Before you sign anything for a new home, get a roof inspection from a professional roofing company. A home inspector may seem like a good idea, but it could unexpectedly cost you thousands of dollars, soon after move-in.
That’s exactly what happened to a client I recently worked with. She and her husband had just closed on their home and were excited to begin renovations on the inside. The plan was to gut it and completely redo everything. They knew there was some moss on the roof, so they called us out to clean it off and maintain it.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have Roof Life of Oregon do a roof certification prior to buying the home. They used a home inspector. And some of them just don’t do their jobs. They put the ladder to the side of the home, look at the roof, and say, “yep, looks okay.” Well, that just doesn’t cut it.
I got up on the roof to check it out and, unfortunately, it’s completely shot. It’s a beautiful tile roof that was installed all wrong. It’s got moss issues, flashing issues, and even areas where I could see water has been working on the fascia boards. The water is getting in and starting to rot some of that wood. I had to call her and tell her that she needs to replace her roof.
As you can imagine, she and her husband were shocked. They had just purchased this house, were moved in, and had started their full renovation. Now they have to stop everything and focus on the roof, something they weren’t planning at all.
Even if you have had a home inspector look at the roof, before you buy a new home, get a roofer out there to do an inspection. It’s well worth it, because you don’t want to get into a home and find out your roof needs to be replaced sooner than you expected.