I should also say we have just put in about $15,000 to update the kitchen and install new carpet because homes in our area sell at a big discount if the kitchen isn't updated. I really don't want to put more serious money into a home we are selling but I am a motivated seller.

All is negotiable...

The problem you may face is not your buyers but their bank. Most banks want 5 years on a roof, so yours is butting up against that.

But as the other poster said: all is negotiable.

Did you price the house with the old roof in mind? Not that that will matter to some buyers. They will still try to knock it off the price.

There's a lot of nervousness in my area about roofs being uninsurable. I've heard of a few deals falling apart similar to your situation (no leaks or damage, but noted on the inspection because needs attention). Not sure why its a hot button these days, but ask your realtor if this is happening in your area. If it is you may want to get it replaced so a deal doesn't fall thru.

If you disclosed the age of the roof, I would not be too worried. They could come back and ask, you would have the right to refuse.

If their bank requires it, I don't know if there are any ways to negotiate you replacing but they pay for it (increased price?)

In my case, I was told there were 10 year on a 50 year shingle. Come to find out they were about 15 years old, faulty, and failing. The seller began to play games and we walked on the deal.

Banks have nothing to do with the inspection process of the home unless its a va or FHA loan. FHA requires 3 years of life. What type of mortgage are your buyers going for? You are not required to do anything. The inspection if for the buyers to learn u the workings of the house. Too many buyers nc their agents have decided it is a second round of negotiation.

As a buyer, I would not ask for you to replace the roof, but instead ask for some sort of concession if the roof was not insurable (you would not be able to insure this roof in Florida) and get the roof I want, not the low-cost, poor-quality roof that a cheap seller might get put on. Funding can all be handled in escrow.

However, as a seller, I think, this buyer knew from my disclosure how old this roof is, and should have made an opening offer based on that. If THEIR inspector says it has only "xx years" of life left on it, and that affects their ability to get a mortgage or insurance, then you will have to take some action to hold the contract together. If that doesn't happen, technically the roof has "passed" inspection, and that is all that is required from you. They can ask all they want, but you are under no obligation to comply. They should not be able to use "passed" items to back out with an inspection contigency.
However, you may be competing with properties that have newer roofs and if you are in a languishing market, that will put you at a disadvantage.

This is nearly exactly what happened to my in-laws. The septic passed, but the inspector made a passing comment to the buyers that septic systems only last about (something like) 30 years and this was a 25-year-old septic system and would need to be replaced in 5 years. So the buyers asked for the septic system to be replaced to the tune of $6-7K. My in-laws were nearly in tears after having made so many concessions already, this was going to break the deal. I reminded them about inspections and contingencies and the contract and how it's all supposed to work (which their agent should have been doing), so they had their agent ask the buyers to send the problematic paperwork to their lawyer.
(1) there was no paperwork, because it was a verbal comment (2) they were bluffing because they didn't even have a lawyer (3) it worked, and they closed a few days later

As others have said, unless its a VA or FHA loan, the age of the roof isn't likely to come up to the bank. The appraiser will certainly note it and likely ding your appraisal value as a result. And when the new buyers try to get homeowners insurance (which they will be required to do as a condition of close), many underwriters may either flat out refuse to insure the home or do so at highly inflated rates due to the useful age of the roof. Insurance companies have been really beat up with roof claims int he last several years if you've been following the news so they are far more stringent now than they were. I've had one agent refuse to re-insure my home after having it with them for over 8 years, without a single claim, simply due to the advanced age of the roof.

All is negotiable, but some things are unavoidable. If I were you, I'd be considering a concession to the asking price due at closing to replace the roof. But even with that tactic, your buyers may still have difficulty getting a loan approved due to issues with HO insurance.

I've been in your situation before...it really sucks. You seldom get points from the buyers for a new roof, but you always have them deducted for an aging one. Leaks are a different matter.

Thanks for all the advice and information. I didn't even know the stuff about the HO insurance.

So that deal fell through. I think the buyers just wanted out because they came back with a list of just ridiculous stuff to fix - like repaint the whole house, buy all new window screens (because a couple are bent or have small holes that have been patched) and a bunch of other stuff that is just cosmetic or subjective and all visible when you walk through the home. They also asked for some really expensive stuff like install a new electrical box and new water heater but didn't want to tell us why or show us the inspector's report to justify the request. They also asked for the roof, and because my husband and I had already decided that it was fair, we did offer to give them a credit for the roof equal to an estimate we'd already gotten but of course they rejected it.

So we are back on the market, a little older and a lot wiser.

Thanks

You don't mention the state you are in, but in some states, its a legal requirement that you be given the option to view the actual buyers' inspection report. I know some REA's that REFUSE to let the sellers see the report (claiming that it limits their liability to disclose things), but in my experience, its always in your best interest to see the inspection reports if at all possible.

Good luck with this. The roof thing can be hit or miss depending on the insurance agent. You may want to even include the rider page of your own HO insurance with your disclosure as a "hint" that the home is insured already and they may be able to get similar rates from your own agent.

Depending on where you live I may disagree with Tony about viewing the inspection report. In my state I would be required to update the sellers disclosure and attach the report. It's a concern when you didn't select the inspector and have no idea how experienced or professional they may be. If the inspector is aggressive you have a disclosure that will be scary to most buyers. Ask your REA and if you don't have to disclose then Tony is right, you should see the specifics since $ is involved.

Here you don't want to see the full report. However, they have to disclose the pertinent sections of anything they want fixed. That way you don't have to know about things you could potentially have to disclose in future sales if that one backs out.