GUIDE / BUYING A HOUSE
A home inspection
is not a roof
inspection.
In Arizona a home inspector is not required to walk on the roof or to say how long it has left. On a tile roof, that leaves the most expensive question in the house unanswered at the one moment you can still negotiate.
THE QUESTION TO ASK
“When was the underlayment last replaced, and who says so?”
01 / WHAT THE HOME INSPECTION COVERS
What the report
will and will not
tell you.
Home inspectors here work to standards set by the state Board of Technical Registration. For the roof, those standards are specific about what has to be looked at, and just as specific about what does not.
The inspector has to
- Look at the roof covering, drainage, flashing, skylights, chimneys and anything passing through the roof
- Note signs of leaks or abnormal condensation
- Describe what the roof is made of
- Say how the roof was inspected: walked, from a ladder, or from the ground
The inspector does not have to
- Walk on the roof
- Say how long the roof, or any part of it, has left
- Predict what will fail
Find the line in the report that says how the roof was inspected. “Viewed from the ground” and “walked” describe very different looks at the same roof, and both can end in a report that calls it serviceable.
02 / WHY TILE IS THE HARD CASE
Tile that looks
new over a layer
that is not.
This is where a standard home inspection and a roofer’s look at the same house most often disagree.
01
Two layers, two clocks.
The tile you see and the underlayment you cannot age on very different schedules. The gap is decades, and the numbers are in our guide to how long roofs last here.
02
Intact tile hides the answer.
Seeing the layer beneath sound tile means lifting some of it. Nothing in a home inspector’s standards asks them to.
03
So both roofs pass.
A roof with years left and a roof about to need new underlayment can produce the same home inspection report, because from above they look alike.
04
The difference is the price of a roof.
Replacing underlayment under tile is major work. Knowing about it before you close is a negotiation. Finding it after is a bill.
03 / WHAT TO ASK BEFORE YOU CLOSE
Six questions,
and where the
answers are.
Most of these have a document behind them. Ask for the document.
01
How old is the roof, really?
The seller’s disclosure form asks about the roof, including its age, leaks and repairs. Treat the answer as what the seller knows, not a measurement: “about fifteen years” from someone who bought ten years ago is an estimate of an estimate.
02
Has it leaked, and what was done?
Ask for the invoice rather than the recollection. A leak repaired by a named roofer with a written scope is a very different history from one a previous owner “took care of.”
03
What does the claims history say?
The standard Arizona purchase contract has the seller provide a five-year insurance claims history for the property. Look for roof claims, and ask what was repaired afterward and by whom.
04
Is there a roof warranty, and does it transfer?
Some transfer to a new owner, some do not, and some only with notice or a fee within a set time after the sale. The warranty document answers this; a verbal assurance does not.
05
When was the underlayment last replaced?
On a tile roof this matters most and is answered least. If nobody can say, assume it is original to the house until somebody has looked.
06
What will your insurer make of it?
Before closing, ask the agent writing your homeowner’s policy whether the roof’s age or condition changes the cover or the premium. It is a much easier conversation during the inspection period than after.
04 / TIMING
The inspection
period is the
easy window.
The standard Arizona resale contract gives a buyer an inspection period of ten days after acceptance, unless the contract sets a different number. Check the days in yours, because that number decides everything below.
- Book the roof early in it. A problem found on day nine leaves no time to get a repair figure before you have to respond.
- Get the findings in writing. A written report with photographs is something your agent can put in front of the seller. “It’s probably fine” is not.
- Know what you would ask for. A repair before closing, a credit, a price change, or nothing. Your agent runs the negotiation; a specific finding gives them something to negotiate with.
After closing, anything found is yours to pay for. The week before you commit is the cheapest time there will ever be to look.
05 / COMMON QUESTIONS
From buyers.
The home inspector said the roof looks fine. Do I still need a roofer?
On a newer roof, often not. On a tile roof around twenty years old or more, or wherever the report says the roof was viewed from the ground, a roofer checking the underlayment answers a question the home inspection was never required to.
Can I ask the seller to replace the roof?
You can ask for anything during the inspection period, and what the seller agrees to is a negotiation your agent handles. A specific written finding is much harder to wave away than a general worry.
Should the seller’s roofer do the inspection?
Use whoever you like, but a roofer arranged by the person selling the house is not working for you. For a decision this size it is worth one look that answers only to the buyer.
The seller offered a roof certification. Is that enough?
Read what it covers, for how long, and who issued it. It is a promise from that company about that roof, which can be worth having, but it is not the same thing as an inspection done for you.
Does Atlas inspect roofs for home purchases?
Yes. The free inspection covers the roof as it stands and ends in a written report with photographs you can hand to your agent. Mention your inspection deadline when you book.
Buying a house with a tile roof?
Book the free inspection early in your inspection period, and put the written report in front of your agent.