Owners of homes with new wood roofs, or those that have been maintained through its preservation program, invest in The Cedar Roof Company’s Real Estate Assistance program to ensure a smooth transaction during a home sale.
Its cedar shake or shingle roof can be your home’s best asset…or its greatest liability.
After several years of declining home sales, it seems the real estate market may finally be improving. However, even in the best of times, home sellers with wood roofs are rewarded for being prudent about the roof’s condition before putting their home on the market. A cedar shake or shingle roof can be a home’s greatest attribute …or its biggest obstacle during a real estate transaction.
Home inspectors have a difficult job, requiring them to evaluate multiple aspects of each home. Often unwilling to accept liability for a roof ’s condition and its future performance, they provide documentation that is unfavorable to a home with a cedar roof. Once documented, this information will affect the negotiation process of a real estate transaction. As the area’s leading wood roof professional The Cedar Roof Company offers a Real Estate Assistance Program (REAP) designed to help people selling their homes by providing truthful and accurate documentation about the wood shake or shingle roof being evaluated. This program also includes a transferable leak and repair warranty.
Trusted by Home Inspectors
Since 1993 The Cedar Roof Company has been trusted to provide the Delaware Valley the most reliable service and effective cedar roof solutions, including the installation, repair, preservation and certification of cedar shake and shingle wood roofs. In fact, it is the only wood roof company in southeastern Pennsylvania with a service department dedicated to maintaining and repairing cedar roofs. Its goal is to educate homeowners about the options available for their roof by providing a thorough and honest assessment. The Cedar Roof Company has earned an A-Plus rating from the Pennsylvania Better Business Bureau since becoming a member 2003 and is also member of the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau, an organization that is recognized as the industry’s foremost authority.
For years, the owners of wood roof homes have sought the advice of The Cedar Roof Company when looking to enter the real estate market. Co-owner Brian Pott says his company offers these homeowners a free roof evaluation and consultation in order to provide an accurate assessment and present their available options. With more than 20 years of experience and industry education, The Cedar Roof Company is qualified to provide an informative and detailed evaluation that home inspectors and real estate agents recognize as factual and credible. Pott and The Cedar Roof Company’s head of installation, Mike Malone, even provide continuing education for Pennsylvania and Delaware home inspectors.
A roof certification issued by The Cedar Roof Company is a specific, fact-based representation of the roof. This information, when furnished, can be used to educate the homeowner, home inspectors, real estate agents and potential buyers about the state of the roof and other pertinent information including past maintenance and repair history, if any. Allowing all parties involved access to this information is paramount in brokering an agreement. The transferable leak and repair warranty offered by The Cedar Roof Company is designed to take the limited liability of the roof and its future performance away from the home inspector and offer future repair assurance to any buyer who purchases the home by locking them into a low-fixed-deductible rate for any future additional repairs should they become necessary.
The First Call to Make When you Decide to Sell
The Roof Certification should be dated at the time the home is listed on the market and the Transferable Leak & Repair Warranty should be activated at that time, as well. It is essential that both be in place before a home inspector visits the property. “As a home inspector, our goal is to provide our customers with an accurate estimate of remaining useful life of the roof, so that they can plan and budget accordingly or negotiate terms prior to purchase,” says Frank Falcone, who, along with his father, Wayne, owns Accurate Home Inspection. “Evaluation of wood roofs approaching their end of life is a challenge because the layered portion of the roof may be in far better condition than the exposed portion of the roof shingles. …The wood roof certification and warranty provide specialized expertise and peace of mind to a home.”
Real estate certification can protect the home sellers interests during negotiations
By providing this security, the sellers can feel good about the condition the home’s roof and know that they have provided adequately for its new owners. In cases involving nonmaintained cedar roofs with limited life expectancy, the buyers will also have the advantage of making their own choices about the style and quality of their roof should they need or choose to replace it. Cedar is available in shake and shingle styles of varying lengths and reveals that offer a variety of effects preferred by different people. This is a decision best left to the new owners rather than having had a hasty, low-quality replacement installed just to complete the sale.
Pott and Malone are vested in facilitating a smooth real estate transaction for those involved in the Real Estate Assistance Program and do not charge a fee to meet or discuss the roof if a request is made by either the seller or the buyer of a property involved in its program. The Cedar Roof Company doesn’t just represent home sellers, but often represents the buyers as well. “There’s not a week that goes by that we’re not meeting potential buyers of homes with wood roofs and evaluating their condition,” says Pott. “The majority of these leads come from local home inspectors and real estate agents that know our company and trust our evaluation.” He says the company’s goal, whether it is representing the seller or the buyer, is the same: to honestly and accurately assess the roof ’s current condition, life expectancy and options for care.
By providing this security, the sellers can feel good about the condition the home’s roof and know that they have provided adequately for its new owners. In cases involving nonmaintained cedar roofs with limited life expectancy, the buyers will also have the advantage of making their own choices about the style and quality of their roof should they need or choose to replace it. Cedar is available in shake and shingle styles of varying lengths and reveals that offer a variety of effects preferred by different people. This is a decision best left to the new owners rather than having had a hasty, low-quality replacement installed just to complete the sale. Pott and Malone are vested in facilitating a smooth real estate transaction for those involved in the Real Estate Assistance Program and do not charge a fee to meet or discuss the roof if a request is made by either the seller or the buyer of a property involved in its program. The Cedar Roof Company doesn’t just represent home sellers, but often represents the buyers as well. “There’s not a week that goes by that we’re not meeting potential buyers of homes with wood roofs and evaluating their condition,” says Pott. “The majority of these leads come from local home inspectors and real estate agents that know our company and trust our evaluation.” He says the company’s goal, whether it is representing the seller or the buyer, is the same: to honestly and accurately assess the roof ’s current condition, life expectancy and options for care.
Scott Furman, a Realtor with RE/MAX Classic in Saint Davids was recognized last year as the No. 1 agent in the region and the state. He is also the owner of a cedar roof home that he has relied on The Cedar Roof Company to maintain. This unique perspective provides him with an exceptional understanding of the challenges a cedar roof presents to a real estate transaction. “I represent many sellers, and cedar roofs can be a challenge for all parties involved because there is a lack of education as to how they function. …People can be scared by them.” He says a Roof Certification backed by a Transferable Leak & Repair Warranty is “a great tool when we get to home inspection. “Most homes are sold with inspection contingencies,” he continues. “In cases that we are not [utilizing this documentation] we are dealing with it on back end and that is where problems arise. Both [the certification and warranty] will reduce the risk of that contract falling though. It gives the buyer peace of mind.”
Protecting Your Investment In a Cedar Roof
A homeowner’s peace of mind can also come from knowing who to turn to with concerns about a cedar roof. Steven and Lisa Forgue became customers of The Cedar Roof Company when they bought their home. “The previous owners of our home had used their maintenance program, so we knew who to call when we noticed that a heavy wind had broken a couple of the shingles,” Lisa says. “As we had never owned a home with a cedar roof, we were glad to have the Cedar Roof Company as our local experts.”
“When called, they came out immediately, assessed the repairs needed, gave us a quote and scheduled the work,” she says. “We have always taken their suggestions regarding maintenance and upkeep and have never been disappointed.” Just this summer the Forgues had The Cedar Roof Company perform the recommended cleaning and preservation. “We were gone during the day while the preservation work was being completed,” she says. “When we turned into our driveway and saw the difference, we knew it was money well spent. The roof looked new, and our home was built in 1992.” Even though they have had their wood roof preserved and maintained on a regular basis, the Forgues—who recently decided to list their home on the market—see the value in obtaining a Roof Certification and Transferable Leak & Repair Warranty. “Any warranty that can be passed on to a prospective buyer is a great selling point,” Lisa says. “A home is a huge investment these days, and being proactive is the only way to protect that investment.”
