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Whether you own a leasehold or freehold flat, house or other type of home, it may have a metal roof, which would make the property be considered as non-standard construction. There are some additional hurdles that you could face when trying to find a buyer for this type of home, but this guide shows how you might still be able to get a fast and fair offer on the property.
- Why do some residential properties have a metal roof?
- The potential downsides of selling a home with a metal roof
- Explanations why a buyer may want a property that has a metal roof
- Should you replace a metal roof before selling your house or flat?
- Four choices to sell your property with a metal roof
- Questions and answers about selling a house with a metal roof
Why do some residential properties have a metal roof?
Metal roofs have been a feature of property building for many centuries, including the Roman era and even earlier, as Wikipedia details.
If you are a freehold or leasehold owner of a home with a metal roof, it could have been made using one of several different types of metal. Varieties of metal roofs that you can find a properties can include aluminium, composite metal copper, steel tin and zinc.
Because a metal roof is not the industry standard when constructing homes, these properties are considered to be of non-standard construction. As you’ll see in later sections of this guide, certain buyers may have reservations about making an offer on your home due to the metal roof.
You’ll get to read an explanation about these potential concerns that some buyers could have, but also get tips on how to still attract a competitive and fast offer on your property.
And there’s also advice on the best methods for securing a speedy sale, for example by getting in touch with a quick home buying company like LDN Properties. They make swift and fair offers to purchase all types of houses and flats, and they can usually complete all the steps required for buying your home often within a few short weeks. A further advantage of selling to a quick buyer is that they will never charge you any commission when they purchase your property.
The potential downsides of selling a home with a metal roof
Because a property that has a metal roof is considered to be a non-standard construction home, you could find that some potential buyers are wary about making an offer on it.
That’s because they could have one or more concerns about the existence of the metal roof and what it would mean for them if they were to buy your home and become the next owner. Knowing what these possible worries are is an important part of preparing to sell your property, so that you are not taken by surprise when a buyer cites them as being dealbreakers.
Unfortunately, you could experience an outcome where some potential buyers lose interest in your house or flat because of the existence of the metal roof. Or if they remain interested, they could consider the roof to detract from the overall property value and therefore make a reduced offer price.
Potential denting: Certain types of metal that are used for building roofs at houses and flats can be susceptible to denting during bad weather, and depending on the scope of the damage it might prove very expensive to repair the roof. Aluminium or copper roofs tend to be easier to damage compared to roofs made using other types of metal, including steel.
Expensive upkeep: Related to the above potential fear that some prospective buyers might have about the possibility for a metal roof to sustain damage is the worry that they may also express about the cost of fixing any problem that could occur. This potential concern about the roof may discourage those buyers who are looking to purchase a home on a limited budget.
Storm noise: Because of the material and design used to make metal roofs at properties, they can be very noisy for people living inside when there is heavy rain during storms and other wet weather events, as explained on Bob Vila’s website. This might be enough to make some buyers no longer be interested.
Explanations why a buyer may want a property that has a metal roof
Although there are a few reasons why potential buyers may not want to make an offer on a home with a metal roof, other buyers could view such a roof as having some benefits.
It’s useful to learn about these various perceived advantages of a metal roof because you can then focus on promoting those aspects to buyers as you try to sell the flat or house. And you may find that one of these factors helps to cancel out any concerns that buyers may have.
Some of the below justifications can explain why potential buyers could view the metal roof at your property as helping to increase the sale value of the home.
Durable material: Metal is a very durable and long-lasting material to use for a home’s roof, and the typical life of a metal roof can be anywhere from 40 up to 70 years or longer, which can be much better than other materials. That can make your property appealing to a buyer as they won’t have to worry about having to replace the roof in the coming months or years.
Energy efficient: Properties that have a metal roof tend to be more energy efficient than other homes because they reflect sun rather than absorbing it, and therefore it’s easier to keep a house or flat cooler in the summer compared to other properties. This in turn can help with reducing electricity costs should you have air conditioning installed at your home.
Stylish appearance: Metal roofs are considered by some people to be stylish and to offer a unique look for a property, as noted on the website for Castle Roofing Margate. You could experience a scenario where a buyer’s top aim is purchasing a home because of a metal roof and therefore they’ll make a fair offer on your property.
Should you replace a metal roof before selling your house or flat?
One option that you could consider as part of the decision making process for selling your home with a metal roof is whether you want replace it with a roof made from another material.
The reason for making this change is that it would eliminate a situation where a potential buyer is interested in owning your property but does not like the metal roof, and therefore reduces their purchase offer price either because of the stigma of owning such a home or because they want to save money for replacing the roof once they take over ownership of the property.
Replacing a roof can be a very time-consuming process that may take many weeks or months. It will also be expensive, and the website Checkatrade notes that the cost can vary depending on the scale of the work.
However, many owners of homes with metal roofs will not have the available funds, time or interest in replacing the roof before they try to find a buyer for the property. If this applies to your situation, don’t be concerned that it will be impossible to attract any decent offers on the home, because there are several options where you can still sell fast and for a competitive price.
One such solution is selling the home to a quick buyer, because these companies make competitive and speedy offers to purchase almost any type of home. They’ll give you a good price for your property regardless of the fact that it was built with a metal roof, and they should be able to complete the process of buying your home within a handful of weeks.
Four choices to sell your property with a metal roof
At the time you’re ready to start seeking buyers for your home that has a metal roof, you will need to select from one of four options for how you would like to try selling it. These choices are selling to a quick home buyer, selling with an estate agent, selling at an auction or selling without the help of a third party, and they all have their own unique pros and cons.
For example, selling with an estate agent or an auctioneer can raise your overall costs because if they sell your home then they will charge you commission, and this will be subtracted from the eventual sale proceeds. Other methods have clear benefits, such as the fact a quick buyer will be able to finalise the process of purchasing your property in just a handful of weeks.
You can simplify your decision on which method to choose by first writing down your top goals with the sale of your house or flat, including whether you can accept paying any commission, the timeline you’d like to have for selling and your ideal offer price from a buyer. Then compare these aims against the specific details of the four approaches outlined below, and this should help you with being able to identify the method that’s the closest match for your needs.
Selling to a quick home buyer
Quick home buyers are companies like LDN Properties that have the financial resources available upfront to make immediate purchases of almost any type of home. This means there’s no delay of several weeks or even months for them to get approved for a mortgage that would fund the transaction, because they can avoid going through that step entirely.
The result is that the average quick buyer can complete the process of buying a home within a few short weeks, and this includes exchanging contracts and paying the seller the proceeds. It’s usually by far the fastest of the four options outlined in this guide, so it can be a great choice for those homeowners who place a priority on selling their property as fast as they can.
Another advantage of selling your home to a quick buyer is that the legitimate companies will never charge you any commission when purchasing your flat or house. This helps with lowering your expenses when selling and is particularly favourable when compared to the fees that auctioneers and estate agents charge, which are taken out of the final sale proceeds.
You can also expect a competitive offer from a quick buyer regardless of the fact that your home has a metal roof that might discourage other buyers. That’s because these companies specialise in making fair and fast offers to buy all ages, conditions, locations, shapes, sizes and types of properties – including those with non-standard features like a metal roof.
LDN Properties, by way of example, has been purchasing and making offers for homes across the UK for more than 15 years, including houses with a metal roof. Some of the many other varied purchases it has made include properties with large bills, fire-damaged flats, homes that have mortgage arrears, properties without an External Wall Fire Review form, houses that have damage as a result of flooding, flats with dry rot, homes where the owner cannot locate the title deeds or other important documents, properties that have structural issues, half-finished flats and many other wide-ranging situations.
Selling with an estate agent
Estate agents can take a long time to sell your home with a metal roof, and it might be many months or even more than a full year in certain situations. That’s not the best outcome for those homeowners who want to sell their property on the fastest timeline possible.
You should be aware that home sales through estate agents can collapse when a buyer makes an offer but then withdraws it. They’re allowed to do this without facing any type of penalty, so long as contracts have not yet been exchanged on the property. This would delay your selling timeline significantly because it will require starting again with the search for a potential buyer.
And you will need to pay commission to an estate agent if they are able to sell your home, typically within a range of 1.15 percent to 1.40 percent of your property’s final sale price. This fee is deducted immediately from the final sale proceeds, increasing your net costs. Note that some estate agents might charge commission lower or higher than this typical range.
They charge this fee to cover the cost of the work that they do in selling your home, which starts with preparing a listing that features photographs of the inside and outside of your property as well as a description of the home. They’ll advertise this in their office, online and in local newspapers, and schedule viewings to take potential buyers on tours of the property. And estate agents will field offers from buyers, ideally taking one to exchange of contracts.
Just beware that some estate agents might have never sold a home with a metal roof before, and this could suggest that they may struggle to know how to get buyers interest in your home. Always check with individual companies about whether they’ve managed to sell a property like yours before, and avoid using the services of an estate agent without this experience.
Selling at an auction
Or you could consider selling your home with a metal roof at an auction, where you’ll select a reserve price, which is the lowest value at which you agree your property can sell, and then people can place bids at that price or ever-increasing values during the auction.
You need to choose a reserve price that should still produce some profit from the sale even after the auctioneer has subtracted their commission for their work selling your home. This fee is often charged at 2.5 percent of the final sale price, but it can be higher or lower.
Auctioneers will charge commission for their work in creating and marketing a listing for your property, hosting the auction and then overseeing the completion of a successful sale. You might be able to persuade an auctioneer to either reduce the fee they charge you, or to pass on some of your costs to the winning top bidder, so inquire about whether this is possible.
Selling this way is not very fast and you can expect it to take many weeks or months, starting with a long wait between the day on which you list your property for sale and the day on which the auction occurs. If your home manages to sell, the buyer then often has about 28 days to complete the purchase by signing the mandatory legal papers and various other tasks.
You should also ask auctioneers about their past track record in selling homes with a metal roof, and avoid using the services of someone that has never managed to sell this type of property, because it implies that they might not know how to get people interested in your home.
Selling without the help of a third party
Another option for selling your property that has a metal roof is by doing so alone, meaning you are responsible for every task – from the initial production and advertising of a listing through to scheduling viewings, hearing offers and hopefully getting one through to exchanging contracts.
It’s a very stressful and time-consuming amount of work and you should only consider it if you have a suitably qualified friend or family member that might be willing to help you sell the home without charging you a fee, or if you have previously succeeded in selling this type of property. Otherwise you could be looking at more than a full year before you’re able to find a buyer.
The only obvious advantage of selling this way is that you won’t have to pay any commission to an auctioneer or estate agent, which helps with lowering your total selling expenses. But this saving could be wiped out by the funds you’ll have to spend on advertising the property.
Selling without any help also shares a problem with using an estate agent, in that someone can make an offer to purchase your property but then rescind it and make the sale collapse and not have to pay any penalties, as long as you have not yet exchanged contracts. Should this occur, you will need to start over with finding a buyer, delaying the timeline even further.
Another zero-fee alternative to selling without any help is contacting LDN Properties or another honest no-commission quick home buying company, because you will not only avoid having to pay any fees but you will also benefit from a much speedier sale. Typically, quick buyers are able to finalise the entire process of purchasing a home within a few short weeks, and that covers the time that it takes to exchange contracts and to pay the seller the full proceeds.
Top queries and answers about selling a house with a metal roof
Homeowners considering selling a house with a metal roof fast may have some questions to be answered, ranging from how long it takes to sell through to the condition needed before selling. Here are some of the questions we’ve asked when thinking of selling a house with a metal roof:
Your top questions when selling a house with a metal roof
Homes that are built with a metal roof use material including aluminium, composite metal copper, steel tin and zinc, and they are considered to be non-standard construction properties. Thousands of properties throughout the UK have been either built originally with metal roofs or they have had a metal roof installed to replace a roof made using some other material.
You may experience certain buyers identifying what they see as distinct disadvantages about owning a home that has a metal roof, including the fact that these roofs can be susceptible to being dented and expensive to repair. Another downside of a metal roof at a property is that they can be quite noisy inside the home when there is having rain pouring down.
There are a few different explanations for why a prospective buyer could be interested in making an offer on your house or flat that has a metal roof. These include the fact that some people consider metal roofs to be very stylish and unique, and that they are considered to last much longer and be significantly more durable than other materials used to make roofs.
You’re not under any obligation to replace a metal roof at your home ahead of attempting to sell it, but installing a new roof made from a different material could cost thousands of pounds. If you’re unable to afford this work or not interested in pursuing it, you can still get a competitive and fast offer for your property by contacting a no-fee quick buyer such as LDN Properties.
On average you’ll find that selling LDN Properties or another quick home buyer is your fastest choice, as the entire process should only last a few short weeks. The other usual methods of selling, which are using an auctioneer, using an estate agent or selling without any help can all take several months and in certain situations it may be more than a year before you sell.
You can reach out to a legitimate zero-commission quick home buying company such as LDN Properties, because they never make owners pay any fees when purchasing their homes, and this helps to lower your selling expenses, or you could sell without any third party help. But selling with an auctioneer or estate agent will require that you pay them commission.
There’s a simple and free way to get extra peace of mind when selling to a quick buyer – ask them if they are registered with The Property Ombudsman (TPO), an organisation that writes rules to guard owners against fraud in the quick buying industry. All true TPO members are required to follow these regulations, which reassure you with the sale of your flat or house.
