How old is your roof?
If you are not sure how old your roof really is or how many more years the shingles have left, get a professional opinion.
Why? For one, if your buyer is financing the purchase, the lender is likely going to have a home inspection done. If your roof doesn't pass the inspection and you are not willing or able to make the repairs to pass a re-inspection, then the sale isn't likely to happen. If your buyers is using FHA or VA financing, be prepared for an even stricter inspection.
Let us demonstrate how the age and condition of a roof can make a real estate deal go south pretty quickly. We recently wrote an offer for our buyers on a home in Cormorant Point in Sebring. Cormorant Point is a very well maintained 55+ community within Golf Hammock Estate. The buyers loved the neighborhood and they loved the home. It was exactly what they were looking for and more! The buyers offered even more than they intended to spend on the home.
The day of inspection came and it turns out that the roof didn't have much life left in it. It was the original roof and 21 years old.To his best knowledge, the seller estimated that it was a 40 year roof. Our buyers contracted a roofing company to have a closer look and to give them an estimate. The roofing company met with us after inspection and explained that most of the granulars on the shingles were gone, after which the shingles would start deteriorating in the Florida climate. The buyers were willing to put on a new roof after purchasing. Unfortunately, they were not able to find one single insurance company that would underwrite insurance for a home with a 21 year old roof. We made several calls ourselves, only to find out that Citizens insurance is the only insurance company in Florida willing to insure this roof. What made the deal turn south was the fact that the buyer's lender required the insurance company to be rated by AM Best, which Citizens Insurance was not. To make a long story short: the deal didn't happen and everyone involved learned a lot about roofing and insurance policies.
We recommend you find out about the condition of your roof before you put your home on the market.
More information about selling on your own is available, as well as a nice collection of various forms and worksheets for you to download and use.
Have a wonderful day and continued success,
The Mills Team
myagent@millsrealestate.net
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