The past few months we’ve been preparing to sell our house. Last month, our realtor, Eric Hjelm (who I adore and wholeheartedly recommend), suggested we have a few roof companies come out and look over our roof. Although we didn’t have any leaks, our roof was looking worn and I thought a good scrub and repair would get it ready for the next owners.
I had four local roofing companies come out and every company recommended it be replaced. It was nearing the end of it’s 30-year-life and all of them said the same thing, that they couldn’t issue a 5-year certification for the roof (which is generally what buyers want on a roof when they buy a house).
We were faced with the choice to replace it or wait until the house sold and negotiate with the buyer a price reduction for a roof replacement.
I opted to replace the roof before listing the house for sale – and I chose this for a couple reasons:
- Curb appeal – The way our house is built, the roof is a focal point. It’s VERY visible and a huge part of how our house presents itself. Replace the roof before listing would really improve the way she looks from the road. Curb appeal would hopefully help sell the house faster, which was our goal.
- It was on MY terms – If we didn’t replace the roof we would have had to negotiate with the buyer about the cost of a new roof. Even if we listed the house for a lower price because of the roof, I didn’t want the buyer to come back and ask for more to replace the roof. By replacing the roof before listing, I was able to shop around for the best price and best company – then price the house with full confidence that we wouldn’t have to negotiate any roof repairs.
I contacted four local roofing companies and one easily stood out from the rest – United Roofing Solutions (Olympia). I was instantly impressed when I called United Roofing Solutions and Jenn answered the phone. She was so friendly, helpful and I found out later – that the company is owned by her and her husband, Derrick!
Of all the companies I contacted, they were the quickest to turn around a detailed quote (sent via email). Not only did the quote cover everything we talked about, in detail, but it was the most competitive pricing. AND they knew we wanted to list quickly, so they committed to fitting us into an already busy schedule – so we could list by the date we wanted. They work with a lot of people selling homes and they understood the urgency, which I really appreciated.
On April 23 a couple big trucks pulled up to my house and the crew filed out and started the roofing project! They started around 8 a.m. and the crew had the entire roof done by dinner time! Unbelievable.
I couldn’t believe how quickly the roof went up. During the entire project they had crew members circling the house cleaning up debris – including a magnetic tool that picked up any stray nails in the grass. I can easily say they left my yard cleaner than when they got here!
The new roof was BEAUTIFULLY done. We had some unique venting and a lot of flashing around our skylights and chimney – but they did an amazing job. I really feel the new roof gave the house an entirely new look – which I loved. When we had our neighborhood garage sale we had our neighbors asking where we got our roof done – because they were so impressed with it!
We listed our house a week later – for MORE than we would have – to cover the cost of the roofing project.
Within two days of listing, we had THREE offers on our house (two full-price offers!). Our buyer even waived the inspection (we were shocked!), which I think was partially due to the house being so well cared for and the brand, new quality roof! Our appraisal was last week and it easily came in at value – again, I think it’s due to the roof and the work we’ve done around the house!
What do you think? Doesn’t the new roof look amazing?!
I would definitely recommend United Roofing if you live in the Olympia/Tacoma area. Replacing a roof is NEVER going to be fun, or cheap, or exciting – but I’m grateful that it was done quickly, well and that we were taken such good care of. I feel very confident that this roof will take good care of the next family to call this place home.
United Roofing solutions did compensate me in exchange for me sharing my thoughts and opinions on their service. All opinions, photos and commentary are my own.
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