Ask the Experts: How Do I Know If I Need a New Roof

One question a lot of buyers and sellers ask us is how do they know when they need a new roof on their house? This is a really important part of homeownership. The roof of your home is one of the most important value assets. And so, it is important that you be aware of any upgrades or modifications that it may need. Roofs are a costly investment, but the damage they could cause is to your home if left unattended to is even more costly.

Additionally, if you are buying a house, you obviously don’t want to make this major purchase and then immediately have pay for a new roof.

Use these tips to decide if the home you are buying or selling needs a new roof.

Check Your Roof from the Exterior of Your Home

You should check the condition of your rood by assessing its damage from the exterior of your home. Carefully, go to the top of your roof and look for the following things:

• Missing or broken shingles:An easy way to assess the damage of your roof, is to look for missing or broken shingles. Such problems can be easy, simple fixes to make. You can either do them yourself or have someone come out and fix the damage.
• Area around vents and your chimney: Be sure that you spend some time looking at the areas around your vents and chimneys. These areas tend to wear more than other areas of the roof.
• Drains and Gutters: These tend to be problem areas in roofs. They should be cleaned regularly and if they aren’t the build up from them could cause ongoing problems for your roof.

Check Your Roof from the Interior of Your Home

You can check the condition of your roof by assessing it from the attic. So, get a good flashlight and shimmy safely up to your attic to look for the following things:

• Sunlight shining in from the outside: If there is a hole in your roof, you will see sunlight coming through. The problem is where there is light, there is also moisture. And moisture can cause mold.
• Dark spots and stains: Dark spots and trails of darkness are signs that moisture is already coming in through the roof. This means that there could already be mold built up in your roof. If you have these spots, you should have your roof evaluated immediately.
• Water damage: Water damage is fairly easy to spot and should be taken seriously. If you see any signs of water damage, make sure that you contact someone to come look at your roof immediately. Unattended to water damage can result in mold, deformations and rotting.

To Fix or Not to Fix?

If you find damage to your roof, it is important that you contact an expert. Don’t assume that just because you have damage that they will need to replace the entire thing. It’s possible that they may only have to replace the damaged areas. But you won’t know until you contact a professional roofing company.

If you are looking to sell your house, it might be a good idea to have a company out to assess your roof. They should be able to tell how old your roof is and when it may need to be replaced. Once you find out this information, you should tell your listing agent so that they notify potential buyers.

If you are looking to buy a house, be sure that you ask about the condition of the roof. It may be possible that you can negotiate with the sellers if it needs any updates or repairs.

Still have questions about your roof? Make sure that you contact your realtor today!