On a recent transaction the home inspector observed that some shingles were worn on the composition roof. He indicated that at this point it had no affect on the current integrity of the roof although those shingles would probably fail before the rest of the roof. The roof was about 23 years old and had a projected life of 30 years.
My buyers requested on the BINSR that those shingles be replaced and the seller agreed. But when the roofing company came out and inspected the roof they said that they would have to take up the surrounding shingles in order to replace the worn shingles and that would reduce the life of the roof.
My buyers then said that in light of that information they wanted the roof replaced or to cancel the contract and receive their earnest money. When I confronted the seller's agent with this information she said that we were out of the inspection period and could not have a second bite of the apple. My broker and I then called the legal hotline. Their opinion was that what the roofing company presented was new information and we could therefore extend the inspection period. But to complicate matters, the home was a duplex. The one roof was shared by two homes and there would be no way you could get the second owner to share in the cost of a new roof.
As luck would have it, my buyers loved the home and it was priced well below market. They opted to go through with the transaction without the repair. A happy ending. They do love the home.
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