Most of the time, you don’t give your roof a second thought. You count on it to keep you dry and cool every time it rains or the sun beats down, and that’s totally understandable. But, as soon as you spot a weird stain on your ceiling that you never noticed before, you’ll wish you had paid a little more attention every now and then. If your roof wears down to the point where you need buckets in every room when it rains, you’re already too late. “It’s like having tires on your car. You don’t want to wait until one is bald before you get a new one,” says Mike Montpetit, a top real estate agent in Cary, North Carolina. When you’re preparing to sell your home, it feels like every potential roadblock carries a ton of weight, and when it comes to the state of your roof, knowledge is power. An inspection from a licensed roofer puts your mind at ease about the condition of your roof before you even list your home for sale, and can provide the security a prospective buyer needs to feel comfortable making an offer. We chatted with roofing and real estate experts to gather some of the most important things to know about your roof inspection, including: what to expect, who to call to perform the inspection, and how a roof certification can inform homeowners and reassure homebuyers. A home inspection is a visual review of an entire property’s main systems and components, which evaluates the condition of its plumbing, electrical, HVAC, foundation, and yes, its roof, too. A roof inspection puts just your roof in the hot seat instead of the entire home. The inspector — who should be a well-established roofing contractor in your area — will take a close look at the integrity of the roof and ceilings for signs of damage, leaking, or any other issues specific to the roof that may pose a threat to the home. “Roof inspections can be tricky because some of the most important components are hidden underneath the shingles,” says John Hogan, president and CEO of Blue Nail Exteriors. “We use clues from what we see on the surface to make an educated guess at what was done underneath.”Roof inspection vs. home inspection: What’s the difference?
