyer does an inspection and decides the roof is in bad shape. The buyer could cancel during the option period. In practice, the buyer typically comes back and either asks the seller to make certain repairs or wants a price concession lieu of repairs. If the they come to an agreement then they usually sign off on it and the terminate the option period.

I can't answer your question, but I would suggest that you contact your current insurance agent and see what if they think it will be an issue.

We did do the "invitation to submit a new offer" form....basically an informal non-binding counter. We went down to $159,900 and included the $3500 in closing cost the buyer requested. I didn't mention anything about the roof (the only mention they had was that they were "concerned with the age"...basically a reason for offering the amount that they did).

I have reasons to believe she can't/won't go above $155,000. Who knows...deal may be dead in the water already. We shall see!

Thanks for the tips.

The use of counter-offer or rejection with invitation to submit a new offer usually depends on the marketability of the property & on the seller:

"Counter-offer" means you have agreed to sell the house to the buyer with certain changes, & unless you withdraw your counter-offer *before the buyer accepts*, you're bound to sell to that buyer even if a better offer comes along in the meantime.

"Invitation to submit new offer" means you have not tied up your house;
if a better offer comes in while this buyer is mulling it over, you're free to sell to the new buyer.

If your home is priced so that it should sell quickly for close to the list price, or if another agent has said "I've got a client coming in this afternoon to write a contract on this house", your agent will probably recommend the rejection with invitation.

Banks & mortgage companies almost never make counter-offers when they sell their REOs (real estate owned) or foreclosed properties.

The age of the roof probably isn't the problem, it's the condition;
if the roof is in good shape & looks like it'll last for some given amount of time, which may vary from insurer to insurer, then the roof won't be a problem.

I certainly wouldn't replace my perfectly well-functioning roof before somebody told me I had to do it or lose the sale.

I wish you the best.

Have you had your roof inspected? I suggest you do that. You might discover that it has hail damage and your insurance will pay for some of a new roof. Or if it's okay the inspecter could confirm that.

We did have the insurance adjuster come out and they said no hail damage. (It's Texas so it was worth a shot to see if we could get it replaced by insurance....we have no issues with the roof...no leaks, no visible issues from the ground at least....)

Tried negotiating with the potential buyer but she won't budge much. She is stuck at $155,000 with $3,000 in closing costs (plus the fridge and new carpet which we already planned to throw in). Similar comps have sold recently in our neighborhood for $158-$160,000 with no closing costs.

Have you had a lot of traffic? How long have you been listed?

You need a roofer to come out not your insurance adjuster. I have known several cases when the insurance adjuster said no hail damage and a roofer said there was. If the roofer finds hail damage he can meet with the adjuster. It's worth trying and it won't cost you anything to have a roofer look at it.

Don't know about TX but when we sold in CA our buyers were also concerned about the roof. We had a certified roofer come out, examine it and gave us a 5 year guarantee on the roof for buyers. Buyers said OK. and the roof was about 17 years old with some repair from wind damage.
Agent cannot give advice on something they know nothing about.

WOW - there is no way I would try to file an insurance claim right as you get ready to move. The companies all are interconnected now and you may have a very hard time finding insurance for the next home. You most certainly will end up paying WAY more for your next insurance if you try to make a claim now.

Let's say you think your house ought to sell for at least $158k and you have an offer effectively of $152k ($155k less $3k costs). You may end up getting more and that would be great. Just recognize that you take the risk that with other houses on the market and new subdivisions going up you won't get an offer this month or in June and then you will be in the slowing market and may end up spending way more than $6k in carrying costs by not selling your house before the end of June. Around here (also in Texas) if you don't have a contract by the end of June, sales really slow down.

Unless the insurance company thinks that you damaged your own roof or that the roof was damaged because of your negligence, you shouldn't have any problems getting insurance in the future.

forgot to say that, since you've had a roofer & an insurance person check the roof, the buyer's request for a new roof may be a red herring to soften your negotiating stance on other items.

I wish you the best.

Update: She wouldn't come up on her offer so the deal died. 10 days later we had our 3rd showing and they put in an offer. We have negotitated a deal ($160K w/ $2750 in closing cost). Downside....it's a VA loan. Realtor is worried about appraisal coming in low and I'm worried about lots of things including the darn roof! Guess we will just see what happens! The inspector (and buyers) are there right now. His lockbox key wouldn't work so I went over and let them all in.

Again, thanks for all the thoughts/tips.

roof is 8 years old heritage shingles ,after a hail storm a few years back a roofer said some minor hail damage not enough to re roof or repair ,jump ahead to today contract on home ,inspection done said hail damage recommended evaluation by roofer and repair or replace as needed he inclosed three photos of three spots that showed what may or may not be hail strikes ,I believe the buyers realtor decided then to insist on a tear down and replace ,because this is what the buyer put in response .The insurance adjuster came out and said no damage to shingles .no new roof ,so realtor said lets get a roofer up there a different roofer ,the one who did the roof initially got up there ,he told us there is some hail damage to the west slope ,he would not replace roof if it was his home f,,this is a small town and roofer and realtor and insurance all know each other . Our realtor said that he told them he can not believe the insurance man was even on the same roof ,We can almost stand at eye level and with binoculars scan the entire slope where the damage is suppose to be ,the shingles look like new .I believe that the realtor is trying to get us to pay money to his client or take less on the contract ,when no new roof is warranted .Our realtor is his employee ,she works for the company that sold this home .last guy tried to reassure us by saying he had never known the real estate agent who wanted a new roof to ever try to obtain a new roof when not needed ,our real estate lady who works for this agency ,kind of contradicted that when trying to re assure us said ,that if anyone could get a new roof its her boss so its not his first rodeo ,we as sellers are feeling squeezed out of money