How Your Roof Affects Selling Your Home

By: Dalton Dubetz

If you are considering selling your home you are probably thinking of ways to get the highest possible return value. Things like a kitchen remodel, a new bathroom, or a freshly landscaped yard all seem like surefire ways to increase your home’s value.

Many homeowners unfortunately don’t consider their roof when brainstorming ways to increase the value and appeal of their home.

The curb appeal alone of a new roof can attract more viewers and potential buyers to your home that may have previously passed on the opportunity because of an older or weathered roof.

Besides improved curb appeal, a new roof can show potential buyers that you have been diligent in caring for and maintaining your home. This can go a long way with easing their minds that they are finding a move in ready home.

Since most buyers will not have the expendable cash necessary to re-roof a home they have just purchased, listing a home that will require a new roof immediately or within the next five years can create some hindrances on the possible sale of your home.

If your roof is in need of repair or replacement, “The repair/replacement should always be done before listing the property,” said Ellen Lapierre, a broker with Realty 2000 Inc, drawing from more than 20 years of experience as a realtor.

Tavin Todd, a realtor with Royal Lepage, said that he presents three options to the homeowner if a new roof is necessary.

The first option he presents is to fix the roof and save all of the receipts and documentation along the way so that you can ask for the full price of your home.

The second option is to not fix the roof. This can, and often does, result in the buyer creating a holdback. A holdback is when a certain amount of money is withheld from the sale until specific contractual obligations are met. In this case the holdback would be the amount that a new roof would cost and the contractual obligation would be the repair/replacement of the roof.

Mr. Todd’s third and final option is to disclose the condition of the roof to the buyer and sell the home ‘as-is’. Selling your home as-is means the buyers cannot ask for a discounted price or create a holdback, however, the seller will have to adjust the asking price of the home accordingly.

Mrs. Lapierre and Mr. Todd both agree that a new roof can increase the value of your home to varying degrees.

How much value is added to your home due to a new roof is dependent on things such as the materials you choose and the current market conditions.

Say you live in a neighbourhood with a lot of starter homes clad in class 4 asphalt shingles, replacing your roof with an expensive material like metal or slate probably won’t recoup the cost of the new roof. On the other hand, if the homeowner goes with the neighbourhood standard of class 4 asphalt or a slight upgrade to rubber shingles, they will probably recover a higher percentage, if not all, of the cost.

As much as the materials you choose for your roof will impact the value added and recovered, the current market will also be a determining factor.

If the market is trending toward buyers you may have to lower your asking price, meaning you will recoup less of the cost to put on a new roof. This is why it is important to keep all receipts and documentation if you had a new roof installed before listing in a buyer’s (or any) market. That being said, if you forgo a new roof you may lose potential value once for the market being buyer friendly and a second time because of a roof in need of repair or replacement.

If the market is trending towards sellers you are more likely to get full value for your home and your new roof. This is especially true if you can provide the receipts and documentation showing that the work done to your roof was done properly and by a trusted company. This becomes even more apparent if the company you chose offers a transferable warranty like Shield Roofing & Exteriors.

With multiple factors influencing the potential value of a new roof when selling your home it is important to be well informed about all of them from current market trends to the expected roofing materials for your neighbourhood.

While a knowledgeable and honest realtor like Ellen Lapierre or Tavin Todd will be able to guide you through the trends and expectations of the market, contacting Shield Roofing & Exteriors for a free, knowledgeable, and honest inspection can help you determine the best course of action to get the most value out of your roof and home.