I think there are certain things in a home that buyers expect to be in good working order with a reasonable life left in it. To me the roof is one of those things. I expect the roof to have more then 2-3 years of life left. So to me a new roof isn't something that's going to add a percentage to the selling price as much as a roof needing to be replaced would subtract from the price I'd offer on a home. In other words if I looked at a home with a brand new roof, I'm not going to offer more for it because I expect the roof to be in good shape, but if I looked at a home with a roof that needs to be replaced, I'm going to deduct from my offer because of the bad condition of the roof.

I think that for certain financing options (FHA and VA specifically), there needs to be a certain amount of 'life' left in the roof (and other things) for the house to qualify for those type of loans. Not sure of the specifics, but something to check into and consider.

I wouldn't knowingly buy a house with a roof in such poor condition. I say knowingly because our house inspector said the roof of this house was fine and it only lasted another year. I could afford to replace it, but as someone already pointed out on one of these threads, so many people today don't have any cash to do fix-ups and need things to be in good working order. Lenders are going to be extra careful about that sort of thing too. I don't think it is a matter of making money on the new roof as it is that it won't sell without it.

Thanks everyone for the responses and the new perspectives. What you all say makes a lot more sense than worrying about extra added value. Concentrate on making sure all the necessary components are in good working order/condition not only in the buyers eyes, but lenders as well. Thanks again!

quote" if I looked at a home with a brand new roof, I'm not going to offer more for it because I expect the roof to be in good shape, but if I looked at a home with a roof that needs to be replaced, I'm going to deduct from my offer because of the bad condition of the roof. "quote

I'll second this statement.

See ya,
Kelly

We replaced our roof last summer. We replaced it b/c we knew it would need to be replaced w/in the next year or two and in this tough real estate market we didn't want to give a potential buyer any big items that would affect their offer. Fortunately, we had a horrible hailstorm tear through here just before the new roof was done,so our insurance ended up picking up the tab.

The only problem I have as a buyer with the seller installing a new roof shortly before selling is that I would suspect they did whatever was cheapest instead of whatever was right. As in, I wouldn't be thrilled about having a house where a 2nd layer of cheapo shingles was slapped down over the 1st layer - more hassle for me when it comes time to remove the 2nd roof. I'd much rather have the seller give a credit towards a new roof - then I could pick the color and shingle quality I want and pick my own contractor to do the work. We bought a 3 year old supposed-top-of-the-line custom-built house but it seems the builder did everything on the cheap, and we've done nothing but pay and pay to fix shoddy work and cheap components since the day we moved in 6 years ago. It's not fun. Slapping a cheap roof over the existing one would have fooled me 6 years ago (and will probably fool a lot of other naive buyers), but it wouldn't fool me today - live and learn, as they say.

Very good point, Ikplatow. I never advise to go over the existing for many reasons. Stripping the existing allows you to inspect the sheathing/ flashings/ facias for possible repalcement/attention. Here in the mojave desert, rot isn't much of an issue with the exception of "dry rot" which is hard to spot w/o stripping. Another concern is the shingle type. Standard 3-tabs have a short life span due to the adhesion loosenning and the winds we have here sending them flying off the roof. Typically it rolls quite a few courses leaving exposed sections. Dimensionals are typically a heavier shingle and have a better adhesion strip at the leading edge and have proved more reliable although pricier. The bottom line is , however, no matter the advise given, it is up to the customer to make the decision on what route to go regarding replacement which in the sellers case, is probably as you stated, at least in most cases. In the case of my friends project, they dont want to strip but are willing to go dimensional.