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Possibly Buying this House, but has major roof problem - PICS

14 years ago

I'm considering purchasing this foreclosed property which needs a ton of work, one major problem appears to be the roof. I have no clue what's wrong since this is definitely not my line of expertise. Can anyone give me a bit of insight, or opinions based on the picture below? The nails seem to be coming up at the ridge and there's some warping there it seems.

If someone knows about this stuff, can you tell me if this is a roof that would have to be totally ripped off and redone, or is it something you can fix in the section that is having the problem. The whole ridge of the roof isn't like this, but a good portion is.

{{!gwi}}

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Comments (6)

eldemila
Original Author
14 years ago
{{!gwi}}

One more pic
randy427
14 years ago
I would suspect that nails for the ridge vent were not anchored in solid wood, maybe rotted wood or maybe totally missed the wood sheathing.
You would need to inspect the sheathing from inside the attic to evaluate the underlying cause.
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eldemila
Original Author
14 years ago
I didn't think this was a ridge vent - I thought this is just where the roof meets at the ridge. Will find out tomorrow - may need to put my glasses on - doesn't look like my ridge vent I have on my current home.

Thanks for your input - you could be right!
drywall_diy_guy
14 years ago
You really need to do some close inspecting if you are serious on buying this. Find out comparable prices of homes in the area - then get rough estimates of needed work and subtract from the comparable average - that should be what you pay for this home. It appears to not be well maintained at all. Spend a few hours in the home with someone along that knows homes - take notes. I bought a home like this once - we were finding things months later.
joed
14 years ago
You also have some major leaking where the two different roofs meet. I don't see any flashing any much rotted wood where water has been getting in.

It looks like a ridge vent to me. Look how thick it is. I agree the nails are not holding.
eldemila
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks to all who replied to my post. We went to look at the house again this morning - was surprised to see some guys inside - seems the bank was paying to put on a new roof.

I had someone meet me there that knows construction - the more he look (and pointed out) he went from saying if I could get it at one price to I wouldn't buy this house for anything but the land. He pointed out things I hadn't seen before. And yes, one of the problems was the ridge vent, but boy, there was so much more!!! I decided to not bother with the house.

On a good note, well sort of, we passed by another house that may be a match, and a better option. It has a contingency contract on it but we may put in an offer and see what happens.

Again, I want to thank you all - the information was very helpful!!!

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