Thread: Appraiser needing statement from HI

My client is saying the appraiser needs a statement from me, the inspector, regarding the condition of the roof being "okay". My report documents the deficiencies I noted that day, which were substantial. And my opinion is the shingles are near the end of their life.

I don't know why the appraiser doesn't estimate value based on his evaluation of the roof. This is new to me; I've never been asked this before. Has anyone else?

The client is basically saying the funding is contingent on getting this statement from me. And I am not comfortable taking on any liability for the bank/financing. How should I best respond? Thanks.

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I would simply copy the original wording of the report and send it to the client. Unless there have been changes in the roof, there will not be changes in the report.
I don't provide roof "certifications" which sounds like what the appraiser is wanting in order to cover his self. They need a roofing company for that IMHO.

p.s. this may pizz off the client but sometimes integrity does that.

Originally Posted by Tim Kallmer

My client is saying the appraiser needs a statement from me, the inspector, regarding the condition of the roof being "okay". My report documents the deficiencies I noted that day, which were substantial. And my opinion is the shingles are near the end of their life.

I don't know why the appraiser doesn't estimate value based on his evaluation of the roof. This is new to me; I've never been asked this before. Has anyone else?

The client is basically saying the funding is contingent on getting this statement from me. And I am not comfortable taking on any liability for the bank/financing. How should I best respond? Thanks.

So, they want you to lie so they can get funding. You did your job. They need to have a roofer come behind you and price for repairs/replacement or he give them a statement that the roof is fine and will be so for a few years or so.

You have no contract with the appraiser. Yours is verbal, handshake, written with the client. Again, you have done your job. You are done with it unless they pay you for a reinspect after repairs of deficiencies have been made. And even then the appraiser gets nothing from you. Maybe the client to give to the lending agent.

Appraisers never get on a roof anyway. It is going to wind up with the client pissed at you for the lending not going thru but it is certainly better than you paying for repairs/replacement of the roofing material because you said it was fine.

They need a statement from a roofer.

In KY we are not supposed to tell how long anything has left in its' life. If that roof is not leaking and has not been hit by hail, then it is none of our business. My impression after just a few months into HIs, but forty plus years of houses in one way or another, and numerous business experiences, I think I would take my client out into the front yard and tell him to look at the roof. I would tell him that I must, by standards, report that the roof is functional. I would tel him that my experience tells me that the roof is curling at the edges,thin granulation, has one layer, and has just a few years left.

I would just tell them the roof is not OK and to refer to the report. And you can be perfectly frank with your client on this. I've had past clients ask me to do similar things or compose letters about the house for lenders. This is well outside the scope of what we as HIs do and places additional liability on us that we don't need. If I haven't been comfortable with their request and the position I feel it will put me in, I tell them so and the reasons why I can't honor their request. Only one time did I get static from the client but if it happens, oh well.

If it's the original roof for the house I don't have a problem stating the age of the roof. I did a house yesterday that was built in 1988 and had this comment in the body of the report:

"The roof on the house appears to be the original roof. That makes the roof approximately 22 years old. The normal life expectancy of this type roof is typically 20 years. The roof is at the end of its normal expected life and will need to be replaced soon. In the interim until he roof is replaced, a close check should be kept for roof leaks that could damage the ceilings in the house."

If the house has it's second or third or fourth roof installed I am a bit more hesitant to state a condition unless the roof is almost new or very old. On the house above there was already a roof leak that I reported on later in the report as a repair item.

The appraiser needs to attend to assess the roof first hand.

The whole request sounds a little fishy to me. My wife is an appraiser and has never asked a home inspector for anything to go into the appraisal. I have had clients ask for similar statements because of insurance, but never an appraisal. 4 point inspections for insurance companies are fairly common here.

I have to agree with Troy,,,, This sounds more like the mortgage company trying to get around the appraiser saying the roof is shot. If the lender can get a letter to satisfy HUD and say the roof is good for another few years then they can get the loan through underwriting.

I agree with Troy & Scott too, no appraiser call for the inspection results. I have only 5 request for my full insp. report from the commercial insurance company or residential mortgage bank in the last 15 years. Every time I ask for the written consent from my client.

Sounds like a trap. I would only provide what was in the report. Nothing more or less. If you start providing other info, then you have 'altered' the findings of your HI report.
Never heard of an appraiser asking for such a thing.

Personally, I would consider any appraiser who would accept a verbal statement about the conditon of the roof for his report a fool. How does the appraiser even know if the HI knows what he's talking about. Say the call is wrong and roof needs to be replaced in a year or less. The bank is relying on the appraiser's report, not the HIs. Maybe the HI told the appraiser one thing but documented something entirely different in his report. I would never take somebody's word on the condition of the roof and put it in my report without climbing up and verifying things for myself. If appraiser's don't climb roofs, then maybe they should start.

I would ask for the request in writing.

I've never been asked for a statement by an appraiser but have been asked several times by the lender to provide a statement that the roof would be ok for the next year.

Every time the report has documented that repairs were necessary. I write the letter stating if the repairs are made as indicated in the report and I'm allowed to reinspect the roof (for a fee) to ascertain appropriate repairs were made, it will most likely last another year barring an act of God.

If they refuse to do the repairs or pay for a reinspection I refuse to write the letter.

I've never been requested to write a letter for a roof that was in good condition.

I'm in St. Louis, and last year I had a mortgage broker call me from Minnesota, wanting to know what I would charge to certify a foundation and the attic insulation in a duplex about 20 miles south of me. He said the appraiser was holding up the loan because she was insisting they both had problems.

I told him I couldn't do a partial inspection, and wouldn't certify anything, but that I would do a standard home inspection for the buyer, and with the buyer's permission, would send him just the portions of my report that covered the foundation and the attic. He and the buyer agreed to that and I got a regular inspection fee.

About a month later, I got a call from the appraiser, wanting a copy of my inspection report. I told her I'd have to get permission from the buyer. After checking with the buyer, I sent the appraiser only the excerpt that I'd sent to the mortgage broker. So far I haven't heard anything more about it.

Oh yea, I could only find one thin typical vertical shrinkage crack in the foundation. That was in a dry location, and wasn't letting any water in. The attic had 4-6 inches of blown in fiberglass insulation with no problems other than not being deep enough.

FHA requires the roof to have at least a 3 year life expectancy. Perhaps this request is from an FHA appraiser who can't make his/her own determination.

I had a similar request from an appraiser, but it was regarding stucco/EIFS on a mid-late 80's house. He wanted me to send him a letter saying that everything would be OK behind the siding.