Detroit Real Estate

When you are buying a home you should always be on the lookout for potential roof problems.  It doesn't matter if it is Livonia real estate, Canton real estate, or Farmington Hills real estate roof problems can kill the deal.  Why?  A lender won't let you buy a home if the roof is bad.  They don't care if you have a lot of friends that will come over and help you put on a new roof.  They don't care if you have the money to pay a contractor.   All they care about is making sure the "collateral" (the House) is in saleable or good condition.  If the house has a bad roof they consider it in bad condition.

They lender won't give you a loan on it.   So unless you are going to do a FHA 203K loan you most likely want to steer away from any houses that have roof problems.  If you look at the pictures  when you see the edges or corners of the shingles curling up it means there is very little roof life left.  Even if there is only a 2 x 2 section of the roof that is curling up it is likely that the bank will turn the loan down.

How will the bank know?  The appraiser will take pictures and will not it in the appraisal.  So it is a catch 22 when you are buying a house with a bad roof (especially if it is a bank foreclosure)  The seller may not want to fix it or pay for it, the bank won't lend on it, and you don't want to put money into the roof (house) until it is yours.  So usually the two ways the house can be bought is cash or a FHA 203K loan.

To you it may seem like a little problem but that roof problem could cost $4,000 to over $10,000 to get the roof re-done.

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My quote of the day:

There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard.

Madame C. J. Walker