What a crazy spring and summer we have had here on the Northwest side of Houston!!  Who knew a “little” hail storm (that was not little by ANY means!) could screw up so many homes and so many plans to buy and sell!!

“How does a hail storm have anything to do with a buyer or seller”, you might ask…..  Well, unfortunately, it has a GREAT deal to do with buyers, sellers, lenders and obtaining insurance on a property – especially if that home has been hit by hail.  Now, I do not claim in any way or fashion to be a roofing specialist!  This is just a recount of my story, and some things I have learned over the past few months in dealing with an unwelcomed HAIL STORM.

On April 19, while I was at the RE/MAX Diamond event in Phoenix, AZ, I received a text from our daughter with a photo attached.  The photo was of our back yard – covered in ice balls.  I have lived in Houston for about 9+ years, and grew up in the Midwest.  It had been a LONG time since I had seen hail, but it is recognizable immediately!  Of course, she was contacting us because she thought the roof was going to fall in on the house with all of the pounding.  The Schnauzers were going crazy, and she was a little more than freaked out. 

But in less than a day, the ice was melted, and the hail storm was soon forgotten.  Well….not exactly.  The damage left behind by that little passing storm was pretty grave – especially to the buyers and sellers in our market.  What seller has his/her home on the market, has everything calculated as to what it will take financially to sell and move – only then to be hit with the fact that the roof needs to be replaced and the deductible is $5,000-$10,000!!  It can be a “deal killer” of the worst kind. 

It is the reality we have been facing over the past few months, and I expect we will continue to face it for the next few months to come.  I have learned a lot about hail storms, and about how they can affect a transaction – not usually in a positive light! 

First, hail does NOT fall uniformly.  It can beat the heck out of a neighbor’s house, and have very little effect on your home.  I had a client whose car was left in the drive way during the storm.  Not a single dent on the car, or a dent on their roof – while the neighbor’s across the cul-de-sac had windows damaged, and a roof that was completely beath up!  CRAZY! 

If a home has sustained roof damage, and is on the market for sale (or if the sellers plan to sell any time before the NEXT hail storm – which may be another decade from now), the roof will need to be replaced, or at least repaired at a minimum.  Roof damage, in the form of actual LEAKS, does not show up immediately.  That happens a few years down the road, as a result of the damage that was caused by the hail.  I can’t count the number of sellers who have told me, “I don’t have any hail damage because I don’t have leaks!”  Well, unfortunately a leak is not the sign you are looking for to detect hail damage.  Unless you are a roofing professional, the average homeowner can’t actually detect the hail damage.  That is why we hire the professionals to climb up there and take a look.  (And take pictures, if hail damage is present!!)

If a roof has hail damage and is on the market for sale, a buyer’s insurance company will very likely NOT write insurance on the roof – at least not for hail damage.   This can result in a lender declining a loan because the roof is not insured completely.  This is not a pretty sight, and can cause a HUGE amount of stress for all parties when the transaction falls apart at the seams. 

So, the lesson I have learned here has been a painful one, but a message that I am now preaching to all of my sellers.  If you have a home that was in the area of Houston hit by the hail storm from April of 2015, please go ahead and have your insurance adjuster come and take a look.  If the insurance company says you do NOT have roof damage, have them document that in writing so you can pass that along to any future buyers, and give that buyer peace of mind that the roof has been evaluated.    If the insurance adjuster says you have minimal damage, and you want to sell your home, call a reputable roofing company and have them make the repairs.  If your insurance adjuster smiles at you and tells you that you have sustained NO hail damage – then by all means take that as an opportunity to CELEBRATE!!!  (Some of us will be a little jealous.)