Ours is free, on site, with photographs and a written finding, and there is no obligation attached. Independent paid inspections and engineer's reports also exist and typically run from a few hundred dollars upward. Those are worth buying when the two sides are in dispute and you need an opinion with no commercial interest in the outcome.
Get My Free Estimate →A roof inspection in a property transaction answers one question. How much life is left, and what will it cost the next owner. A written condition report with photographs settles that question before it becomes a price negotiation.
Sellers use it to defend the asking price. Buyers use it to decide whether the general home inspector's one-line note about the roof is a real problem. Both are cheaper than discovering the answer during the closing week.
What a roof inspection proves that a home inspection does not
A general home inspector assesses the whole house and looks at the roof as one component, often from the ground or a ladder at the eave. That is appropriate for their scope and it is not a roof assessment.
A roofing inspection covers the covering, the flashings, the penetrations, the drainage and the attic. Most Wisconsin leaks originate at chimney counterflashing, step flashing, valleys, pipe boots and skylight kits rather than in the open field of shingles.
The attic half is the part that changes transactions. Sheathing stains, frost on the underside of the deck, compressed insulation and bath fans discharging into the attic all indicate problems a surface look misses.
The output you want is a written finding with photographs and a remaining-life estimate, which you keep and can hand to the other party.
What Wisconsin requires a seller to disclose
Sellers of residential property in Wisconsin complete a Real Estate Condition Report under Chapter 709 of the state statutes. The form asks the owner to disclose awareness of defects, and roof defects are a specific line on it.
The report must reach the buyer within 10 days after acceptance of the contract. A buyer who does not receive a completed report in that window has a right to rescind.
Section 709.035 adds a duty to amend. If you learn something before acceptance that would change an answer you already gave, you must provide an amended report.
The practical consequence is straightforward. "I did not know" is a much weaker position than a dated inspection report that shows what a qualified contractor actually found.
Roof age, appraisals and lending
Roof condition can affect financing, and it affects some loan types more than others. Appraisers note roof condition, and government-backed loan programmes apply property condition standards that an actively leaking or visibly failed roof can fail.
Insurance is the quieter constraint. Carriers increasingly price or decline coverage based on roof age and material, and a buyer who cannot bind affordable coverage has a financing problem regardless of the appraisal.
None of this triggers on age alone. A 20-year-old roof in sound condition with documentation is a very different proposition from a 20-year-old roof with no records and curling tabs.
If your roof is in that grey zone, find out where it actually stands before you list. Call (608) 909-9109 and we will inspect it and put the finding in writing.
If you are selling
Get the inspection before you list, not after an offer. Three things follow from that timing.
You learn whether the roof is a selling point or a liability while you still control the response. You can complete the condition report accurately rather than guessing. And you remove the buyer's strongest source of late leverage.
Where the roof is sound, the report becomes a listing asset. Hand it to your agent with the remaining-life estimate and the photographs.
Where the roof is finished, you have a real decision to make, which the next section covers.
Want a straight answer on your roof?
We'll inspect it, document everything, and tell you honestly what you're looking at, even if the answer is patch it for now. No pressure.
Replace before listing, or offer a credit?
Neither answer is automatically right, and any contractor who tells you otherwise is selling rather than advising.
Replacing before listing generally makes sense when the roof is visibly failed, when comparable homes in the neighbourhood show newer roofs, or when the property is otherwise turnkey and a tired roof is the one discordant note. A new roof with a transferable warranty removes an objection and photographs well.
A credit or price reduction usually makes more sense when the roof has years left but not many, when the buyer has a strong material preference, or when your timeline does not allow the work. Buyers frequently prefer choosing their own colour and contractor.
There is a third option people forget. A targeted repair to the specific defects found, documented, often satisfies an inspection contingency at a fraction of replacement cost.
Whichever way you lean, price it properly first. We quote both the repair and the replacement on one sheet so you can compare them against the credit a buyer is asking for.
If you are buying
Treat the roof as a line item with a number attached, not as a worry.
Ask for the age, the material and any documentation of past work. Ask whether permits were pulled, because a permitted replacement leaves a record and an unpermitted one does not.
Then get a roofing-specific inspection during your contingency period. A general inspection note reading "roof nearing end of service life" is not negotiable material. A written finding with photographs and a replacement estimate is.
Where storm damage is involved, ask when it happened. Wisconsin carriers apply filing deadlines from the date of loss, and an unclaimed hail event from two seasons ago may no longer be claimable by you after closing. Our storm damage documentation explains what that evidence looks like.
Timing it around a Madison closing
Roofing work is weather-dependent here, which matters when a closing date is fixed.
Asphalt shingles need warmth to seal, so a late-autumn or winter installation may not fully seal until the following spring. That is manageable with hand-sealing at the eaves, rakes and hips, and it is worth writing into the scope rather than discovering later.
Build slack into the schedule. A tear-off is a one to two day job on a typical home, but rain moves dates and a roof opened ahead of a storm cell is not a risk worth taking to hit a calendar.
If your closing is dated and the roof has to be done first, say so at the estimate stage so the schedule is set around it.
Get a straight answer on your Madison roof
Wisconsin storm season and insurance non-renewal letters do not wait. Get a free, no-obligation inspection and an honest assessment of exactly what your roof needs, even if the answer is to wait.