{{!gwi}}

One more pic

I would suspect that nails for the ridge vent were not anchored in solid wood, maybe rotted wood or maybe totally missed the wood sheathing.
You would need to inspect the sheathing from inside the attic to evaluate the underlying cause.

I didn't think this was a ridge vent - I thought this is just where the roof meets at the ridge. Will find out tomorrow - may need to put my glasses on - doesn't look like my ridge vent I have on my current home.

Thanks for your input - you could be right!

You really need to do some close inspecting if you are serious on buying this. Find out comparable prices of homes in the area - then get rough estimates of needed work and subtract from the comparable average - that should be what you pay for this home. It appears to not be well maintained at all. Spend a few hours in the home with someone along that knows homes - take notes. I bought a home like this once - we were finding things months later.

You also have some major leaking where the two different roofs meet. I don't see any flashing any much rotted wood where water has been getting in.

It looks like a ridge vent to me. Look how thick it is. I agree the nails are not holding.

Thanks to all who replied to my post. We went to look at the house again this morning - was surprised to see some guys inside - seems the bank was paying to put on a new roof.

I had someone meet me there that knows construction - the more he look (and pointed out) he went from saying if I could get it at one price to I wouldn't buy this house for anything but the land. He pointed out things I hadn't seen before. And yes, one of the problems was the ridge vent, but boy, there was so much more!!! I decided to not bother with the house.

On a good note, well sort of, we passed by another house that may be a match, and a better option. It has a contingency contract on it but we may put in an offer and see what happens.

Again, I want to thank you all - the information was very helpful!!!