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Would you walk on this roof????

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Highland Realty, Inc 0225 099336

 A listing of mine sold recently in Arlington, VA, that had a very nice and expensive tile roof. I was minding my own business or whatever it is that Broker’s do at the office, when I received a call from a very peeved and frustrated Buyer Agent. He was accompanying the Purchaser for the home inspection. The Purchaser and the Inspector were at an impasse about the roof: the Purchaser wanted him to go up on it and insure its’ integrity and stability; the inspector refused citing personal liability if any of the tiles should happen to break while he was on it.  He asked the Purchaser to assume responsibility for any broken tiles and, the Purchaser refused but - insisted he go on it regardless.

What would you do at this point?

Right or wrong, I called my favorite A.S.H.I. certified and 20-year-experienced Home Inspector for an opinion.  H e said he wouldn’t go up on the roof either unless the Purchaser agreed to assume liability for any breakage.  He went on to say that in most instances, the limited amount of walking on the roof needed to complete the inspection probably wouldn’t cause any tiles to break, but it could. The American Society of Home Inspectors and the National Association of Home Inspectors both exclude walking on tile roofs as an obligation for home inspectors.  The reason for this exclusion is to relieve inspectors from the liability for broken tiles, whether or not those tiles were broken by the inspector. There is always a chance of being blamed for tiles that were already broken.

So what happened? The inspector placed the ladder against the eaves at various locations and visually inspected the roof for damaged tiles. He also stood back from the property and inspected the roof with binoculars. We then suggested to the Purchaser that the Seller might allow two additional days on the home inspection contingency to provide time for the Purchaser to hire a licensed Roofer to come to the property and inspect the roof.  The roof was fine. We closed three weeks later.

What experiences, good or bad, have you had with tile roofs? How were they inspected? Any breakage incidents?

Comments (6)

Shawn Martin
Crosby Inspections - Vancouver, WA

I will never walk on a tile roof. There is just to much labiality. You can cause a thousand dollars worth of damage very easily.  I will inspect the roof from my ladder and use binoculars, but I will never walk on it.

 

Shawn Martin

Martin Home Inspection Services

http://www.martininspect.com/

 

Nov 24, 2006 10:17 AM
Dena Stevens
Rocky Mountain Realty - Canon City, CO
Putting The Real Into Realtor Since 2004
I have on occasion run into the same problem. Once I called a roofer who not only inspected but certified the roof for approx $100. Then the roofer was on the line for the condition of the roof. And I've called a friend who sells roofing to roofers. She gets on roofs all of the time, requested by the homeowner. She'll do that for approx $75. Both are covered by their own insurance.
Nov 24, 2006 11:07 AM
Jeff Belonger
Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc - Cherry Hill, NJ
The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans

Dave.... I only do mortgages... but I did run into an issue and we needed a roof inspection on an FHA property. Everything was done last minute.... and I needed to get the loan closer. They had the roof replaced last minute. Finding inspectors in this area is extremely tough. I asked my underwriter and closer if they would close the deal for me, knowing that I had an inspector that would go out there 3 days after settlement. I figured there would be no problems because it was a brand new roof.

Well... I get a call telling me that it did meet normal standards.... out. I can't go back to the seller and or the buyer. I asked him how much. he said....since he did the inspection, he would charge me a low fee, after knowing that I would be paying for this. It cost me $550 dollars....  that was a lesson learned. Next time, no mister nice guy. We wait...

But sorry...no other experiences in regards to walking on the roofs. All of my appraisers won't walk up there either, just as mentioned, because of the liability.

Nov 24, 2006 11:50 AM
Peter Andres - Lic. in FL & NY GRI,SRES,CNE
REALTOR - The Villages, FL
Not too many tile roofs here in New York. It's the purchasers choice for inspectors and roofers and also their expense if they want to have it done. There shouldn't be a problem with you and your seller. The buyers agent is supposed to take care of HIS client and handle all the problems.
Nov 24, 2006 12:10 PM
Ray Saenz
Exit Realty Laredo - Laredo, TX
Homes for Sale in Laredo, TX - Texas, Realtor

Dave,

I have never ran in a scenario like yours, very difficult, but I would do the same with the inspector, the same thing that it happened to you, using the ladder and maybe bincoulars if that is the case,   all my life I lived on roofs like those and I remember when I was a boy, I used to climb on roofs and be on roofs all the time and I broke some on my house, it never happened anything with leaks or something, I do not know if the contruction in USA it is the same as Mexico but I believe that is similar, so houses where I lived my dad build them, he is a civil engineer and he knew very well his job how to tell people how to do it on details, hm....   I really do not know, but we never had leak, maybe my house was very insulated.

Ray Saenz

Nov 24, 2006 12:29 PM
Ann Cummings
RE/MAX Shoreline - NH and Maine - Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth NH Real Estate Preferrable Agent

We don't have that kind of roof up here, but I can certainly understand an inspector not wanting to walk on those tiles.  Roofers here generally will get up on the roof to inspect it, and they'll use binoculars, etc. if the slant of the roof is such that it's too dangerous to climb up there.

Ann Cummings

Nov 24, 2006 01:21 PM