The Right Roof Can Pay You Back: Home Value

22 Jul The Right Roof Can Pay You Back: Home Value

Here is part 1 of 3 in how a roof can pay you back over time. Wouldn’t you love to have an increase in home value to pay you back for your investment?

There’s an old saying that we think is very applicable when searching for a roof:

“Only the very rich can afford to buy cheap.”

What this means is that most of us have to make very careful decisions that will provide a good return on our investments. We have to buy products that will last and be beneficial, freeing us from future repair and replacement expenses. The very rich, on the other hand, can lead lifestyles based upon disposable products – because they can afford to replace them again and again.

When it comes to roofing, most of us need to make roofing choices that have a long-term payback and return. That payback can come in 3 ways:

1. Increased home value
2. Freedom from ongoing maintenance and replacement costs
3. Energy efficiency

Potential buyers of your home will likely share in this desire for return on investment. This means that they, too, will place value on a roof that does these things.

So, here’s the question that we need to answer:

Can the right roof pay for itself over time?

The answer is that yes, it can. Let’s take a look at the 1st of 3 important factors in this equation:

Increased Home Value

Home improvement industry researchers estimate that a quality roof will immediately add close to 70% of its cost to the home’s value. Studies that have looked at higher-end roofs have rated those even higher in payback than a standard roof. While we’d love to stand firm on these claims, we have found that the interaction between roof cost/quality and home value is quite a bit more complicated than that.

All real estate markets are different. And, as most folks who have bought or sold a house know, 2 things are required to complete that transaction – a willing seller and a willing buyer. The 2 of those may end up “dancing” a great deal to end up at an agreed-upon price. To a large degree, the value of your home’s roof will be determined by the buyer of the home. If you have a roof that they want and appreciate, then it will increase how much they are willing to pay for the home. On the other hand, if your home’s roof looks ordinary or in need of replacement, it will reduce what they are willing to pay for the home.

Along the lines of home value and roof aesthetics, though, we advise going one step further. Drive through a few neighborhoods of higher value homes, and you will quickly see that many of those homes have more distinctive roofs. Depending upon your geographic area, you will see the following roofs: Slate, Wood Shakes, Tile, Metal Dimensional Shingles, Composite Materials. The fact is, these types of roofs hallmark nice homes, and even become essential if a home is going to be able to command an above-market price.

Particularly with today’s metal roofs that look like slate and shake, a metal roof can be a great way to enhance your home immediately through increased beauty and value as well as the “high end” implication of an upscale, higher value home.

Part 2 in this series details freedom from ongoing maintenance, while Part 3 addresses energy efficiency. Both of these paybacks are great on their own, but of course, they contribute to increasing a home’s value as well.