Recently a Realtor asked me if her client should upgrade her shingles before selling her house, specifically she wanted to know about installing class 4 (hail resistant) shingles. Having been a Realtor myself before starting this company with my husband, I love it when roofing and real estate combine! I also thought that was a great question that will probably be asked again. So should you upgrade your shingles, in my opinion, if you find yourself needing to replace your roof before listing your house?
First, consider that this isn’t completely different than the “should I install real wood floors for resell? or “should I upgrade to granite counter tops?” type of question. Look at your neighbor’s roofs, what type are they? If you’re in a neighborhood where specialty roofs are the norm, then you want to follow suit. If you install a lesser roof if will be counted against your house compared to the other houses they are seeing. Even if they can’t put their finger on it, your house won’t have the same high end look if you downgrade your roof.
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3 Tab Shingles to Architectural Shingles
The easiest comparison for me to address is 3 tab vs. architectural shingles. It is always worth the upgrade to architectural shingles if you ask me. Texas winds will wear on a 3 tab roof quickly! Aside from the functional upgrade, the aesthetic upgrade will be significant for not much cost difference. The only time I would even say 3 tab is worth considering is on a very small investment property surrounded by 3 tab roofs… even then, while going to the expense of a new roof just pay that little bit extra for one that will last. If I’ve lost you already, checking out my basic roofing types post.
Upgrading to Hail Resistant from an Architectural Shingle
Now, should you upgrade to hail resistant when you’re about to sell? My simple answer here is going to be no. If you won’t be owning it much longer, you likely won’t reap the benefits of the extra cost by saving that insurance deductible down the line after your roof weathered a storm it wouldn’t have otherwise. Another contributing factor to my opinion is that a basic hail resistant shingle will look exactly like a regular architectural shingle. So you won’t get an aesthetic upgrade, unless you go even more expensive into the specialty hail resistant shingle range. There are a lot of great options in that range, but it doesn’t make sense if you’re selling your house and that’s not expected by your buyers.
What About Metal?
I would also have about the same answer to considering upgrading to metal as I did with class 4. Metal roofs are great, an option I think Texans should consider more in fact. But if that’s not the norm for your neighborhood, I wouldn’t go to the extra expense unless you’re going to live there for awhile longer.
Play it up!
If you do get a new roof or decide to make that upgrade, be sure you play it up to your buyers! This is especially true for hail resistant shingles because they won’t know by just looking at them. But be sure you mention any new roof at all in the listing! A roof is just a part of the whole for buyers, while a bad roof definitely stands out, if it’s doing what it should most people won’t notice exactly what they like about a house even if a well planned roof is a part of that. They may not think to ask, but a new roof is a major plus and they can even get a discount on their homeowner’s insurance for it. We are happy to provide new buyers of house’s we roof with the documentation they need to show their insurance for that discount if they reach out to us. We keep detailed paperless records, even months down the road we’ve had buyers reach out to us and its simple for us to get that to them! If there has been a recent and notable hail storm, its especially good to note the new roof in the listing because buyers will be more aware than usual that the roof should have been replaced.
I am always willing to help you through this questions when roofing and real estate merge, so don’t hesitate to ask! You can learn more about our experience with real estate here.
