Roof survey - happy outcome stories needed!

[Sadteacher]

Anyone have a survey saying the roof needs replacing which didn’t result in the sale falling through?
We have an old roof, no lining. Our survey said the roof was rubbish but we had the slipped tiles all replaced and it has been fine for the last 6 years. Never had a leak.
I am terrified our buyer’s survey will say the same, we can’t afford to drop much for our onward purchase.
Any positive stories welcome!

I’d imagine your buyers survey would say the same. If you have had remedial work done, they may want reassurances around this for the long term or may want another solution.
I would get quotes in case. They may agree to split the costs or you may be able to negotiate depending on what the other survey says and the level of risk.

We had to have one as oart of our mortgage process. I need to chase it as I I submitted the survey report about two weeks ago now and not heard back. It was only(!) about £5-6k of work rather than a full new roof so I'm hoping everything goes smoothly or that they will agree to drop the price buy that much. I'm concerned that if the mortgage provider wants the work done the sellers will pull out. And we love this house.

How old is the property OP?

@Tortephant built in 1910.
Our builder told us it was a great roof as it has 3x the tiles of a modern roof, overlapping lots. Unfortunately it means there are more tiles to slip so requires regular upkeep.

That’s not the issue you are writing about OP. It’s a benefit and a positive.

how old is your property as a standard surveyor won’t understand a period construction roof.

Built in 1910

Ok. So an Edwardian house won’t have and shouldn’t have a “sealed” roof. It’s built and designed to breath and the extra tiles you mention are giving you the insulation whilst maintaining airflow.

so as long as you use a heritage surveyor the construction of it won’t cause a sales or mortgage issue. This is the single most important factor here.

If it needs re roofing because the materials are failing then that is a different situation, but with proper repair and regular maintenance you and any subsequent owner should have no problems at all.

Thanks @Tortephant We are selling, so assume our buyer will choose a high street surveyor. We used a specialist in period properties when we bought but suspect most surveyors will say ‘new roof’. I am trying to prepare for this eventuality.

So you need to make this clear to them. People that haven’t bought heritage before don’t realise they need it.

or commission your own and share it as per the Scottish system.

OP, you clearly know a lot about all this and have a good understanding of your home, so I’m confused as to the purpose of your post.

You are well placed not to let it fall over, so don’t. Or are you looking for reasons not to move?

I know the bog standard survey will say the roof is rubbish. We can’t drop the price to cover a new roof so am worried the buyer won’t understand how an old roof works and will pull out.

Hi we had this when selling. Overseas buyers not familiar with UK property. They wanted a new roof and I did successfully state that the old tiles were better than new ones they would use to replace. Used surrounding properties all with original roof tiles to argue the house would stick out for the wrong reasons. We were in a conservation area though and new tiles would need approval, probably be advised to use original. Our buyers had a full on structural survey and it even suggested changing paving slabs. In the end we pointed the ridge tiles and cleaned up any moss to keep the sale. I totally sympathise with the stress of selling but agree you are the expert on your home and I think you can stand firm a new roof isn't needed. Good luck!

OP, you know it, you get it, so explain it. There’s no reason for a sale to fall over because of this in these circumstances. Unless there is other information you aren’t sharing.

Period property doesn’t suit everyone and so some may vanish once they understand the responsibility. Others will value it.

The survey on our house said that the roof had failed and it needed to be replaced. We had expected this and had never tried to hide the fact that some work was needed on the house. We agreed to reduce the price by £35,000 to save the sale. We are due to exchange in the very near future. The survey on the first house we were buying surprised us by saying that the entire roof structure needed to be replaced. It was a really large roof and would have cost around £110,000 to replace. The vendors were only willing to knock £40,000 off the purchase price so we had to pull out.

@Growlybear83 gosh that is a lot. Houses on my road which have had a new roof have been around 12k, 4 bed detached.

My husband is a retired quantity surveyor, and worked out the cost, which he checked with a contractor he used to work with. The vendor also got three quotes; the cheapest was for £70,000 but that was for concrete tiles and didnt include a temporary roof, and the other two were much higher. The quotes were to replace the entire structure, not just the tiles, which is also the work that is needed for our house thst we’re selling.

Obviously depends on the spec but thats low OP.

Mine is just over £10k+VAT to re-felt ONE side and re-use the existing tiles.
includes scaffold and waste. No structural work and no internals work. Strip back, new felt, replace tiles.

The property we bought 3yrs ago has a very old roof, which the survey recommended getting replaced as a priority. Had three roofers out, they all quoted £20k but also all said it wasn’t of urgency and the roof could go another 10-15 years, more with repairs. We tried to get money off but seller wasn’t budging, the house had already been reduced from £975k to £795k over the course of a year.

We just went ahead as we wanted the house and are comfortably well off. So it really depends on how invested someone is and how much money they have for house maintenance.

We have been repairing and have some portions of the roof replaced over the last 3 years.