Concept

Roofing

What it is

Roofing is one of the quick six big systems you check on every walkthrough: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, structural, roofing, siding. Each of those, if it’s toast, is a significant replacement you didn’t budget for. The roof is the one that’s different from the others, though — it can kill the deal outright. You can close a flip with a questionable HVAC. You cannot close a flip with a questionable roof.

On a cosmetic flip you’re usually dealing with the covering, not the structure: underlayment, shingles, flashing, ridge vents, gutters, downspouts. You’re either keeping the existing shingles, doing a tear-off and replace, or laying a second layer where code allows. Most local codes allow maximum two layers before the next replacement has to be a full tear-off down to decking. More than two layers flags on a buyer’s inspection and kills financing.

Metal roofing runs 2-3x the cost of asphalt shingle.

Why it matters

Roofing is one of the things that HGTV dramatizes — oh, I didn’t see that the roof was leaking and it caused all this damage — and that drama is actually the right instinct. You need to know everything about that house before you purchase it. Your inspection process has to be in-depth so you don’t get surprised after you’re already in it.

A roof at end of life kills FHA financing, kills VA financing, and often kills insurance binding on a new buyer. When any of those three are impacted, your buyer pool shrinks dramatically and your deal stalls. This isn’t a line item you negotiate around at closing. You price it on the front end and build it into your budget, or you walk away.

The good news: a roof replacement is one of the cleanest jobs on a flip. Single trade, one to three days, and it reads as a feature on the inspection report — “new roof, 2026” means no CapEx for 20 years in the buyer’s head. Buyers think in remaining useful life. A 25-year architectural shingle roof is worth real dollars to a buyer who’s also looking at two other houses with original 18-year-old shingles.

How it shows up

Three things I check on every walkthrough:

One, the shingles themselves. Curling edges, missing tabs, granule loss in the gutters, daylight visible from inside the attic — any of those signals end of life. Count layers at the eave edge. More than two means a full tear-off.

Two, the flashing. Around chimneys, around plumbing vents, at valleys, at roof-to-wall transitions. Bad flashing is where most leaks originate, not through the middle of the shingle field. A good roofer fixes flashing religiously. A cheap roofer hides it.

Three, the decking. When the roofer is on site doing tear-off, have them photograph any rotted decking before they replace it. Decking replacement is billed per sheet — and an honest roofer shows you exactly how many sheets they replaced. That’s one of the verify-before-payment spots.

I keep gutters tied to the roofing scope because the same crew is already on the roof. One mobilization, one bid, one inspection pass. Gutters feed directly into drainage, drainage feeds into the foundation. A working gutter system is part of a working roof system.

inspections, foundation, water intrusion, quick six, holding costs