Will a roof increase home value?While talking to the owner, he wanted to know if changing the shingles on the roof will increase the value of their home. As usual, I asked the home owner what is the reason why he'd like to replace his roof, as the roof looked find at the time of the appraisal. He told me that a roofer noted that the roof is getting old and replacing the roof will increase his home value. Is this true? From the view of a full time real estate appraiser, no, this is absolutely not true. Let me tell you why? Your appraiser will only ask you to repair or replace your roof if needed. You should only replace your roof if the roof is damaged or the shingles on the roof appear to be at the end of their economic life cycle. How can you tell if the you need a new roof? Most home owners with no experience at all can tell if the roof needs replace, but here are some tips. If the shingles on the roof are beginning to curl on the sides and in some cased, turn black, you may need a new roof. If the roof is covered in moss and the roof has not been maintained, you may need a new roof. If the shingles are beginning to fall off of the roof, you may to a new roof, or you may need part of the shingles repaired. If you are not sure, hire a professional roof inspector or a home inspector and tell them that you need a roof certification that will give you the remaining economic life of your roof. Here's a little secret, though, I've spoke to a few professionals and once the roof gets to within five years, they really can't tell anyway, because there are too many factors that will influence the life of the roof, like wind, hail, rain or sun and the quality of the roofing material, so if it is obvious, I'd just save my money and replace the roof (unless you are refinancing, because the cost of the home inspector that may be able to pass your home for inspection for another five years and allow you to get the money to replace your roof.) If you are selling your homeIf your roof looks okay and you are planing to sell your home, then do not replace your roof. There is absolutely no reason toReplace your roof. The new roof will not increase your home value or make your home sell any faster. The only thing that you'll be doing is wasting your money on the cost to replace the roof. An appraiser will only want to make sure the roof is average for the market and not leaking and looks to be in good condition. An inspector will be looking at the same types of issues. So if the roof is okay, don't replace the roof.If your roof is at the end of its economic life cycle and you are planing to sell your home, then by all means the best thing to do is replace the roof. While this will cost you, it will increase the chances of selling your home for more or selling quicker. If buyers come to your home and notice the roof, this may delay or stop the sell. If your home is being refinanced, then the bank will not want to loan you any money, until the roof is replaces. If your home offers differing roofing material from the homes in your area, should you replace your roof?Only the market can tell you this, so if you have a shake roof, and all of the other homes in your market area offer composition roofs, should you change the roof? In some cases, you may be able to sell your home for a quicker or for a better price if you change your roof material that is more common for the market area, but in many cases, your home will not sell, because the market will not accept the roof and they will purchases other homes that they like. This is a personal preference. In this case, I'd let the market decide and let the comparable sales speak to you. If it looks like you can get your money back or sell your home for more, by all means, spend the money to replace your roof.If you are refinancing your homeIf your roof is in average overall conditions then there's not much more to do. In this case, just let the appraiser do their thing. If your roof needs replaces, then by all means replace the roof. If your roof. If the roof is within five years and you're not sure, let the appraiser decide. If you get to refinance, use some of the money to replace the roof before you get into trouble and run out of money.If you are buying a homeLook at the roof and ask the home owner how old the roof is. If the roof is 20 years or older and has never been replaced, but looks okay, I'd be concerned. In a buyer's market, ask the seller to replace the roof or reduce the price of the home for at least the cost of a new roof. If it is a seller's market, you'll have to decide how good of a deal the home is and if you'd like to risk loosing the home for the cost of a roof. In these types of cases, it will depend on timing and motivations of buyers and sellers. |