Wednesday, June 22, 2011

#41 - The Roof

This is probably the last thing anyone would say they are looking forward to about their new house, but I am here to say I am looking forward to my roof a great deal. More often than not when you purchase a home the roof has already been on the house for quite a while - sometimes the roof is even nearing it's lifetime. With a brand new home though, you get a brand new roof - which in turn means no need to be spending up to $10K on a new roof anytime soon! Our old house had a nine year old roof on it when we purchased the house, and although at the time we bought it I didn't think anything of it, by the time we sold the house it was thirteen years old and shingles were already beginning to fall off.
A standard roof typically lasts anywhere between 15 and 20 years, and the three-dimentional roofes are said to last about 18 to 22 years. We didn't opt for the higher end one, but if we get a full 15-20 years out of the one we chose I'll be happy.
The "big things" in a house are so expensive, and I am so glad that we *shouldn't* have to replace any of it for at least 15 years. Things that are really important to make sure are new(er) in a home are:

-Roof, including the flashing and gutters
-Furnace
-Central Air Conditioning
-Hot Water Tank
-Driveway, including walk-ways and porches
-Siding
-Brick/Stone facade - made sure none of the bricks or stones are beginning to crumble

All of those things are insanely expensive, and if possible try and look for a home with all of those items that are updated. If they aren't updated, and you really like the house, try to negotiate those item to be replaced in the contract. It's not uncommon for a buyer to offer on a home, but add a disclaimer that the owner is to replace the furnace, repair the driveway, etc. I know from experience that I wish we had requested to have a new roof put on our garage (at our last house).

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