During a sale of a home, you may be wondering if the roof warranty transfers to the new owner.
If you’re buying or selling a home in Massachusetts, the transferability of an existing warranty can be a positive selling point. The roof is a critical component of protecting one of your biggest assets – and a warranty can save thousands of dollars in repair costs in certain cases. If a seller has an existing warranty, will it transfer to the new homeowner after the sale?
In general, roofing warranties do transfer to the next owner – but if you’re the prospective buyer, there’s a lot more that you need to know.
Just because the seller has a warranty doesn’t mean it will protect the buyer.
Not all roof warranties offer the same coverage, not all will transfer, and some warranties may not exist at all. Buying a new home? Take the following steps to confirm and verify the actual coverage that will come with the house.
1. Find out what exactly the warranty covers
Some warranties only cover the cost of the products or shingles themselves, which can leave you holding the bag with labor and removal costs. Check to see if the warranty is an enhanced warranty that covers product, failure, and workmanship.
2. Be aware that not all roofers can legitimately offer premium warranties
The roofer may claim to have offered a high-quality warranty that covers product and workmanship, but premium manufacturers such as GAF and Certainteed require a high level of training and certification before a roofing contractor can grant these warranties to their customers.
At Golden Group Roofing, we are fully trained every year to maintain the highest level of manufacturer certification so that we can offer the best warranties with the most protection for our customers.
3. Verify that the roofer actually registered the warranty so it can be transferred
For any warranty to be valid, it must be registered and paid for on behalf of the homeowner. The roofer only has a certain amount of time to complete the registration with the manufacturer after the roof is finished. If this step hasn’t been completed, the warranty will not be transferred to the buyer…because the warranty does not actually exist.
4. Double-check that the warranty can be transferred – and how many times
There may be manufacturers that limit the transfer for a warranty to a new homeowner. Some can only be transferred a single time, others will allow the roof warranty to be transferred multiple times.
5. Notify the manufacturer of the transfer (if required)
In your research, you may discover that the manufacturer requires notification of the roof warranty transfer within a certain time period after the sale, and may even require an administrative fee to complete the paperwork. Don’t forget this last step to avoid any unpleasant surprises in the case of a roof product or workmanship failure in the future.
In most cases, the roofing warranty does transfer to the new owner, but there are a lot of caveats and exceptions. It is in the buyer’s best interest to ask for the registration and details of the warranty as part of their due diligence during a home sale.
For a full list of all the questions, you should be asking about a roof warranty, see our complete explanation of what you should know when comparing roof warranties. If you’d like to book a roof repair or a new roof, call Golden Group Roofing at 508-873-1884.
