Roof certification for Washington, DC home sales

Most requests arrive in one of three ways. A buyer's home inspector writes that the roof is near the end of its life or should be evaluated by a roofer. A lender, often on an FHA or VA loan, asks for proof the roof has a few years of life left. Or the buyer's insurer wants the roof's age and condition before it will write the policy.

Sellers sometimes get ahead of it and order a certification before listing. On a 1920s rowhouse in Petworth or a 1950s colonial in Silver Spring, a buyer's first worry is the roof, and having a recent letter with photos answers that before it becomes a negotiation point.

Timelines are short in a sale. We try to schedule certification visits within a few business days and turn the letter around quickly once any required repairs are done.

We get on the roof. A certification based on binoculars from the sidewalk isn't worth much, and we won't sign one. On flat roofs we walk the full surface, probe seams, check every penetration and outlet and look for soft spots that suggest wet insulation. On pitched roofs we check the covering, valleys, flashing, vents and the condition of the deck from the attic.

Inside, we look at the top-floor ceilings and the attic or roof cavity where we can reach it. Old stains, fresh stains and painted-over stains all tell part of the story. If a seller has recently painted a ceiling near a chimney, we'll look harder at that chimney flashing.

We also note anything outside the roof covering that affects it: rotted fascia, clogged gutters, a failing parapet coping or an abandoned chimney with no cap. Those don't always block a certification, but the buyer deserves to know about them.

Layers matter more than most sellers expect. A rowhouse roof with three layers of old built-up roofing under the current membrane is heavier, harder to repair and will need a full tear-off at the next replacement. We cut a small test opening where needed, patch it the same day and record the layer count in the letter.

• Full walk of the roof surface, not a view from the ground
• Flashing, penetrations, outlets and edge metal
• Attic or top-floor ceilings for past and present leaks
• Estimated age, layers and remaining service life
• Dated photos attached to the letter

The letter states the property address, the date of inspection, the roof type and approximate age, the number of layers where we can determine it, the condition we found and our estimate of remaining service life. It confirms there were no active leaks at the time of inspection, and it lists any repairs we made to reach that point.

It isn't a warranty or a promise that the roof will never leak. Roofs are exposed to weather nobody can predict, and a letter that pretends otherwise isn't honest. What it gives the buyer and lender is a professional opinion, backed by photos, from someone who was actually up there.

If the roof has only a year or two left, we'll say that plainly. A seller is better off knowing now and pricing it in, or arranging a roof replacement before closing, than having the deal fall apart after a buyer's roofer says the same thing.

Most roofs we certify need something small first. Common items around DC are cracked pipe boots, open seams on a rowhouse modified bitumen roof, failed counterflashing at a chimney, a few broken slates or a scupper that's clogged and leaking. We price those right after the inspection, and many can be fixed the same week.

Bigger issues, such as wet insulation across a flat roof, rotted decking or a slate roof losing slates by the dozen, need a conversation between buyer and seller. We'll give a written price for the repair or replacement so the agents have a real number to work with in a credit or repair addendum. For a flat roof that's close to the end, our flat roof replacement page explains what that job involves.

Once repairs are finished, we photograph them and issue the letter. If the agents need it addressed to the lender or a specific buyer, tell us and we'll prepare it that way.

If you're the buyer, ask the seller for any roof records: replacement date, permit, warranty papers and maintenance history. In DC, a roof replacement should have a permit from the Department of Buildings, and in historic districts such as Shaw or Capitol Hill, visible roofing changes may have gone through the Historic Preservation Office. A missing permit doesn't mean the work was bad, but it's worth knowing.

A general home inspector covers the roof in a few lines. If the report raises a concern, a separate roof inspection from a roofer gives you more detail before the inspection contingency runs out. Call (202) 771-7443 and tell us your closing date so we can schedule the visit in time.