BACKGROUND:

Wife and I put our house up for sale. It sold in 4 days. We had the home inspection today and the inspector says that we've had hail damage to our roof, unbeknownst to me. He says that the average joe couldn't tell unless you know what to look for. The buyers agree to pay for 1/2 of our home insurance deductible if we file a claim.

We call our insurance company and they agree to allow us to file a claim even though we didn't know it was damaged when it originally happened. They say they'll assign us an adjuster. My father tells me that they'll adjust the amount we get due to the fact that the roof is 14 years old. Is this true? Are we not going to get the full amount it cost to have a new roof put on?

Any info is greatly appreciated!

What state are you in? I am a licensed adjuster in Florida.

Quoted: What state are you in? I am a licensed adjuster in Florida.

Indiana. We are with Liberty Mutual insurance if that makes any difference.

BTT

Get out your HO policy and read it.  IT will tell you exactly how they adjust the loss.  Most HO carriers stopped "replacemnt value" on roofs some time back and went to ACV (actual cash value) that adjusts for depreciation.  You need to figure out which coverage you have.  Ask your agent if you have one, and he/she should be able to explain it to you.

Good luck......

Quoted: Get out your HO policy and read it.  IT will tell you exactly how they adjust the loss.  Most HO carriers stopped "replacemnt value" on roofs some time back and went to ACV (actual cash value) that adjusts for depreciation.  You need to figure out which coverage you have.  Ask your agent if you have one, and he/she should be able to explain it to you. Good luck......

So if my roof is 14 years old, and it's a 20 year roof - they'll only give me roughly 25% of what it would cost me to replace it?

Check your policy.

My parent's 15 year old roof suffered hail damage a few years ago and American Family paid for the whole thing.

I have a feeling we're going to get fucked on this. I read my policy but all I'm seeing about hail is that we have a $1K deductible.

Ok soo you really need to check your policy for replacement cost.  If you have replacement cost then they will pay 100%  NO depreciation, is it the whole roof that needs replacing or is it just one spot I am assuming hail damage=Full roof

Expect your homeowners insurance rates to go up.

P.s I am an agent.

If you have any questions Im me

Quoted: Check your policy. My parent's 15 year old roof suffered hail damage a few years ago and American Family paid for the whole thing.

Am Fam is one of the very few that kept the replacement value language.  I use them as a result.  

There should be a section of the policy that states the wind/hail provisions and sometimes one that deals solely with the roof.  one, the other or both of those sections will tell you if it is replacement value or ACV.  Call your agent and have him/her point out exactly what coverage you have for the roof in a hail situation. THat is one of the things you paid the commission for.

UPDATE (for anyone that might care)

The Liberty Mutual adjuster came to the house today (pretty quick considering we filed the claim yesterday). He got up on the roof and said it had minor bruising, but nothing like the damage the home inspector stated. He said that he would recommend that it be fixed since he knew that we had a buyer on our house, and that the home inspector would never remove his comments from his home inspection report.

He said that Liberty Mutual gives you actual cash value up front minus your deductable, and you can pick who you want to fix the roof. After the roof is actually fixed they pay you back the depreciation they factor in, and this keeps more people from just "cashing out" on the claim. Plus, he said if the job costs more than his estimate to just have the roofer call and they'll work out the difference. All and all I was very pleased with Liberty Mutual. They cut me a check today, the adjuster was very professional and answered all our questions. Looks like I'm going to be able to sell my house without any problems.

Thanks to all those who offered advice and help!

There is another avenue you can approach this from.

Since you say your house sold in 4 days, it sounds like it was priced low or at least the buyers thought so. The home inspection report is nothing more than a bargaining chip. You can tell the prospective buyers to shove it, you can negotiate or you can fix it all on your dime. In effect, you can do whatever you want. You could probably also get another home inspector to say just the opposite, the roof is okay. It is 14 years old afterall.

I guess in the end it depends on how bad you want to sell it, you can do whatever you want. It may also be a ploy from the buyer of buyers remorse.

Quoted: There is another avenue you can approach this from. Since you say your house sold in 4 days, it sounds like it was priced low or at least the buyers thought so. The home inspection report is nothing more than a bargaining chip. You can tell the prospective buyers to shove it, you can negotiate or you can fix it all on your dime. In effect, you can do whatever you want. You could probably also get another home inspector to say just the opposite, the roof is okay. It is 14 years old afterall. I guess in the end it depends on how bad you want to sell it, you can do whatever you want. It may also be a ploy from the buyer of buyers remorse.

The buyers are willing to pay 1/2 the deductable, and they didn't request any other repairs done. I think we're coming out okay - as most people have to spend a few more bucks getting their house ready to sell. I don't want the hassle of putting it back up on the market.

Quoted: The buyers are willing to pay 1/2 the deductable, and they didn't request any other repairs done. I think we're coming out okay - as most people have to spend a few more bucks getting their house ready to sell. I don't want the hassle of putting it back up on the market.

Fair enough, I don't blame you.

I have seen "tactics" like this used before. A friend of mine sold his house to the "buyers from hell". They nitpicked everything up to and including on the final walk through on closing day.

You can also take "most" home inspection reports with a grain of salt. Get two different companies to look at it and you get two completely different reports.

You may be able to get a roofer to quote a replacement estimate high,  and then replace the roof with a more reasonable company and have insurance money for your pocket.  


Or, make a counter offer to the buyer with 1/2 of the total cost of the roof removed from the offer.  You may be surprised.  

I beat up the guy I bought from too.  A 15 yr old roof may need repair, even if no wind or hail damage, and should be factored into the asking price.   If you ask high $$$ per square foot, your castle better be in top shape.

FWIW, I re-roofed my old house before I sold it.  That way, there was no way it would be an issue.  Hell, the only thing they found was double keyed exit lock in the garage to beef me on.

If you are capable of reroofing yourself, kill the escrow, reroof, and relist.  People never seem to have the time to do things right, but have enough time to do them again.......

I also reroofed my new house.  15000 nails,  if you know what I mean.  Cheap to do, just ass breaking work.