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We are first time home buyers. We got a house for which the inspection is going on now. The home owner had put in the seller's disclosure that the age of the roof is 12 years. The disclosure and the owner never mentioned that it is the topmost layer that is 12 years old.
Now during the home inspection, inspector is telling that there are two layers and the top most layer is about 12 years.
Did we misunderstand the owner's statement?
What can we do about that now? The contract is signed. Is there a way we can bring it up before closing.
If we donot change the roof how many more years will it come for? Can we put a third layer? I donot know about the state limit for the number of layers of roof that can be put. The house is in Hillsborough, NJ.
If we need to put a new roof, how much would it cost? The roof is Asphalt shingle.
Twelve years ago, most roofs were in the 20-25 year warranty range. This doesn't mean the roof will necessarily last the whole 20-25 years, but it's not unusual for asphalt shingle roofs to do so in NJ if they're installed properly. It's also not unusual to have two layers of roofing on a house, but two is the maximum- the next time a roof is needed, the two existing layers will need to be stripped off and a new roof applied directly to the roof sheathing.
I don't think the seller's statement was misleading, as the current roof is indeed 12 years old- but that's up to your lawyer to decide. Your home inspector should give you some idea as to the condition of the roof, but most of them won't estimate remaining life of a product because they don't want the liability if it doesn't last (the old "but the home inspector said....").
As far as the replacement cost, roofing is typically priced by the square, which is 100 square feet of roof area, and for a tearoff and re-roof, prices in central NJ from licensed, insured roofers will range anywhere from $300-400/square. To guesstimate the area of the roof, I'd take the flat area of the house footprint, and multiply it by 1.3 for a relatively low-sloped roof, or 1.5-1.6 for a steeper roof. For example, if it's a 1,000 SF single-story house with a 2-car attached garage, your footprint is around 1,400 SF, so the roof area will be between 1,800 and 2,400 SF, or 18-24 squares. That ballparks your replacement costs at somewhere in the range of $5,400 to $9,600 depending on the roof pitch. That'll get you close enough to give you some idea of what the roof might cost.
Disclaimer- your actual costs may vary greatly- best to get a roofer to provide you an estimate prior to finalizing the inspection period if this is a major concern.
Thanks for the exhaustive information. When we heard about the roof from the inspector, we felt cheated. It is good to see your answer on that.
Anyway as you said, we will talk to our attorney also about that.
Also thanks for providing information on the rates.
Although what Bob said is true, but it is NOT consider cheated since you are buying a used house, sort of as is, NOT a new house.
However, have you thought about why you would need to replace roof even every 25 years? It is not really needed if you think twice. "replace everything" tends to be the way American society do, but I would not think it needs.
e.g. the next door of my brother-in-law's house has replace roof TWICE already!!! Why? not sure, and each time they thought about replace it (with different color to match their new siding, not sure why they replace siding either ...), they seems to also add sun roof, open more window ...etc.
Like you can replace a new car every 4 year, but you do NOT have to. The tires may be worn out after 4 year, just replace new tires will let you last for another 4 years ... This is similar to the roof.
Like if you ask "auto expert", they will tell you to change oil and filter every 3,000 miles, but did you realize where that come from? Huan-Ching told me that if not replace 3,000 miles, the car will not last for long, but I told him, my Toyota Corolla 1990 has over 160,000 miles and from the first day I bought it, I read the manual, and I always change oil every 7,500 miles, and I changed oil filter every 15,000 miles. So, who is expert? Huan-Ching or me? I got the first hand experience with support on Toyota Manual...
If you want to change oil every 3,000 miles, it is fine with me, just that if you want to change your roof every 25 years or sooner like my brother in law's neighbor has done 3 times!!!
Any way, my first feeling is that you will have at least another 13 years to go, and are NOT going to stay at the house for that long. Average American move every 7 years. It is not unusual these days to see people move in just TWO years. Why? the tax advantage for NO tax on capital gain.
Buyers normally would like to find some problem and get some "cash back" at closing, and you may try with this roof issue, but, psychologically, don't get panic! I am sure your roof would last for a long while.
Even if you found some problem many years later, you may still NOT need to "replace the whole roof". For me, I would just replace an area that cause leaking. But, for your house with TWO layers of roof shingles, that "possibility" is very small.
If I were you, the only time when I could be thinking to replace the whole roof would be to replace them with shingle that can collect sun lights to turn into electricity. I have been monitored the technology, and recently there was a guy got his Ph.D from Austrilia and went back to China and form a company to mass produce that photo-electric shingle, and the life has increased to about 25 years like regular shingle, and cost wise kept on decreasing (I guess, that's why you will see more and more roof replace with that.)
Although what Bob said is true, but it is NOT consider cheated since you are buying a used house, sort of as is, NOT a new house.
However, have you thought about why you would need to replace roof even every 25 years? It is not really needed if you think twice. "replace everything" tends to be the way American society do, but I would not think it needs.
Even if you found some problem many years later, you may still NOT need to "replace the whole roof". For me, I would just replace an area that cause leaking. But, for your house with TWO layers of roof shingles, that "possibility" is very small.
If I were you, the only time when I could be thinking to replace the whole roof would be to replace them with shingle that can collect sun lights to turn into electricity. I have been monitored the technology, and recently there was a guy got his Ph.D from Austrilia and went back to China and form a company to mass produce that photo-electric shingle, and the life has increased to about 25 years like regular shingle, and cost wise kept on decreasing (I guess, that's why you will see more and more roof replace with that.)
Can you please stick to topics that you have a clue about? Relating chainging your roof every 25 years to changing your oil every 3,000 miles shows that you don't know what you're talking about on this subject.
Roof shingles are made of granules embedded onto an asphalt/fiberglass base. Over time, the granules wear, and the shingles also tend to curl. The 25-year warranty is the manufacturer's anticipated timeframe for the shingles to deteriorate to a point that they can no longer properly shed water due to loss of granules, curling, and other factors that will affect the water-tightness of a roof. While you could "just replace the leaking shingles" after 25 years, most people don't enjoy climbing on their roof to do so, and also don't enjoy having a new leak every month or so as more shingles begin to deteriorate. Besides the obvious cost of the repairs and the haphazard look of the roof with multiple patches, there's also the damage to the interior of the home which no one wants to deal with.
Can you get 30 years out of a 20-year roof, like you've gotten 160,000 miles out of your car? Sure, I guess you could. Most people choose to be smarter than that in the case of a roof though, since it protects everything they own.
Do some people change roofs just to update the color to match their siding? None that I've ever known, but it seems to be a phenomenon that's fairly common in your neck of the woods. Not something I'd recommend unless you really enjoy wasting money, but not exactly a direct comparison to changing cars every 4 years either. I change cars every 3 years because I enjoy driving the newest technology, and I also don't want to be bothered with repairs after warranty, and the downtime associated with that. That's not quite the same as changing your roof every few years.
I've been in the construction industry for over 20 years, while you seem to be some sort of broker/consultant with a veiled, vested interest in the Edison Hollow South condo complex. I'll promise not to comment on how to best buy a condo at Edison Hollow South if you'll promise not to comment on proper construction/maintenance items. This way we'll both stay in the realm of what we know something about.
I've been in the construction industry for over 20 years, while you seem to be some sort of broker/consultant with a veiled, vested interest in the Edison Hollow South condo complex. I'll promise not to comment on how to best buy a condo at Edison Hollow South if you'll promise not to comment on proper construction/maintenance items. This way we'll both stay in the realm of what we know something about.
Bob
I guess uncle ying and cousin yang don't have an answer for everything
back to the OP's issue, you could try and get a credit from the seller if your inspector says the roof needs immediate replacement.
In hindsight, or if you ever buy a house again, conditions like old roofs, bad siding, cracked floor tiles are not deal breakers but these issues should be a part of your offer, in fact you can say to your broker I'm only offering X$ because of these obvious deficiencies, one thing you should be wary of is if the owner was lax with the roof maintanence, what else did he defer maintanence on?
Like I said all these issues should be a factor in making an offer on a house.
Like I said all these issues should be a factor in making an offer on a house.
This is the reason that we felt cheated. Had we known about the correct age and the layers of the roof before, we would have considered that in the offer.
Anyway, the inspector said the house is in a good condition otherwise. He said the roof is also in a good condition eventhough old.
Again we still going to ask our attorney about this.
This is the reason that we felt cheated. Had we known about the correct age and the layers of the roof before, we would have considered that in the offer.
Anyway, the inspector said the house is in a good condition otherwise. He said the roof is also in a good condition eventhough old.
Again we still going to ask our attorney about this.
Thank you guys for the replies.
Daph
caveat emptor, I am not being harsh but that is the way it is,
a 12 year old roof sitting on 2 older layers of roof is an issue because it should be replaced sooner than later, try for an adjustment
We are about to close on a house that was built in the 30s ad a addition added to the back of the house in the 70s. We were told that the house had a new roof put on in 08. During the home inspection we found out that the older section of house had three layers and the newer had two. The seller has agreed to replace the older section but not the newer section. I can understand this given that two layers is okay and it was put on in 08. Is it okay if I replace one section and not the other? Is this going to cause an issue further down the line?
Check with the town.
Most town inspectors will not allow more than 2 roofs.
weight is an issue on the roof
excessive heat buildup of the roofing tiles and heat transfer to the roof decking is another in summer.
You can do whatever section you want, as little or much as you want.
as long as the 2 layers are properly sealed together.
the point is no water gets thru.
If the seam between them is poor, you wil have constant leaks.
The best way, (albiet the most expensive), remove the entire roof tiles and replace the whole thing at one time.
Then no arguments later on warrently about what is leaking, old or new section.
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