I work very hard for my clients to make sure each transaction is as stress free as possible. However, things happen that are out of my control, and that was the case when my fantastic first time buyers purchased their home in SE Portland last month.
A Smooth Start
Things started off smoothly – the earnest money deposit was wired to the title company, inspections were scheduled and disclosures were reviewed. Our home inspector called out the roof and we successfully negotiated a credit from the seller to have the roof replaced. So far so good, right?
The Appraiser Throws a Wrench
Enter the appraiser. An appraisal report is not just an opinion on value, it also includes remarks about the property’s condition. In this case, the report included the following verbiage:
“Roof is nearing the end of its economic life with noted composition loss and patched shingles. An extraordinary assumption has been made that the roof has 3 to 5 years of remaining life. If the client has concerns regarding the condition and remaining life of the subject roof, an inspection by a licensed roofing contractor is recommended.”
This threw a wrench in the works. The underwriter would not approve the loan without a certification from a licensed roofer stating that the roof had at least 5 years of life left. Since we were less than a week away from closing, the buyers and I had to scramble to come up with a plan.
Coming Up With a Plan
The first thing I did was to ask the loan officer to push the roof certification condition from a prior-to-doc condition (a condition that has to be satisfied before loan documents are issued) to a prior-to-funding condition (a condition that has to be satisfied prior to the loan funding, which typically happens on the day of closing) to give us more time to get a roof certification issued.
The second thing the buyers and I did was sit down and call every roofing company in the city to see if anyone could come out the next day to review the roof. Our concern was that the roof would not qualify for a roof certificate so we also scheduled roofers to go out there to bid on having the roof replaced. Being that this was 4 days before closing and this was one of the wettest winters on record, we knew that the chances of finding someone who could go out there, bid the job, and get it done in less than a week were slim to none.
The Solution
My buyers reminded me that they had seen a roofing company truck at the neighbors house and said they would go over there to see what that company’s availability was like. Well, fortune favors the brave, as they say, and them going over there to knock on the door turned out to make all the difference. Not only was the company available to provide a bid right there on the spot, they were also able to move some other appointments around to replace the roof on this home and allow us to close on time.
The weather refused to cooperate but the company was still able to replace the roof in pouring down rain and a wind storm. The completion certification was sent to the lender who funded the loan and the transaction closed!
New roof being installed 
Roof Before 
New roof being installed 
Roof After