Architectural Designs

Flat Roof-Repair or Replace it? Want to sell house.?

have a house that I wish to sell. The roof part over the attached back porch has begun leaking. Roof is about 15 years old, and roof on house no where is leaking at all , only over porch. So far I have a verbal estimate only from a roofing guy to patch for 350.00 ( but he will not write it up, so I am leery, what if he gets up there and decide to do whole roof and I have no written anything?) and one for 900.00 from a known roofing company ( to patch all cracks and loose areas found-no warranty) but he has written me 2 proposal/estimates, along with copies of insurance papers and licenses. 900.00 for patching seems high.. The other option was to cover it with an elostometric (sp) rubber coating ( white cool roof material) which comes with a 10 yr warranty and 1 yr labor warrenty for over 5000.00. Total roof replacement is 10,000. which seems high to me for a flat roof. I am in MO. Flat roof i have now is basically black tar. I plan to put house for sale next month. don't want to put a whole lot of money in the house. I want to sell it as is anyway, since the house was given to me, but it needs lots of maintence work ( painting, cleaning, etc), cause owner was sick and elderly and unable to keep house up. Rest of house is in pretty fair shape. How much should a roof repair and replace run generally for a flat roof ( no shingles) Thanks!

Public Comments

1. I can't answer how much that kind of roofing repair should cost... most people would have to look at it to say anyways. I can say this, alot of insurance companies and even lendors will throw FITS about insuring or backing a house that has any kind of roof issues (especially hail). That doesn't mean that you necessarily have to fix it NOW, but keep it in mind. You might put the house on the market, get an offer, and then end up negotiating this repair during the option period. Keep the general cost range in mind when you are negotiating a price for the house. Make sure you agree on a price that gives you a little lead room to do that kind of repair if the buyer runs into issues with their lendor or insurance. Hope that helps!
2. You will need to make the repair. A potential buyer will bring in an inspector. They will find any and all issues or things that need repaired and you will be expected to fix them if you want to sell the house. Better to be proactive.
3. It depends, you can try to sell as is, but make sure you tell the buyer about it. Some offers will have contingencies and some wont.
4. I have a couple suggestions. No lender will loan on a house with roof issues. So, you are either going to have to sell it to a cash buyer that will take it as is, fix it, or price it where you can give the buyer an allowance for roof repairs. If it is a government backed loan (FHA, VA, etc) the repairs will have to be done before the loan will fund (i.e. you get your money). If I were your Realtor, I'd suggest going with the known roofing company for $900. Or get another estimate from another roofer to see if this guy's price is crazy. Good luck!