Hello, How is everyone.
Well I recently pruchased a property to flip. I did a full analysis with inspection and was anticipating to replace the roof. The owners stated that it was maybe 10 years old. It has alredy had 2 leaks. My inspector said that it still has some life in it but i should think about replacing the whole thing. Recently I had 3 roofers go out to inspect and give me some advice as to whether i need to replace or just repair. All of them said that I could just repair the roof with good resealing. All said the roof had about 2-5 years left on it. I will not be owning the property for 2-5 years…im going to put it back on the market within the month. So I am debating whether to just repair the leaks or replace the whole roof. Whether to spend $500 to repair or $4000 to replace. If anyone has some good advice please let me know.
Thanks for the help
Robert
Sounds like the owners lied to you…big surprise there. The roof should last longer than 10 years. If it’s already got two leaks, it’s not a good sign. You have to figure that a property inspector hired by your potential buyers will at best tell them that there’s not much life left in the roof (if you just re-seal it). That will scare away many of your buyers. It may cost you $3500 more to replace it, but it’s a good selling point.
Thanks for the reply.
Yeah…i agree…a new roof would put any buyers mind at ease. They wont have to worry about making a huge renovation/ repair after they buy. Have there been any situations in your experience when you hve just repaired a roof and not replaced? Plus im sure that the new roof will add greater value on the back end.
Thanks for the replay
RObert
I replaced a few shingles on my house I sold in FL. That’s because the rest of the roof was in very good shape. A few shingles had been blown off during high winds. If there’s only one layer of shingles, you can put new ones over the top of the old ones. That may save some money.
I am really curious why you would invest $4k if you can fix the problem with $500? If the roof still has 2 to 5 years of life - why would you replace it now? Do you think you could get $3.5k more for the house and recover your investment?
And another option - if a potential buyer wants to walk because of the roof you can always offer him to split the cost of the repair - I believe most people would be happy with $2k. This would land you at $2.5 which is better than $4k. and chances are that you may not even need to spend the @2k.
Good luck!
Spend the $500 and see if anyone who’s interested has a problem with the roof.
Roofs are not a place to make money for a flip. except when your buying :biggrin
My bet is you will save atleast $1000 by just fixing it not replacing it.
Repair or replace really depends on your market, market conditions, and competition. I always try to have the nicest house at the best price in that local market. If it means spending a few bucks to help ensure a quick sale and minimize holding costs, I’ll spend the money. Buyers have become very very picky, at least in my local market ,because there are so many houses to choose from. I try to give the impression that their new house will require NOTHING from them for years to come.
jmd_forest
If replacing the roof for $4K will add at least $8K to the value of the property, then I would do it.
Chances are a buyer will have a home inspection and the inspector will tell them that the roof will need replacing. You will end up doing it anyway or giving the buyer a repair credit at closing. If this happens, you just lowered your net by $4K.
Repair the roof, then add $14K to your sale price. Even if you “let” your buyer negotiate your price down $6K, your new roof has given you a 100% return on the repair cost.