roof inspection went BAAAD -- now what?

13 years ago

We went into contract with our buyers 9 days ago. They have 10 days to do inspections. Apparently, without my knowledge, while at work today, some roofing company came and inspected our roof and told our buyers it will need to be replaced within a year. It is 15 years old and was a "30 year" roof. But I have no proof.

I contacted the guy who put it on 15 years ago and he is willing to come to my house, check the roof, and sign a paper saying he was the installer and that the roof is fine (well, if he really thinks it is -- he's not going to lie).

We have no leaks, no damage, it looks great and in 15 years have never had a problem. The general home inspector said roof is fine. Is there anything else I should do? Installer can't remember the name of the place he got the roofing from. What if the buyer demands a new roof or more moeny from us? How should I respond. We're already giving buyers $2,000 for them to put in a fence and $500 for a home warranty.

Featured Answer

cordovamom

13 years ago

We were selling a home a number of years ago and even though we had never had a leak in the roof, it was close to the end of it's life. We had a roofer come out and certify that there was at least 5 years life left on the roof. We presented that to the buyer and that ended any dispute over the roof. We later found out that that roof lasted another 10 years past the date we sold the house.

I would get an independent roofer to come out and certify the roof for you. Hand that report to your buyer. If the roofer can't certify the roof then you have a real dilema, you'll either have to renegotiate price or give them some money to fix the roof. Good luck.

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Comments (11)

brickeyee
13 years ago
"What if the buyer demands a new roof or more moeny from us?"

You can always tell them no.
jerickson100
13 years ago
Something similar happened to us (although it was the regular inspector who said we needed a new roof). We also had no leaks or anything, so we had three independent roofing companies come out to give their opinion and they all said that the roof was on the older side, but fine. Once we had these reports, we went back to the buyers and said that we would do all of the (minor) repairs that the companies suggested, but we wouldn't replace the roof. They agreed, and we are set to close in ten days!
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logic
13 years ago
Have you asked the buyers why they did not accept the HI's evaluation that the roof is fine? What made them have a roofer come and take a look?

That in itself is quite odd, to say the least.
covingtoncat
13 years ago
Sounds like they are positioning themselves to ask for more concessions. I would dispute their expert with your own and point to the original HI report as well. Bottom line: are you willing to loose the sale over the roof? Prepare your response ahead of time and have several scenarios. For some lenders it is a "no go" unless the roof has a minimum of 5 years left.

Best of luck to you.
sheilajoyce_gw
13 years ago
I would be concerned with trespassing and any damage the roofing company could have inflicted on your roof. After all, the roofers who inspected for the buyers are perhaps going to get the job to replace the roof.
jane__ny
13 years ago
They should have notified you before inspecting your roof. I had a similar situation with our fireplace. Their inspector said it was cracked and needed to be replaced. I called our fireplace man who wrote a report stating it wasn't cracked and was fine, I gave it to the buyers. They accepted that.

Jane
mariend
13 years ago
Who ordered the roofing company? Were they certified? Could/did they do any additional damage? When we sold in CA. because we did have a older roof with repairs the buyers agent had a certified roofer examine it, and he said no problem. He then signed the certification certificate for an addition time. It has been 10 years and still no problem.
mariend
13 years ago
Why would you give the buyers 2000.00 to put in a fence? It seems to me that should be their choice. How do you know if they are going to do it? Just curious. Just BE very careful, and sign nothing until you are satisfied. I see some red flags here.
deanie1
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks, everyone for your great responses. Mariend, I saw red flags with the fence money too. I said I would only write the check for fence if written and given direrctly to the fence company itself -- not to the buyer. They didn't ask for closing costs and gave us a nearly full-price offer. So I was OK with that.

The roof thing is resolved! I called the original roof installation guy, who luckily is still in business after 15 years, and he came out, got up on the roof, and inspected it. He stated in writing that it is in great shape, etc. and signed it. The buyer said fine and did not attempt any further negotiation.

I got ticked off about some other roofing company up on my roof trespassing when I'm not home. And, get this, the buyer's realtor said the roofing company assessed my roof from the road! Geez ...

Well, the inspection period is over now and we close the 28th YAY!
stapleface
13 years ago
Glad you got this resolved. If I was the buyer I would have been leary of the roofer to begin with. How can you inspect something if you don't look at it? That's like asking someone how your soup tastes when they never had any. It amazes me the sheer laziness of some people who want to make a quick buck.