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Would the seller have to replace the roof after a home inspector found some “cracks” in shingles?

Question : Would the seller have to replace the roof after a home inspector found some “cracks” in shingles?
During a recent home inspection the inspector found “some cracks in a certain percentage of the shingles”.
That was all that was stated to our agent.The inspector told the buyer’s agent that a strong wind could eventually rip it up. The roof is only 13 years old and under a 25 year warranty. (We kept the Builder’s spec sheet and Standard Features).However, we do not know the manufacturer’s name. We had the house built in 1995. We did call the builder but he claims he doesn’t keep records of the manufacturer–just the colors and style of the roofing.
We feel making a prediction on something is not grounds for us to replace the roof! ( For that matter anyone’s roof could lift with winds that strong.) A roof will show normal wear and tear after so many years. This inspector is making a prediction on possibly something he is not an expert at. For that matter anything in a house will eventually break as part of the age of the item. We feel that if the buyer’s walk because of this they should reconsider buying a resale.. The seller should not be responsible for the normal aging of a home. We have never had a problem with leaks etc. It was not recommended that we replace it. However, their agent seems to think we might have to.
home buyers resale warranty

Best answer:

Answer by bud68
It will be a matter between you and the buyer. What is the buyer asking for?

This entry was posted by admin on September 5, 2010 at 1:14 am, and is filed under Home Warranties. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

Comments (6)
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#1 written by MikeyZ 1 year ago

The home inspector can identify features on the roof (like cracks, etc.), but he is unqualified to assess the roof’s condition relative to its age, or its prognosis for damage in the future. For that, you need an inspection by a licensed roofer.

Get one. Most will do it for under a hundred bucks.

The roofer will be able to tell you if the cracks in the shingles are consistent with the age of the roof, and how many years before it will need replacing. Get the results in writing and send a copy to the buyer’s agent.

Then, as the other posters have already aptly stated, decide whether or not refusing to replace the roof is worth the risk of losing the sale.

Good luck, work hard, and stay away from drugs.

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#2 written by Jennifer H 1 year ago

Well…i would get another opinion …or two…on your roof. Is it “normal” wear and tear? Or is it prematurely deteriorating. Both are possibilities. I mean you do have a 25 year warranty, so if it is something that needs to be addressed then it should not be that big cost correct? I mean if you were buying a house and someone told you the roof might not be as sound as it should be you would have concerns as well. There is a chance that the quality of the product that you purchased for you roof was not as good as you builder claimed it was. Also, its a bit fishy that he does not know that manufacturer. Sounds like poor book keeping. Any business that supplies consumers with products that they do not personal create should be keeping records as to where they came from, that is standard! Who is the warranty from anyway? They normally come from the manufacturer. Its typically reccomended that roofing needs to be replaced ever 20 years or so. Yes, you are right..anything can happen to any house at anytime. But i believe that you owe it to the future owners of you house to make all assurances possible that they are buying a sound structure (barring an act of God). When i bought my house the roof was within a year or so of needing to be replaced. I worked with the sellar to to splitting the cost of replacement, she took some off the cost of the home and i payed for the rest (ended up being about 50/50). I mean if the tables were turned..what would you do?

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#3 written by William H 1 year ago

If the potential buyer wants to walk because of the roof they can. That is why they have the contract “subject to” the home inspection. On the other hand this maybe just a way to get a few $ $ out of you. Considering the market you may want to make a friendly offer for the “possible” future damage due to the roof having some excessively worn/damaged shingles. If the roof cost $ 4,000 offer them 10% or $ 400 for any potential future repairs and be done with it! But what ever your decision keep in mind the market and the next buyer may have a similar concern as well. So you may have additional time invested and still end up in the same situation.

Its a tough market out there so consult your Realtor and good luck!

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#4 written by bdancer222 1 year ago

It’s all part of the negotiations. When I had my house inspected, he came up with a list of things wrong ranging from a bad electrical outlet to the range hood not being vented. I asked the seller to repair everything. They said no, take it or leave it. I took the house.

It boils down to how bad do you want to sell your house and how bad does the buyer want that house? In this market, a 13 year old shingled roof with cracks could be a deal breaker for the buyer. It’s an expensive repair that they will have to deal within a few years.

Now that this has been pointed out to you, you may have to disclose it to future potential buyers (depends on the laws in your area). So you might have to actually replace the roof or lower your price to compensate.

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#5 written by Dizzy_Lizzy 1 year ago

Obviously it has been some time since you bought a house. This is standard procedure for home sales. The buyer gets an inspection so they know what they’re dealing with and they will often ask the owner to make repairs to offer financial concessions to make those repairs. When you’re buying the home to replace this one, you should expect the same process.

No, you do not have to replace it. The buyer can ask, you can say no, and they can choose to either buy the house without a new roof or walk away. Whether you should seriously consider a request to replace the roof or not depends on the health of your local market. If it’s a seller’s market (i.e. more buyers than available homes) you stand a better chance of the buyer letting go of this request. However, if it’s a buyer’s market (more homes for sale than qualified & willing buyers), they’re more likely to walk away because there are plenty of sellers who will do what it takes to sell their homes.

I highly suggest you sit down with your listing agent and go over some data:

How long were you on the market before getting an offer?

At what list price did you get an offer, and how close was said offer to list?

How well are comparable homes selling in your area?
If it could take months to get another offer, what’s the cost difference in paying your mortgage for several more months vs. replacing the roof to get the house sold now?

Ask your list agent if (s)he were representing a buyer making an offer on a home like yours what she would suggest they offer knowing about the roof issue because…

In many areas, you will now have to include the results of this inspection in your seller’s disclosure, meaning that all future potential buyers will know before making an offer that this issue exists and that generally means that future offers will be lower as the buyers take into account the cost of a new roof.

Do the math and decide what you think would be best for you.

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#6 written by dweebrgurl 1 year ago

From my experience with the home buying process I was told that the seller would have to replace any items that were nonfunctional. The shingles may have cracks in them, but like you said, the roof is not leaking and they are predicting that they will come off with strong winds (big whoop!)

I personally do not feel that this is something that would HAVE to be replaced or repaired prior to the sale of the home.

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