Should You Survey the Roof Before Selling?

What a buyer's survey will notice

Buyers, their surveyors and mortgage valuers all look at the roof. They check from the ground and sometimes from the loft, and they note anything that looks worn or unusual: missing tiles, patched mortar, sagging lines, moss, staining or old lead. A comment about the roof often leads to a request for a specialist report, and that can delay the sale.

A survey beforehand lets you see the same things first. You may find that the roof is in better order than you feared, and you can use the report to reassure a buyer. Or you may find faults that you would rather fix on your own terms than be pushed into a reduction.

The age and make-up of the roof are worth knowing, too. Our answer on how to tell how old a roof is shows how the clues are read.

Agents also like to see paperwork. A short report, photographs and the invoice for any repair give the sales team something concrete to say about the roof when buyers ask. It turns a question mark into a fact, and facts help a sale along.

What you can do with the findings

If the survey is clean, keep it. A dated report with photographs is a useful document to put in the sale pack, and to hand to a buyer who raises a question about the roof. It shows you have nothing to hide.

If it finds small faults, such as a few slipped tiles or a loose ridge piece, have them repaired and keep the invoice. These are quick, inexpensive jobs that remove a point of negotiation. If it finds larger issues, you can decide whether to repair, to adjust the asking price or to disclose them. Hiding a known defect is a poor idea, and your solicitor will advise you on what you must declare.

Cleaning is a lighter step. Our page on roof cleaning before selling explains when moss removal helps kerb appeal, and when it only draws attention to a roof that needs more.

Timing is simple: do it before the house goes on the market, so there is time for repairs. A report done in the first week of a sale leaves little room to act on it and can look like a reaction to a problem.

Do not forget outbuildings. A garage with an old felt or cement sheet roof is the kind of thing a buyer's surveyor will mention, and it is better to know what you are dealing with before they do.

When a survey is not worth it

If the roof is new and you have the paperwork, including the guarantee, a fresh survey adds little. If you are selling to a buyer who intends to demolish or fully refurbish, the roof may not matter. And if the sale is at auction with a fixed legal pack, a survey may not change the outcome.

It is also less useful if you would not act on the findings. A survey you do not use only creates a document you may have to disclose. Think about what you would do with each result before you book.

If you are unsure whether the roof will trouble a buyer, a quick free survey from us answers that. It costs nothing to find out.

Do not expect a perfect report from an older house. Most roofs have a few small points, and buyers understand that. What counts is that you know about them and have dealt with anything that matters.

How we handle a pre-sale survey

We look at every slope, the details and the loft, and we take photographs of the roof as it stands. The written finding is plain, so you can show it to an agent or a buyer without translation. Where work is needed, a fixed written quote follows, and we say whether it is worth doing before you sell.

Where repair works we repair, and where the roof has years left we say so. The survey and quote are free. See our roof inspections in Basingstoke page for the rest of the service.

We are happy to look at the loft and the outside in a single visit, and to tell you whether the work is worth doing before you move.

If you are selling a rented property, a report may also help your tenants to see that repairs are in hand.

If a repair is needed we explain whether it can be done in a day or two, which helps when a sale has a firm date.