Should You Replace the Roof Before Selling Your Pittsburgh Home?

By Aubre J. Stacknick, Global Real Estate Advisor, Piatt Sotheby's International Realty. Originally published on aubrestacknick.com.

Usually not, unless it leaks or a buyer's inspector will call it failing. Repair what is broken, document what is sound, and price the rest honestly. A full replacement before listing often costs more than it returns.

Roofs are the most expensive thing a buyer's inspector can circle, so sellers worry about them more than almost anything else. The worry is fair. The remedy is usually smaller than the fear.

The better question is not "how old is the roof?" It is "what will a buyer's inspector say about it, and what will that cost me at the table?"

Aubre J. Stacknick is a Global Real Estate Advisor with Piatt Sotheby's International Realty in Pittsburgh, PA, helping buyers and sellers across Western Pennsylvania see a home through a builder's eyes. Before I tell a seller to spend a dollar on a roof, I climb up and look.

Does the age of the roof matter more than its condition?

Age is a starting point. Condition decides. A roof that is well ventilated, properly flashed, and free of leaks can serve a house for years past the point where a buyer panics. A newer roof installed over poor ventilation or sloppy flashing can fail early.

Buyers and their agents ask the age first because it is the one question with a number attached. The inspector asks different ones. Are the shingles curling, cracking, or losing their granules? Are there soft spots? Is the flashing around the chimney, vents, and valleys sealed? Is there staining in the attic that says water has already come through?

If you can answer those with paperwork and a clean attic, the age matters less than you fear.

What will a buyer's inspector look at?

A home inspector reads a roof from the ground, a ladder, or the attic, and sometimes with a drone. They are looking for the places water gets in.

• Shingle surface. Cracking, curling, missing pieces, or bare patches where the granules have worn away.
• Flashing. The metal and sealant around chimneys, skylights, plumbing vents, and where a roof meets a wall. Most leaks start here, not in the middle of a shingle field.
• Valleys and low points. Where two slopes meet and water collects.
• Gutters and drip edge. Gutters that are loose or overflowing can rot the roof edge and the wood behind it.
• The attic. Dark stains on the underside of the roof deck, damp insulation, rusty nail tips, or daylight where there should be none.
• Ventilation. Soffit vents blocked by insulation or a ridge vent that was never cut open can cook a roof from the inside.

You can look at most of that yourself before a buyer does. A pair of binoculars and a flashlight in the attic will tell you a lot.

When should you repair instead of replace?

Repair when the problem is local and the rest is sound. Replace when the problem is the roof itself.

• A few lifted or missing shingles after a storm is a repair.
• Flashing that has dried out and cracked is a repair, and a good one.
• A leak that shows up in one spot, with a clean attic everywhere else, usually points to a repairable detail.
• Widespread curling, cracking, or granule loss across the whole slope is a roof near the end of its life.
• Repeated leaks in different places mean the surface is no longer doing its job.

If a roofer says "replace" for a problem you can see in a single spot, get a second opinion. A good roofer will show you photographs and tell you what failed.

What does a buyer see when the roof is old?

They see a bill. Buyers who find an aging roof tend to do one of four things.

• Ask for a credit or a price reduction
• Ask the seller to replace it before closing
• Pay for a roofer to look and then decide
• Walk away

Some insurers and lenders also care about roof age and condition, which can complicate a purchase for a buyer even when the roof is performing. A buyer who finds out about that late is a buyer who renegotiates late.

This is why the document matters. A letter from a licensed roofer that says the roof is sound, with the date and the scope, answers the question before it becomes a negotiation.

Should you get a roof inspection before you list?

In an older house, often yes. A roofer's written report costs far less than a surprise at the buyer's inspection, and it gives you three useful things: what is wrong, what it costs to fix, and a document to hand a buyer.

The report is not a sales pitch from someone who wants the job. Choose a roofer who will give you a straight read, and be wary of anyone who treats every roof as a replacement. If the report says the roof is fine, you have a selling point. If it lists small repairs, you can do them before the first showing.

What about a roof that really is failing?

Then the question changes. If the roof leaks, or a roofer tells you it is at the end of its life, you have three choices.

• Replace it before you list, and price the house as a house with a new roof.
• List as is, price the house to reflect the roof, and be ready to negotiate a credit.
• Offer a roof credit up front in the listing terms.

A new roof does not add dollar for dollar to the sale price. It removes an objection. That is worth something, but it is not the same as a kitchen that raises the number buyers will pay. For a fuller look at where seller money tends to work, read What Upgrades Give the Best ROI Before Selling?.

Time matters too. Roof work in a Pittsburgh winter is slower and sometimes impossible. If you are listing in spring, replacing in fall can take the problem off the table before the market opens.

How should you talk about the roof in the listing?

Plainly. If it is new, say when and attach the paperwork. If it is sound, say what a roofer found. If it is older, say so and say what you know. A buyer who finds the roof is older than expected feels tricked. A buyer who was told up front feels informed.

Pennsylvania sellers generally complete a written property disclosure, and the roof is one of the things it asks about. Answer it honestly and completely. A leak you have repaired still belongs in the answer.

The common mistakes sellers make with roofs

• Replacing a sound roof because a neighbor said it was old
• Patching a leak without finding where the water came from
• Skipping the attic, where the real evidence lives
• Hiring the first roofer who offers a free estimate and then finding that the answer is always "replace"
• Hiding a known leak instead of documenting the repair

For more on what to fix before you list, read What Exterior Repairs Should I Make Before Selling an Older Home?. To sort the big items from the small, What Should I Inspect Before Selling an Older Home? 5 Major Systems to Check is a good place to start. And Should I Renovate Before Selling My Pittsburgh Home? puts the roof in context with everything else.

Common questions

If you are weighing a roof decision before you list and want a second opinion on what a buyer will see, book a 30-minute call. Bring the address.