Are you considering putting in a new roof? Sure, this isn’t a project that’s quite as popular and snazzy as remodeling your home’s interior. However, it does have some advantages, especially in improving your home’s resale value; not to mention the newer and nicer appearance, the improved warranties and lower bills. Still, there are a few different factors to keep in mind when thinking about a new roof over your household. With that in mind – we’ll take a look at some of the most pressing ones.
Your New Roof And Home Value
Naturally, one of the main remodeling ideas behind putting in a new roof is to protect your home beneath it. However, there are other practical advantages, such as having better insulation. Plus, if you’re going to use one of the newer roofing materials, your summers won’t be quite as unbearable; the heat will be reflected from your rooftops instead of being absorbed. In terms of comfort and lower utility costs for AC, this is a great relief.
And the functional additions aside, even if you just put in newer asphalt shingles, there’s an aesthetic appeal to think about as well. Of course, there are plenty of options available to you, including natural wood; many homeowners prefer it due to its objective and natural appearance.
Roof And Resale Value
If you’ve ever seen how a home inspector does their job, you’ll notice they practically make a beeline for your roof right away once they arrive at the property; your roof’s health is a major factor when it comes to assessing the value of a home. Most market studies show that an updated or new roof will add to your return on investment once you sell the house.
Think about it – if you decide to sell your house, and the roof is still in need of fixing, this will be a big minus on the appraisal value of the house. If there’s one thing you want to avoid, it’s your home being viewed as a “fixer-upper”; that will send your price into a nosedive. Instead, hire a company you can trust to properly remodel your roof.
Do You Have To Get A New Roof?
Of course, we’d be remiss not mentioning that replacing a roof on a house isn’t a small task. Sure, professional roofers won’t have a problem with doing the task quickly, but it still costs money. If you properly maintain and inspect your roof on a frequent basis, you will probably be able to get at least 20 years out of it. Naturally, this mileage may vary depending on different external factors; like the severity of your local climate. As you might imagine, all of the regular maintenance in the world won’t save your roof in case a total replacement is simply necessary.
Benefits Of A New Roof
When you think about whether a new roof is a good idea, remember that it’s not simply about increasing your resale value. There are people who maintain their roof without ever intending on actually selling their home; that’s just responsible homeownership. Plus, the energy efficiency improvements you’ll experience are more than worth the cost. As a matter of fact, this is one of the premier reasons why people decide on installing brand new roofs instead of fixing old ones.
To be more precise – asphalt shingles can actually lower your roofs surface temperature by a whopping 50 degrees. There’s probably no need to point out just how much of an efficiency boost this is for your air conditioning system. Plus, any eco-friendly home improvements may mean a nice tax return later on.
Long-Term vs Short-Term Value
When we take a look at a new roof, there’s one thing that it immediately adds to your home besides protection from the elements – curb appeal. If you’re selling your home after recently installing a new roof, there’s no denying the aesthetic appeal that will become immediately obvious once a buyer steps foot on your lawn. Think of it as the “new car smell” of houses.
On the other hand, there’s long-term value to think about here as well; in this case, long is something of a relative term, depending on the materials you use. For asphalt, that might mean something in the ballpark of two decades; but for a slate roof, it can mean between 70 years and two centuries, of course depending on the slate’s quality. Generally, soft slate is expected to last you about 50 years.
Cost vs Value
While deliberating how much a new roof boosts the value of your home, one thing is certain – it definitely does so in a meaningful way, as we’ve illustrated above. But before deciding on this as your home improvement of choice and reaching out to professionals like those at AM Roofing Company, you should first think about a cost-benefit analysis. Does the cost of a new roof make the improvement profitable in terms of resale value?
On average, it’s argued that a new roof is able to increase the value of a house by about $12,000. Similar surveys show that at least 60 percent of installation costs are recovered through increased value.
The main trick here is to find the most affordable roofing out there, that still doesn’t compromise in quality. In other words, you will need a responsible and high-quality contractor, one that’s able to use all of the proper materials, along with a provision of top-notch installation services at a competitive rate. If you search long enough, you can find a roofing company that fits your profile to a T; obviously making a vast improvement in the value vs cost ratio.
