First things first: don’t panic! No good buyer’s agent on the planet would let a buyer “leave money” on the table by not asking for something based on the results of a home inspection. Unless you’re selling your house “as-is,” you should expect some complaints.
The next thing you’ll want to do is try and understand the severity of the issues reported in the inspection. “Roofing problems” can cover a wide variety of issues, from a missing shingle or two to a totally rotten underlayment. Either way, you’re going to want to bring in a pro of your own.
Your best course of action is to hire your own professional roofer for a second opinion. Remember that home inspectors are not professional roofers! Just because they think something’s seriously wrong with your roof doesn’t mean there is. The home inspector technically works for the buyer; you need a professional in your corner.
Once your roofer gives you the scoop, you have options. You can choose to fix the roof on your own dime, or you can offer the buyer a “credit” for the repairs. You also have the option of ignoring inspection and your roofer’s repair advice but be forewarned that anything you find out during the inspection process becomes a “material fact,” which means you have to reveal it to the next buyer who comes along should your current contract fall through.
For most people, choosing to repair the roof is usually less costly than forking over a credit to buyers. For some sellers, though, like those who’ve already moved out of the home or those who need an entirely new roof, giving the buyers money off the transaction makes more sense than going through the trouble of the repairs themselves.
That’s a good idea to offer the buyer a credit for repairs if a secondary inspection yields the same results as the buyer’s. My friends recently just bought an older home and the roof is definitely aging, although not replaceable yet. They should find roofers that will do some repairs from them since they did get a little extra from the seller for that reason.
If I was to sell my home and my roof failed inspection, I would want to first have a professional roofer come and give me a second opinion. That way, I can see for sure what exactly needs to be done and to see if it is something severe or not. Regardless of the issue, I would get it fixed right away by a professional.
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I like that you said that home inspectors are not professional roofers and that you will need to hire a professional roofer if you want to have an exact roof evaluation. One of my friends told me that he was going to buy a new home and he saw that the roof might be damaged. I’m going to advise him about hiring a professional to help him out.