How do I Negotiate on a Wood Shake Roof?
photo courtesy of ONE/MILLION - Flickr
Let's say you found a house you love and you want to put a contract on it and
it has a wood shake roof.
Do you need to replace it?
The answer depends on how old it is and what condition but probably yes...
A little history first...
During the 80's and early 90's many upscale Far N. Dallas and Plano
neighborhoods were built with wood shake roofs. In fact, it was a
requirement of the Home Owners Associations.
So, if you are buying a resale in some of the finer North Texas neighborhoods
you will still encounter these types of roofs and many have not been replaced.
What happened in 1995 is that because of fire, wind and heat in Texas these
roofs were outlawed - many homes were destroyed because of fire that spread
from roof to roof and completely burnt homes down., like kindling....
You can still have this kind of roof but your insurance premium will be around
25% higher. They also require proper maintenance and are expensive to maintain.
For example, Driving around you notice on wood shake roofs there are new
shingles mixed in with old weathered ones. This is how you repair one of these
roofs, a shingle at a time. That's very costly to have someone climb the roof to
replace a few bad shingles and beside that it doesn't look good! They are only
pretty when brand new. (my opinion)
Now a roof is not cheap to replace so when you are thinking about buying a
home that has one - these are the things you need to deal with:
- Has the roof been considered in the listing price or any allowance given?
- The cost of a new roof for the price point of home and neighborhood.
- What are HOA requirements?
Usually a roof will last 15 to 20 years so most of these wood shake roofs need to
be replaced. New composition roofs can range between $12k to $30K depending
on size of the home and pitch line of the roof.
The roof issue should be dealt with during negotiations as a discount off the list
price or a credit given at closing. If you chose to live with the wood shake roof
you will pay the extra insurance premium and have to deal with the issue again
when you go to resale your home, plus maintenance. Most homeowners are
aware of these issues and will help compensate for costs. All you have to do
is ASK.
