Even in these days of online house hunting, the exterior of the house is the first impression that a buyer will have of your property, and the roof is a huge part of that. The exterior could be as far as any potential buyers go. An unsightly shrub, broken siding, or, yes, a roof in disrepair, can mean that people just click on by without looking at the interiors. If your roof has just a few broken shingles, a lot of buyers may not be deterred, but if the entire roof is clearly in poor condition, then you will want to consider biting the bullet and investing in some repairs.
The Downside of Not Replacing
Buying a new roof is expensive. There’s no getting around it, but it pays off in the long run. If your roof is in bad repair, it can also affect your selling experience. It can, first, mean a longer sales process, in that potential buyers may want to negotiate the sale price down to accommodate what they will have to pay for the roof. They may also make roof repairs—or a full replacement—a condition of closing.
As alluded to earlier, you may get fewer views, which will translate into fewer offers. Look at it from the other point of view – if your home requires, or even appears to require, a lot of maintenance, it won’t be as attractive to move in for your potential buyers.
Lastly, and understandably, when you do receive offers, they will be at a considerably lower price because your buyers will be anticipating having to spend money on repairs very shortly.
Your Options
The good news is that you do have options. Depending on the condition of your roof, there are varying degrees of residential roofing repair and budgetary options.
A Partial Re-Roofing: If only a certain section of your home’s roof needs to be repaired, then only repair that section. This is called partial re-roofing and is only a stop-gap measure since, after a few rounds of this, your roof will begin to slope and sag. Furthermore, if the home already had multiple layers of roofing, you would end up having to replace the whole roof anyway.
Shingle Replacement: If this is all your roof needs, then this is all you need to do. Replacing individual shingles is going to be the cheapest option by far, costing only hundreds as opposed to thousands, and removing those broken shingles will brighten up your property.
New Roof: Based on climate, age, and wear, it may be unavoidable – you may need a full roof replacement. Get a couple of opinions before committing, and make sure your builder knows what they’re doing. There are two ways you can go on this – the first is getting a tear-off, which involves taking off the old roof and replacing it with a new one. The other is getting a roof-over. This is a cheaper option and involves putting a new roof on top of the current one. From the outside, it will look the same, and you will be able to tell buyers it is a new roof.
What Is the Financial Return?
When it comes down to it, you might not see a complete return on this investment, since not all improvements afford a full recovery of money spent, but a new roof undeniably raises your house’s value. However, you can measure this up against a quicker sale, and competitive offers at or above the list price.
