Should You Buy a House With an Old Roof?
Often, yes, if you know what you're buying before your contingencies run out. An old roof is a cost you'll pay sooner, and in California it can also decide whether an insurer will write the policy and, for an FHA loan, whether the appraisal goes through without a roofer's inspection. What matters is how much life it has left, what it needs now, and whether your lender and insurer will accept it. You find that out during escrow: the seller's disclosure gives the roof's type and approximate age, the home inspection typically looks at it from the ground or the eaves, and a roofer's inspection tells you what it needs and roughly how long it has. Then you negotiate a repair, a credit or the price. This is about the roof; for the purchase contract itself, ask your agent or an attorney.
Where an old roof shows up in a purchase
An older roof touches more of the deal than the inspection report.
| Where | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The seller's disclosure | The Transfer Disclosure Statement gives the roof's type and approximate age and whether the seller knows of significant defects | Read it first; compare the age with the permit record |
| The home inspection | The inspector looks from the ground or the eaves and doesn't estimate remaining life | Follow a "have a roofer evaluate" note with a roofer's inspection |
| An FHA loan | Under HUD's current rules, a roof with less than two years of remaining life makes the appraisal subject to a professional roofer's inspection | Ask your lender early; an old roof can add a condition to the loan |
| Your insurance | Insurers' filed rules often draw lines at 15, 20 or 25 years for shingle roofs, from refusing the policy to paying an older roof only at a depreciated value | Get an insurance quote on this house before your contingencies end |
| The price | Replacement is a large cost: in the 2025 Cost vs. Value report, a new asphalt roof in Los Angeles averaged $36,417 | Price the roof's remaining life into your offer or your request |
How each insurer treats roof age is in roof age and home insurance, and HUD's rule, which it proposed in September 2026 to change, is in how much life is left in your roof. The Cost vs. Value figure is a national survey's estimate for a typical job, not a quote for this house, as covered in does a new roof add home value?.
How old is old?
Age is measured against what the material is expected to last. In the tables HUD, Fannie Mae and the home builders' association publish, asphalt shingles are expected to last about 20 years, wood shakes 25 to 30, and clay or concrete tile 40 years to a lifetime, though the underlayment under tile wears out sooner; the details are in roof lifespan by material. A 17-year-old shingle roof and a 17-year-old tile roof are different purchases.
The age on the disclosure is approximate. In the City of Los Angeles, the building department's records show when a re-roof permit was finaled, which pins down the date; how to look it up is in checking a re-roof permit.
What to do during escrow
1. Read the disclosure. Note the roof's type and approximate age and any defects the seller lists.
- Check the permit record for the last re-roof and whether it was finaled.
- Get a roofer's inspection after the home inspection, with photos, what it needs now, what it will need soon and an estimate of the years left; what a useful report includes is in what a roof inspection checks.
- Get an insurance quote on this house, and ask about the roof's age before your contingencies end.
- Ask your lender whether the roof will come up in the appraisal.
- Decide what to ask for: repairs before closing, a credit, or a lower price; your agent knows how each is usually handled in your contract.
If there's solar on the old roof
A roof under an array is the hardest part of the roof to reach later. Replacing it means taking the array off and putting it back: on a 2025 Burbank house we detached an existing array, stored the modules, replaced the whole roof, then reinstalled the array on new attachments flashed into the new roof, in two visits three weeks apart (the Burbank case). The array's own paperwork matters too: on a Porter Ranch house whose array came with it, the manufacturer's warranty hadn't followed the house to its new owners, and the advice from that job is to ask the seller for the permit, the plan set, the interconnection agreement and the equipment list with serial numbers (the Porter Ranch case).
Frequently asked
Is a 20-year-old roof a dealbreaker?
Should I ask the seller to replace the roof or give a credit?
Will my insurance cover an old roof?
Can I get an FHA loan on a house with an old roof?
What if the roof leaks after I buy the house?
Related reading
Sources & methodology
Code sections, rules and figures on this page come from the primary sources below. Codes, local requirements and product terms change; each was verified October 8, 2026.
- California Civil Code §1102.6, Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (roof type and approximate age; significant defects)
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, update of August 12, 2026 (redline)
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Single Family Housing Policy Drafts: Modernizing and Strengthening Minimum Property…
- Journal of Light Construction, 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, Los Angeles, California
We inspect the roof during your escrow and put it in writing
Call (323) 844-7777. We inspect the roof and attic, photograph what we find, and tell you in writing what it needs now, what it will need soon, and what replacing it would involve, so you can negotiate on facts. Have ready the address, the seller's disclosure and your contingency deadline.
Prepared by Cali Energy, October 8, 2026. This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, financial, engineering, or utility advice. Rates, incentives, codes, permit requirements, equipment specifications, prices, and program terms may change; figures and timelines are estimates, not guarantees. Confirm current requirements with the applicable utility, AHJ, program administrator, manufacturer, or a licensed professional. See our Content Disclaimer. Cali Energy · 19201 Parthenia St, Unit E, Northridge, CA 91324 · CSLB #1032379 (B, C-10, C-39)