Thinking of Putting Your Home on the Market? Old Roofs Are Not Attractive to Buyers, Lenders, or Insurance Companies.
So your home has gained equity, and you’ve decided it’s time to sell. Perhaps it’s gained a LOT of equity in one of the many quickly-increasing real estate markets. To ensure that you’ll receive a top-dollar offer on your home, you may consider having it re-roofed before listing it with your preferred real estate agent.
If the roof on your home is at the end of its life and looking like it, you may want to consider a new roof for home sale. Assuming the exterior paint is in good shape, and your landscaping looks great, you’ll want a new roof instead of a terrible-looking, run-down, damaged one. Having great curb appeal for homer sale is of the utmost importance.
What do you do, though, if you cannot afford to replace your roof? Roof repair costs can easily run ten to twenty thousand dollars, depending on the size of your home. Looking into new roof financing isn’t easy. Some homeowners have a HELOC or home equity line of credit they can use. A home equity line of credit is an account that you are able to borrow money from for whatever reason you need. It’s added back to the loan, to be paid off at a later date. Replacing a roof on your home before you put it on the market is a good use of a home equity line of credit.
Some roofing companies will work with a homeowner who is selling a home. As a licensed real estate agent, I once had a deal where my buyer’s mortgage lender wouldn’t finance the purchase of the home because the roof was in poor condition. They were getting an FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan. FHA loans are far more strict about the condition of a home that’s being purchased than a conventional loan.
The roofing shingles were wood shake shingles, and it was obvious that they were damaged. Some were dried out, cracked, and even facing the wrong direction. Just when we figured the deal was going to be blown over the roof’s condition, we were able to find a roofing company who agreed to replace the roof ahead of time and then get paid when the home was sold. I could imagine this company’s likely slogan was: “Don’t want to put out the cash for a new roof? We offer financing with no pre-payment penalties, sell the house and pay it off!”
It’s extremely important when selling your home to have a good, solid roof on your home — for good curb appeal as well as the home passing inspection and lending appraisal. If you are about to sell your home, talk to a reputable roofing company before you list your home if your roof is in poor or below average condition.