Roofer told me they made sellers agent aware roof needs replacing

Roofer told me they made sellers agent aware roof needs replacing

Chesnee, SC · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 0 votes

We bought a house a month and a half ago and knew the roof needed some attention after the inspection. The seller had someone come out and assessed the damage saying it needed $1500 worth of repairs. Being the first house we’ve ever purchased we didn’t think/know to have our own roofing company to give us an estimate. I contacted the company who done the estimate for the seller and one of the first things he told me was that he told the sellers agent it definitely needed replacing. No where in the estimate report does it say it needed replacing and neither did they disclose that throughout the purchase process. I’m curious if this is something that should have been told to us, or if we are at fault for not having someone come out and look at it on our behalf. We closed on June 1st and we're in South Carolina. 

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Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
8y

Remember , roofers sell roofs .  Of course they will tell you it needs replacing . In my area , roofers dont do " repairs" .  Once they attempt to repair a leak  , the customer thinks they are responsible for any leak after that .    

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  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    8y

    Did you ask him then why he put something completely different on paper than what he told you?

  • Chesnee, SC · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    I told him that they failed to mention that, but he said he knew her personally and he 'knew she wouldn't have purposefully done that.' 

    Being new to this I just didn't think on my feet quick enough to quiz him on it. We did get a copy of the estimate and on the estimate it only states what they would do for the repairs and says nothing of the roof needed replacing. My biggest concern is that he would just deny ever telling her that if they are friends. 

  • Real Estate Broker · Matthews, NC · Member since 2017 · 135 posts · 99 votes
    8y

    I'd venture to say you are probably SOL. Your home inspector should have noted it in his report, unless you did not have a home inspection. Even if you go after the seller, there is no guarantee and they did disclose that there was damage to the roof- so you are arguing about the extent of damage (which if was of concern, should have been assessed independently of seller's roofer or interpretation). My best advice would be to network with investors and find a reasonably priced roofer. What's the sqft of the home in which roof needs replacing? If you don't go with the premier roofing companies and use a roofer team on the "side" you can get the cost at 1/2 to 1/3 of retail.

  • Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y

    Remember , roofers sell roofs .  Of course they will tell you it needs replacing . In my area , roofers dont do " repairs" .  Once they attempt to repair a leak  , the customer thinks they are responsible for any leak after that .    

  • Chesnee, SC · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    I'm assuming we are SOL so it's making this a little easier. The inspector told us it needed to be looked at and when we made them aware they had the company come out and assess the damage. I know now I should have had a company come out on my behalf but my agent made it out to us that we wouldn't want to deal with that (another thing I now know should have concerned me). It's not so much having to replace the roof that bothers me the most, it's that the roofer told me that he told the seller's agent it needed replacing.

  • Real Estate Agent · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2017 · 7 posts · 5 votes
    8y
    This should have been disclosed and I believe you should contact a real estate attorney in your area.
  • Rental Property Investor · Greenwood, NS · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 5 votes
    8y

    You're honestly SOL. You need to develop a good working relationship with the type of inspector that you can trust and rely on to give you this information first hand and not rely on the roofer that the realtor procured to come out and make sure the deal closed.

  • Flipper/Rehabber · East Brunswick, NJ · Member since 2018 · 64 posts · 152 votes
    8y
    “In GOD we trust; all others bring data” -W. Edwards Deming
  • Real Estate Investor · Williamson County, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 961 votes
    8y
    If your realtor was representing you as a buyers agent he or she should not have advised you not to get an inspection...fiduciary. Probably unethical as a selling agent too. Contact the broker in charge of the agency and tell your story. They carry e/o insurance for this purpose.
  • Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y
    I think you’re SOL. Also probably use a better inspector next time. My inspectors tell me how much useful life is left on all this stuff including the roof. He shouldn’t have said “it needs to be looked at”, he should have said it needs to be replaced if that’s true.
  • Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y

    Let the buyer beware .  I would say you are on your own on this one 

  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    8y

    Definately have an inspection including the roof when buying a house. Of the roof wasn't leaking then there is some amount of life left in the roof. Roofers will likely say you need a new roof if it has some age on it. I have rental properties that have very old roofs. I know a roofer would say I need a new roof but they dont leak so until there is a valid reason I'm not going to replace a roof that is doing its job. If I were buying a house and  an inspector said the roof needed replacing I would use that as leverage to get a new roof or get a better price on the house.

    We all live and learn and I'm sure you will have an inspection next time as you are wiser now than you were a few months ago. Most of us pay for the wisdom we now have at the school of hard knocks.

    I have learned my share of knowledge this way.

  • Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 54 posts · 30 votes
    8y
    It sounds like the only one at fault is you. Hard to believe a first time home buyer would go forward with a home with a leaking roof and not have budgeted for it. They disclosed the damage and you still moved forward. I’m sure that was accounted for in the price of the home. Sounds like you’re just fishing for a way to pawn it off on someone else
  • Chesnee, SC · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    We were aware of damages to the roof and budgeted for the estimate the seller gave us. They just failed to disclose that the roofing company also told them that it needed replacing and repairs would be like 'put lipstick on a pig'. That was my main concern. I assumed all along the fault was mine, but I was curious if anyone had any feedback for me on this particular situation.

    Thank you for your response!

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