New buyer needs to replace 20 y.o. roof to keep insurance?

amother

OP ↓

Wed, Nov 22 2023, 2:48 pm

How often do new buyers need to replace a 20 year old roof to keep the insurance policy they just got a quote on, after the insurance company comes to inspect, if there are no leaks?

If you or someone you know bought a house with a 20 year old roof, that was in decent condition, did insurance company tell you, that to keep your policy, you need to replace the roof, because 20 years is an old roof?

The houses Im looking at are in Jackson NJ.

Are there insurance companies/brokers who can tell me this in advance, or they only find out once you choose the insurance, and are paying premiums and living in the house, as a result of inspector coming to home?

Id like to know in advance, because that would add $20,000 to the cost of this or any similar 20 year old house.

amother

Scarlet ↓

Wed, Nov 22 2023, 2:55 pm

I can’t help with the insurance aspect, but If the roof is considered past it’s life expectancy you can ask the sellers to credit the cost of replacement or replace before the sale

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 22 2023, 3:01 pm

amother Scarlet wrote:

I can’t help with the insurance aspect, but If the roof is considered past it’s life expectancy you can ask the sellers to credit the cost of replacement or replace before the sale

No luck because theres no leaks.

amother

Denim

Wed, Nov 22 2023, 3:02 pm

20 years is the lifespan of an average shingle roof unless you have a 30 year roof. You can add another layer of new shingles ontop of the existing for way cheaper.

Chayalle ↓

Thu, Nov 23 2023, 9:32 am

I remember when we bought our house insurance came down, and the agent mentioned to me that we will soon need to replace the roof. (we had it repaired, not replaced). She didn't mention anything about losing the insurance policy, though.

amother

Glitter

Thu, Nov 23 2023, 10:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

No luck because theres no leaks.

you can still do that. someone told me today thats what she did

amother

Crimson

Thu, Nov 23 2023, 10:30 pm

I think this is typical. Insurance companies are becoming extra cautious with roofs and are going around inspecting houses already under warranty to see roof conditions (sometimes by person, sometimes with aerial footage).

amother

↑ Scarlet ↓

Thu, Nov 23 2023, 11:21 pm

amother OP wrote:

No luck because theres no leaks.

You can still request it. If it’s to be expected that the roof will need to be replaced very shortly after purchasing, then it’s a reasonable request and you can negotiate with the sellers.

I did that for my heater, water boiler and ac, as they were all well past their life expectancy

amother

Rainbow ↓

Thu, Nov 23 2023, 11:40 pm

amother Scarlet wrote:

Maybe in a different kind of market?

Not in Lakewood but in a tight real estate market, we bought a 23 year old house- need to replace roof as note by inspector but we had zero leverage to ask for any credit (not for insurance though, they didn’t mention it)

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Nov 24 2023, 9:22 am

amother Rainbow wrote:

With close to 8% interest, its not the kind of market it was a few months ago.

amother

↑ Rainbow

Fri, Nov 24 2023, 10:07 am

amother OP wrote:

With close to 8% interest, its not the kind of market it was a few months ago.

So negotiate. We closed this month bh and had other more serious concerns- sellers agent and lawyer were happy to let us break the contract but wouldn’t negotiate at all. It is still a super tight market here(monsey area)

↑ Chayalle

Fri, Nov 24 2023, 10:09 am

Ask your lawyer to help you negotiate. We found something out about our house during inspection and we negotiated the price in our favor. This was 6 years ago.

amother

↑ Scarlet

Fri, Nov 24 2023, 10:31 am

amother Rainbow wrote:

I bought my house when interest rates were the lowest and in Lakewood area. It was EXTREMELY competitive and we paid well well over asking, but we were still able to negotiate and get the credit. Always worth looking into it if it’s important to you, just saying.

amother

↑ OP

Tue, Nov 28 2023, 1:20 pm

Those who bought and insured a 20+ y.o. house recently (now that insurance companies became way tougher), has your insurance company demanded that roof be replaced, after inspection?

I spoke to an insurance person who said that out of 500 customers in the last year, only 3 were told they need to replace the roof, or theyd cancel the policy, so it seems like its rare.