THE ROOF, THE ROOF, THE ROOF IS....... NOT UNDER WARRANTY

Just recently, I have been faced with questions about roof warranties. Of course, previous buyers were concerned about the roof, but either they were assured that they had a new roof, which the home inspector validated, or they needed a re-coating, or they needed a new roof, which the home inspector told them.

Of course, I work in an area with primarily flat roofs and the cost of a new state-of- the-art rubber roof generally runs from $1200 to $2200 for most houses. We are not dealing with $10,000 to $25,000 roofs. When buying a property here, I would always have budgeted money for a new roof, before I would do any work inside. I am always flabbergasted when someone does a rehab on a property and does not put a new roof on the house. It is such a big selling point, and general protection for the property and any work that has been done inside.

It seems, however, that I must be missing some current of conversation on this topic of ROOF WARRANTIES. All of a sudden, there has been a lot of emphasis put on this topic that wasn't there before. Generally, I always thought that the roof warranties did two things. One, forced you to re-coat the roof every three years whether it needed it or not, and two, did not really cover anything. So, I decided to do a little research to get to the bottom of it. See the following links:

NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association) ROOFING WARRANTIES

Is Your Roof Warranty Worth the Paper It’s Written On?

It is as I suspected. The best warranty does not necessarily get you the best roofing materials or roof nor is it a guarantee that you will be covered when you have an event that needs said warranty. It may be that the company offering you the warranty is out of business or the small print in the warranty voids any ability to claim coverage.

Therefore, it would seem that doing the research and getting the best product and the best contractor for your roof and roof work would be the best way to go.

RESULTS: Do You Think You Are Seeing Activity as a Result of the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit?

The results to the poll are as follows:

YES: 3 (27%)
NO: 6 (54%)
MAYBE: 2 (18%)

The comments on my FACEBOOK wall are as follows:

Pam Ziegler Bell, "I voted. I don't know if it's too soon to tell or if it's because I am not sure how it really helps them. Most of them need the money to get to settlement. I am going to try to promote it a little more to see what response I get. What do you think?"

James Baxter, "... I am a Realtor in San Diego. I have been seeing an insane increase in activity since the first of the year. Personally I do not see a relation with the tax credit. But I do see a relation with all time low interest rates and low prices. Homes under 300,000 are on the market for a short time and are getting multiple offers. To me it makes seance. It is at prices people can once again afford."

It would seem in this unscientific poll that the "NO's" have it. I am, however, one of the
"YES" votes. I feel fortunate that I am in one of those markets where things are relatively good, and picking up. And this increase in business is the reason that I have been away from this blog. I am getting lots of calls as a result of the Tax Credit. How many will develop into contracts and closings? I don't know yet; too soon to say. But it seems, at least, here in Philadelphia that things are picking up, properties are moving and there is a lot of interest in buying.

I think any Realtor, Buyer or Seller should make a point to address and take advantage of this Tax Credit, while it is available. If you aren't talking about it, you should be.