Went to look at a house in Mill Woods last week that said 'newer roof' in the listing

Got up there with my ladder and the shingles were curling at the edges and the flashing around the vent pipe was all cracked and separating, so whatever was done was definitely not a full replacement or proper install, has anyone else found listings are stretching the truth on major repairs like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade_grant951mo ago

Climbed up on a roof once and realized my ladder was wobbling worse than my confidence in flips these days. I feel you on the curled shingles too, that's the classic sign they used the cheapest three-tab stuff they could find and hoped nobody would notice until after the snow melts. Had to hold back from just peeling one up right there to see if there was even tar paper underneath, which is usually a hard no in those deals. You're basically paying for a roof that's gonna leak in five years tops, but hey, at least the listing spelled "newer" right, right? Honestly, the only thing newer about some of these roofs is the date on the receipt from the hardware store clearance bin.

jade_grant951mo ago

That "newer roof" line is basically code for "we slapped some cheap shingles on top of the old ones and called it a day." Seen it more times than I can count. They'll patch one corner of the flashing with caulk and hope nobody climbs up to check. Most buyers just see the word "newer" and assume it means done right, but the reality is a lot of these flips use the cheapest materials from the hardware store and skip the underlayment entirely. You're smart for actually taking your ladder, most people don't even look past the ceiling inside.