Have a property under contract and shopping out the mortgage. The lender is asking for proof of insurance to close. The insurance company is asking for age of roof. The sellers cannot verify the age of the roof. The property is in an estate, so kids settling the estate aren't familiar with the property.

Any advice how to proceed with insurance? I am probably going to end up replacing the roof on my dime.

Take a look at it and give them your best guess. I've done that lots of times with a few different companies and never had a problem. Never been asked for proof.

Did they list an age in sellers disclosure? That might serve as proof, if needed. Maybe even get a new sellers disclosure if that's what it takes to get closed.

If its already become a problem, use a different company. Cant imagine replacing a roof just because roof age is unknown.

Appreciate the advice. I'm having a roofing contractor take a look, so they will have a better estimate of age.

I'm assuming you're not in Tier 1 for windstorm???

Assuming that neighboring roofs were replaced after a common hail storm, you or your agent might get an estimate from the selling disclosures of nearby homes.

Historical images from Google Earth might also give a clue.

CaptnCarl said:

---

I'm not familiar with Tier 1 windsorm. I did watch the new Twisters movie though?

---

Are you on the coast? We have to have certifications for windstorm, therefore, we have to know the roof's age and when it was replaced.

Otherwise, inland you can ballpark it.

Agree with getting a reputable roofer to give a written estimate of age and condition. Of old or need of repair them I would ask the seller to replace it. If this is an estate sale they should have net cash on sale to pay for it.

Or negotiate something between.

Thanks Steve. The house is in west Texas. We got in to a small bidding war for the house, so not sure how much they'll negotiate after the fact.

my super high-level assumption is that if nobody can tell you how old the roof it, it's probably older than insurance company is going to allow for. As you mentioned, I would plan on replacing that roof, out of pocket or with the sellers help if you can swing it.

the state of insurance and roofing makes me very angry.

I saw the neighbor across the street today. He said the entire block except this house had their roof replaced after a hail storm in 2023.

that's interesting. owner "should" have a claim in that case. not sure how that works with an estate.

Yea west Texas inventory is pretty limited. I agree if it had insurance in 23 at least have the estate file a claim. No idea on policy limitations on filing though

might need to initiate a "Weekend at Bernie's" strategy. Hilarity will surely ensue.

SteveBott said:

---

Yea west Texas inventory is pretty limited. I agree if it had insurance in 23 at least have the estate file a claim. No idea on policy limitations on filing though

---

Our policy limits claim on the roof to 1 year after the damage occurred.

Can you not find bottom barrel insurance that will cover the house with a roof that is north of 20 years old? I almost think you are being too technical about the aging. If you can't prove it, how can they prove it?

I recently replaced my roof because insurance wouldn't cover it, but there was an insurance option for a house that had a 20+ yr old roof. They just wouldn't cover anything but basically catastrophic damage.

Get any insurance and then handle the roof after you close if you need to.

For these situations, I have often been employed to provide roof certifications. There is no way to prove a roofs age and visual inspection is going to be a guess at best. I am reroofing 4 year old roofs right now that look like they are 20 years old, cracked, heavy granule loss, ripped off from wind. I have inspected 20 year old roofs that actually look pretty dang good.

So, get a roofer to look at it and attest to an age range. I typically use 1-5 years, 6-9 years, 10-14, or 15+. Generally speaking, after 12-14 years, many roofs look great or terrible and if they are terrible, it's anyone's guess anyway.

If I know a customer needs this for insurance, I am putting the absolutely youngest number on it that I reasonably think is possible. Less than 10 would be best if it will pass for that.

Told insurance roof is from 2016. They're asking for a certified roofer to send a certified letter saying there is not hail damage. There is definitely hail damage and the inspection report notes hail damage.

Spoke with the insurance broker and they are saying they cannot provide coverage. This is getting tricky.

CaptnCarl said:

---

Told insurance roof is from 2016. They're asking for a certified roofer to send a certified letter saying there is not hail damage. There is definitely hail damage and the inspection report notes hail damage.

Spoke with the insurance broker and they are saying they cannot provide coverage. This is getting tricky.

---

They can't do replacement cost on the house with actual cash value on the roof? Or exclude the roof for wind and hail?

I didn't see it mentioned.... Is the house insured now? Will that company continue it? Seems like the sellers could at least come up with the insurer name.

That's what we did when we bought a house with a questionable roof. If that company isn't writing anymore, then that could be a problem. If you're willing to pay for the roof, get a policy from anyone you can. Replace the roof and shop around next year. That being said, any buyer will have this problem and if the sellers aren't interested in helping with solutions, that's dumb.

We bought a rental from an out of state investor that had a new looking roof so we didn't question it. Insurance did, though. Seller was pissy with us about getting any information because we heard/suspect that they got a higher offer after we contracted & were fine with us walking. We went to the city and had them pull the permit & that worked for the insurance. If they had not gotten a permit, that could have been an issue on the sale to the other people, right?

My wife and I both work in real estate and I often overhear her conversations. She works with a high volume of transactions. This roof stuff is becoming unreal. They're running into insurance companies not wanting to insure anything with a roof 10+ years.