Roof Leaking After You Bought the House? What to Do First

Step 1: Stop the damage today

Protect the room before anything else. Move furniture and rugs, set a bucket under the drip and towel the area around it.

If the ceiling is bulging, it is holding pooled water. Our guide to ceiling water stains explains how to drain a bulge safely into a bucket, and to shut off the circuit for any light fixture or fan near the water.

Stay off a wet or icy roof. If water is coming in steadily, call our 24/7 emergency line at (608) 909-9109, and a crew will tarp the roof so the water stops before the real repair.

Step 2: Document the leak

Take dated photos and video of the stain, the drip and anything wet in the attic. Keep the receipts for any emergency work.

Write down when the roof leaks each time, with the weather. A leak that appears only in hard or wind-driven rain points somewhere different from one that appears during a thaw, as our guide to leaks in heavy rain explains.

Step 3: Find where the water is getting in

The stain on the ceiling is often far from the hole in the roof, because water runs along the roof deck and rafters before it drips. Most leaks start at flashing and penetrations, such as chimney flashing, step flashing along walls, valleys, pipe boots and skylights.

In winter, two problems can look like a roof leak. Attic frost drips when it melts after a cold spell, and an ice dam pushes meltwater under the shingles at the eaves.

Our free roof inspection covers the roof and the attic. The crew photographs every finding, and the written report is yours to keep, whatever you decide next.

Step 4: Pull out the paperwork from the sale

Three documents from the sale matter now. Read each one against what the roofer finds.

• The home inspection report. Look at what it said about the roof, even a one-line note. A general home inspector looks at the roof as one part of the house, often from the ground or a ladder at the eave, so a leak can be missed.
• The seller's disclosure. In Wisconsin, most sellers complete a Real Estate Condition Report, which asks whether they are aware of defects in the roof. Compare that answer with what the inspection finds, such as old patches or repeated repairs.
• Roofing receipts and warranties. Ask the seller or your agent for any roofing invoices and warranty papers. Some roof warranties transfer to a new owner, often only within a set time after the sale, as our roof warranty guide explains.

Step 5: Take the seller question to your agent or attorney

We are roofers, not attorneys. Whether the seller or anyone else owes you anything depends on your purchase contract, the disclosure and the law in your state.

Take the inspection report and your photos to your real estate agent or a real estate attorney. Ask them before the permanent repair if you plan to raise the leak with the seller.

Our report records what we found on the roof and in the attic, with photos of each finding. Our article on roof inspections during a home sale covers the disclosure side in more detail.

Will homeowners insurance cover the leak?

Sometimes. The dividing line is sudden and accidental damage versus gradual wear.

Wind-torn flashing, hail damage, a limb through the roof and water backing up behind an ice dam are often covered. Long-term seepage, worn-out shingles, deferred maintenance and attic condensation are typically excluded.

Your adjuster decides coverage, not your roofer. If the inspection finds storm damage, ask your insurance agent how the date of the storm affects your claim, since the storm may have happened before you owned the house.

Repair the leak or replace the roof?

A repair makes sense when the damage is limited to one area and the rest of the roof is sound. Replacement makes sense when the shingles are near the end of their life or the roof has several problems at once.

Our guide to repairing or replacing a roof walks through the decision, and our guide to roof repair cost by problem shows what common repairs involve. Our roof repair estimates are written and itemized, and you approve the price before work starts.

Your first winter in the house

The first winter is when ice dams and attic frost show up, so ask the inspector to look at the attic ventilation and insulation too. Our attic ventilation service corrects the airflow that causes both.

Get a written roof report for your new home

Buckshot Exteriors is family-owned, has served homeowners since 1979, and has offices in Madison, Wisconsin and Centerville, Iowa. We repair and replace roofs, flashing, skylights, gutters and attic ventilation.

Call (608) 909-9109 to schedule your free inspection, or send us a message and we will set a time. If water is coming in now, the same number reaches our 24/7 storm line.