The average roof is going to last right around 30 years. As a result, you might be wary about buying a house with a 20-year-old roof.

And rightfully so! With roofs going for between $10,000 and $20,000 these days, the last thing you want to do is go through with buying a house with a bad roof only to have to replace it almost right away.

But you should know that buying a house with an old roof isn’t always a bad idea. You just need to go about doing it in the right way to ensure that it doesn’t come back to bite you later on.

Take a look at some tips on buying a house with a 20-year-old roof below. They should help shed some much-needed light on whether or not buying a house with an older roof is the right move for you to make.

Start by Finding Out What Type of Roof It Is

Prior to buying a house with a 20-year-old roof, you should begin by finding out what type of roof it is. This is going to play a big part in when the roof is going to need to be replaced.

If the roof is a regular asphalt shingle roof, it’s probably going to need to be replaced sooner rather than later. But if the roof is a metal roof, you might be able to keep it around for a lot longer. There is a chance it could still have 50 years of life left in it!

This is why it’s so important to find out what type of roof is on the home that you’re going to be buying. It might not matter that it’s 20 years old if it’s made out of certain types of materials.

See What Kind of Condition the Roof Is In

In addition to finding out what type of roof is on the home that you’re thinking about buying, you should also see what kind of condition the roof is in. It could prevent you from buying a house with roof damage.

In some cases, you’ll be able to see the damage that has been done to a roof right from the ground. In other instances, you’ll have to get up on a roof and walk around on it to see what kind of shape it’s in.

You might even want to kick around the idea of hiring roofers to come in and check out a roof for you. They’ll be able to let you know approximately how much life it has left in it before you buy the home that it rests on.

Find Out How Much Maintenance Has Been Done to the Roof

Any time you’re going to be buying a house with a 20-year-old roof, you should ask about how much maintenance has been done to it over time. The current homeowner should be able to share some details with you as far as what maintenance they’ve done to their roof.

If it doesn’t sound like a roof has been maintained hardly at all, that could be a huge red flag. It might be an indication that you’re going to want to shy away from buying a house with a 20-year-old roof (or even buying a house with a 10-year-old roof for that matter!).

Figure Out What It’ll Cost to Replace the Roof

In a perfect world, you’ll be able to move into a house with a 20-year-old roof on it and keep that roof for at least another decade, if not longer. But this is, of course, not always going to be the case.

So you should try to figure out what it’s going to cost you in the event that you end up having to replace the roof on a house. You should contact a few local roofers to get estimates from them so that you’ll know how much you’ll have to pay for a new roof.

Ideally, you won’t have to be too concerned about paying for a new roof anytime soon after buying a house. But just in case you do have to do it, it’ll be nice to know what it’s going to cost you.

Alter the Offer That You Make for a Home Based on Its Roof

If you’re going to be buying a house with a 20-year-old roof, you should try to use this to your advantage if you can. You should use the old roof that’s on a home to bring the price for it down.

Most homeowners are going to understand that potential buyers will be worried about purchasing a home with an older roof on it. They’ll be a little more willing to budge on price when buyers send them offers that are below what they’re asking for.

You should try to factor the price of a new roof into an offer when you’re attempting to buy a house with a 20-year-old roof on it. With any luck, you might be able to subtract the cost of a new roof from the price that you pay for a house, thus negating the cost of it later on.

Whatever you do, you shouldn’t write off the idea of buying a house with a 20-year-old roof just because the roof is on the older side. You can turn this into a positive if you play your cards right.

Is Buying a House With a 20-Year-Old Roof on It Right for You?

There is going to be some risk that comes along with buying a house with a 20-year-old roof on it. There is a chance that you might have to replace that roof right after you purchase the home.

But this might be a risk that you’re willing to take. Only you can decide whether or not buying a house with an old roof is the right move.

Would you like to learn about some of the signs that’ll show that a roof needs to be replaced soon? Read all about them by browsing through the other articles that we’ve posted on our blog.