A New Roof Could Help Sell Your Home
It’s a typical scenario across the country, a homeowner is looking to sell their home but they know their roof is in less than ideal shape. And so the question arises around the kitchen table, “what do we do with the roof?”
Many homeowners looking to sell their homes are trying to figure out the right balance between meaningful upgrades and things that should really be left for the next owner. The goal of course is to get the most amount of money for your home.
A home’s roof is one of those big deal items for a potential home buyer. Someone looking for a new home may not want to purchase a home that’s in need of a new roof. Some people make the mistake of remodeling the inside of their homes, but completely ignoring the outside. HGTV captures the problem with this logic,
If all of your remodeling is on the inside but the outside of the house is challenging you’ll never have a chance to even show the inside.
A New Roof: To Be Or Not To Be
A roof can be in varying degrees of degradation. Your roof is in need of repair if you see buckling shingles, cracked shingles, sagging roof (which could indicate underlying deck rot), lost granules (found in gutters and downspouts), leaks, ice dams or damage from recent wind or hail.
According to data from Zillow 18% of homeowners make the decision to repair and replace their roofs before selling while 21% decide to sell their homes “as is."
TWO POSITIVES TO SAYING “YES”
- It will help you get your full asking price, or even more (22% of sellers who make upgrades sell their homes above asking price).
- It will streamline the sales process. If you choose not to re-roof or do meaningful repairs the sales process is longer and drawn out because of complications with inspections and ensuing negotiations.
ONE NEGATIVE FOR SAYING “YES”
- You will likely not see a 100% return on investment.
Final Thoughts
Whether you decide to replace your roof or not, the decision is ultimately up to you. Choosing to replace your roof will help stream-line the sales process, attract more offers and help you get full asking price (or even more if you’re in that lucky 22%). But, you’ll likely not recoup all your investment, and that can be a tricky decision to make.
Some people will make the decision to replace their roofs and that will be a good decision for them, others will decide not to and that too will be a good decision for them. It all depends on your particular situation and goals.
Good luck selling! Now what’s it for you, to re-roof or not to re-roof, that is the question.
