Selling Your Home in Middle Tennessee: Do You Need a New Roof First?

By Don Hane, Navy Combat Veteran

No, you don’t always need a new roof to sell your house. What you need is to know the roof’s condition before the buyer’s inspector tells you. A roof with a few years left can sell fine with a small repair and honest disclosure. A roof that’s leaking, sagging or near the end of its life will usually come up with the buyer, so it’s better to find out early and decide on your terms.

The easiest first step is a free roof inspection before you list. You get photos of what we find and a written quote for anything that needs work, and you can share both with your agent.

What buyers and their inspectors look for

• The roof’s age, and whether you have paperwork for when it was installed
• Missing, curling, cracked or granule-bare shingles
• Stains on ceilings or in the attic, and any soft or sagging areas
• Flashing at chimneys and walls, pipe boots, and gutters pulling loose
• More than one layer of shingles

Buyers’ lenders and insurers may also ask about the roof, especially an older one. Ask your agent what’s typical for your price range and area.

Repair, replace, or sell as-is?

Repair when the roof is in decent shape with one or two problems: a cracked pipe boot, a few missing shingles, some flashing. Most repairs take a few hours, and fixing them takes items off the buyer’s list.

Replace when the roof is clearly at the end, leaking in several places, or has soft decking. A new roof also takes the question off the table. A replacement takes about 1 day on average; larger, steep, metal or tile jobs can take longer. A full shingle roof on an average home usually runs $12,000 to $16,000. Our roof cost guide explains what moves that number.

Sell as-is when you’d rather adjust the price or offer a credit. That’s a conversation for you and your agent. Having our photos and written estimate helps everyone see the same facts.

If replacing makes sense but the timing is tight, you can check payment options through Acorn Finance.

If you had storm damage

If a storm damaged the roof while you owned the house, talk with your insurance company before you list. We document storm damage with photos and a written estimate; you file the claim and work with your insurer. See storm damage repair.

Thinking about solar first? Check the roof

If you’re adding solar, either to live with or to help a sale, have the roof checked first. Panels usually stay up for decades. If the roof under them needs replacing in a few years, the panels have to come off and go back on, and that’s a cost you don’t want to pay twice.

• If the roof has many years left, you may be fine to go ahead.
• If it’s getting close to the end of its life, replacing it before the panels go on is usually the better money.
• Ask the solar company how they attach and seal the mounts, and who stands behind leaks at those spots.

We work with solar installers. If you’re adding panels, we can replace the roof first and line up the timing with your installer, and if panels need to come off for a new roof, we coordinate that with them too.

Buying, not selling?

We also inspect roofs for buyers before closing, so you know what you’re getting. The inspection is free and comes with photos.