Do we need to be worried about this roof?

[KDwasJ]

Hi,
I’m a FTB, considering a semi-detached 1930s property. We’re still waiting on the report from the surveyor but she rang us two days ago to tell us her three top concerns but also added that these things often sound worse than they are. One of her concerns was that there was some ‘distortion to the roof’ visible from the back and advised us to seek out a roofing contractor to further assess the situation. Whilst we’re waiting I was wondering if anyone on here could identify any concerns with the roof just from looking at this picture?
i’m expecting there to be wear and tear with an older house and we really like the house but I am wondering if it has the potential to cost us a lot of money in roof repair!
I’ve also attached a picture from the front on Google maps (which was taken approximately a year ago) as there seems to be some tiles missing and the surveyor also mentioned the valley guttering in that area may need looking at as there is a small area of damp in the top hand corner of that bedroom).

I would get a decent local roofer in to look at the roof and give their opinion about necessary repairs and the cost - but expect to pay for this service as you're not the home owner (that has been the case where I am in the south east at least).

Surveyors always have to cover their backs but can also miss things, as I unfortunately have experienced!

I'd expect leaks in the loft with those missing tiles.
It would put me off, tbh.
If you're really keen, you could get the cost of repair taken off the asking price.

Thankfully the picture of the tiles at the front is old as the surveyors report has come through and shows that the owner did replace them.

The report does highlight some light coming through in the attic space though. From what I've read this isn't always a big deal though....I hope!

Are there any similar properties in the road. If do, have they had a new roof? Our house was built 1964, we're about to have a new roof. There's 100 properties same style on estate and we'll be property 5 to have a new roof.

If it's a long term home, at that age you might have to accept major roof repairs st some point, only thing is it'll give you reassurance and will be a good selling point.

Check if the roof has ever been replaced or if it's original. It may just need minor repairs here & there. Gullies are a pita as leaves & moss collect in them and they need annual clearing out. You may find the ridge tiles need re-cementing in place & perhaps a bit of chimney repointing/flaunching. But all these jobs are waaaay cheaper than a whole new roof. Also look internally to see if you can see woodworm holes/mould in the roof trusses. & do the tiles have a decent underlay?

Little terracotta roof tiles flake apart over time.

Thanks for all your comments.

In the surveyors report, it says that the roof is original. The roof on the house next door looks slightly newer and they recently had scaffolding up although we don't know for sure why (thinking of knocking on and asking!).
The fact that it will need major roof repairs 'in the future' I.e. say 5-10 years time, doesn't worry me, because we can save towards that, and Whiskers that's a good point, a new roof in the future could be a good selling point in addition to the rest of the renovations we will do throughout. I also don't mind the annual repairs and maintenance to keep the chimney, gutters etc healthy and working as I know this is part and parcel of taking care of a house.
I guess I just need a roofer now to tell me whether or not they think the roof needs fixing 'now' or if it can wait. If it needs it now, we'll have to walk away as we don't have the money now to repair the entire roof.

Thanks again

At that age, I think it's very probable you'll need a new roof in the next few years. Ours in 1960s and we've had three repairs on ours, but it's really at the end of it's lifespan.

Obviously different work to yours, but we've had three quotes recently for a new ridge, filling in under chimney & new lead and work on one side of the valleys - they were £3600, £3700 and £4300 (that last chap charges VAT and advised to have something else done). Repairs seem to be ongoing and we've got a number of leaks - in 11 years, we've probably spent £4,000 in repairs, so have decided to bite the bullet and have a new roof - which is just under £11,000 - it'll give us peace of mind, also a good selling point.

If it comes up on a survey, you might be able to renegotiate the price - this often happens and vendor might be willing to do this, knowing it could be an issue for someone else.

So the builder has taken a look and thinks we need the following will need doing to make it watertight:
Steel beams in the loft to straighten the loft £3550
New lead valleys £2800
Ceilings need jacking up after dropping 100mm £3800
All mock Tudor rendering replaced £3940
Chimney flaunching, repointing, renewing lead at the bottom and vegetation removing £1250
Verges need pointing up £750
Overhaul of the main roof and pointing £700
And eventually 'in the near future': a new main roof £12,800

Basically it's almost £30000 in total.
The owners obviously won't pay that but have talked about getting cheaper quotes as they feel the ones above are pricey and possibly going halves on a new roof with us. They feel just going for a new roof makes more financial sense rather than doing the steel beams etc which I'm sure it does.

Could I ask a question as a novice? Let's say for arguments sake they reduced the overall selling price by £10000 rather than suggesting we go halves on a new roof. Is there a way that the bank would still give us the full amount for the house but give us the £10000 saved off the price of the house to pay for repairs or is this complete nonsense?

I'm not sure how the bank will work, but it's work asking the vendor to go halves. It's obvious it's an old roof and sellers will be aware it's not in great condition, so hopefully will negotiate with you. I'd phone the bank on Monday to get a feel for what they say.

We've had quite a few repairs on our 1960s property roof and every couple of years we find another problem, now a leak in our bathroom and another room, so we're going for a new roof for peace of mind. It's not much fun lying there at night when it's raining and you can hear tap tap on the ceiling!