Can you sell a house with an old roof in Raleigh?
Yes you can sell a house with an old roof, there are no laws or regulations that require a certain condition of your roof before selling. While you can in fact sell a home with an old roof you may not want too, there are many reasons why which we will discuss in this article. If you have been thinking of selling your property one of the more important things to consider is what areas of the home are selling points and what are the pain points for the buyer. If you recently had the driveway poured this would be considered a selling point but if your roof is leaking and damaged this would be a big pain point. Generally speaking a buyer needs to have more selling points than pain points in order to pull the trigger and buy the home.
Selling a home with an old roof may make the home more difficult to sell, not only because of the lack of curb appeal but losing many potential buyers due to loan requirements. If someone is a first time home buyer certain loan programs such as the FHA loan and mortgage companies will not lend money if the home is in need of repairs such as a new roof, new exterior paint, exterior siding etc. This means that if your roof is really old then you will automatically lose all of those potential buyers.
Another consequence you may not have thought about is how selling a home with an old roof gives the buyer more negotiating power during the selling process. If you do not want to install a new roof on the home before selling then the buyer can negotiate the price of the roof down from your asking price. Let’s say that you are selling the home for $300,000 and the new roof will cost anywhere from $9,000-$12,000. If you sell the house with the old roof the potential buyer could negotiate the buying price down to $285,000 for the cost to install a new roof. When the majority of buyers see a house with an old roof they will automatically assume that they can get a deal and will try to low ball you as the seller more often .
If you are not sure whether the roof needs to be replaced or not we can help by sending one of our roofing contractors in Raleigh out to the property. Many times when you hire someone to give an evaluation and appraisal of the home they will also be able to determine if the roof is in decent shape or not. If during this inspection the roofing contractor finds partial damage, curling shingles, missing shingles, leaks or serious aging conditions we would usually recommend a complete roof replacement.
If the home you are trying to sell has noticeable damage and is leaking then the only type of buyers you will attract are the “house flipping” types which try to buy the home as cheaply as humanly possible so they can flip it for a profit. Like mentioned before, there are many insurance companies who will not insure a new home until an agent has gone out to the property to inspect the roof and make sure it is leak free. Generally for asphalt shingles if your roof is older than 25 years and is beginning to show some obvious signs of ageing and damage it is recommended to replace the roof before selling. Installing a new roof on the home will not only attract more buyers but it will also increase the value of the property and potential curb appeal. When you list the home the can make the phrase “brand new roof” be a highlight of the property and make it seem more appealing to the buyer. This will help the home sell faster rather than trying to sell it with an old roof.
Selling a home with an old roof may make the home more difficult to sell, not only because of the lack of curb appeal but losing many potential buyers due to loan requirements. If someone is a first time home buyer certain loan programs such as the FHA loan and mortgage companies will not lend money if the home is in need of repairs such as a new roof, new exterior paint, exterior siding etc. This means that if your roof is really old then you will automatically lose all of those potential buyers.
Another consequence you may not have thought about is how selling a home with an old roof gives the buyer more negotiating power during the selling process. If you do not want to install a new roof on the home before selling then the buyer can negotiate the price of the roof down from your asking price. Let’s say that you are selling the home for $300,000 and the new roof will cost anywhere from $9,000-$12,000. If you sell the house with the old roof the potential buyer could negotiate the buying price down to $285,000 for the cost to install a new roof. When the majority of buyers see a house with an old roof they will automatically assume that they can get a deal and will try to low ball you as the seller more often .
If you are not sure whether the roof needs to be replaced or not we can help by sending one of our roofing contractors in Raleigh out to the property. Many times when you hire someone to give an evaluation and appraisal of the home they will also be able to determine if the roof is in decent shape or not. If during this inspection the roofing contractor finds partial damage, curling shingles, missing shingles, leaks or serious aging conditions we would usually recommend a complete roof replacement.
If the home you are trying to sell has noticeable damage and is leaking then the only type of buyers you will attract are the “house flipping” types which try to buy the home as cheaply as humanly possible so they can flip it for a profit. Like mentioned before, there are many insurance companies who will not insure a new home until an agent has gone out to the property to inspect the roof and make sure it is leak free. Generally for asphalt shingles if your roof is older than 25 years and is beginning to show some obvious signs of ageing and damage it is recommended to replace the roof before selling. Installing a new roof on the home will not only attract more buyers but it will also increase the value of the property and potential curb appeal. When you list the home the can make the phrase “brand new roof” be a highlight of the property and make it seem more appealing to the buyer. This will help the home sell faster rather than trying to sell it with an old roof.