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I don't think most people are going to retrofit metal roofs onto asphalt shingle houses because the house are 30+ years old and no one is sure how long they are

I don't think most people are going to retrofit metal roofs onto asphalt shingle houses because the house are 30+ years old and no one is sure how long they are going to live there and what the house is going to be worth. A metal roof on a million dollar house is no big deal but on 200-300k structure with unknown lifespan to the owner? hardly makes sense. Same cost benefit as solar panels really. The benefit is over 15-20+ years usually where many people can't even justify spending a point on their mortgage because they'll be out in less than 6 on average. I'm struggling with the same decision right now. I have a small (2k sqft is small in this area) 300k structure and I don't know whether it will be worth lot value in 10-15 years or still worth 300k+inflation+value additions. The surrounding neighborhood with 1-2million dollar structures says "lot value" even if it's pristinely maintained.

zdragnar 5y ago
Older rural houses are getting new metal roofs out here all the time. It's actually a really common trend out this way. It is one of those upgrades you can add to a house that actually retains its value when you go to resell... Most metal roofs have lifespans that are minimum double that of shingles and, per your example, solar panels. Of course, most people buying in the countryside aren't intending on moving out in fewer than 6 years; 7 minimum is generally considered the break even point around here.
h2odragon 5y ago
I'm talking mobile homes and an area with an average home value of under $100k. One of the big selling points of metal roofing here is durability, i can point to another neighbor (3mi down the road) whose house was built sometime in the 30s but is now a more valuable redneck shotgun shack because of the (burgundy) metal roof. Edit: come to think of it, it may have been tin roofing originally; it had been shingled before the metal tho. It sounds like your area is one where the location and the market determine value far more than anything on the land, so treat it as "build to suit" commercial property and assume anything built on it is disposable.

zdragnar 5y ago

Older rural houses are getting new metal roofs out here all the time. It's actually a really common trend out this way. It is one of those upgrades you can add to a house that actually retains its value when you go to resell... Most metal roofs have lifespans that are minimum double that of shingles and, per your example, solar panels. Of course, most people buying in the countryside aren't intending on moving out in fewer than 6 years; 7 minimum is generally considered the break even point around here.

h2odragon 5y ago

I'm talking mobile homes and an area with an average home value of under $100k. One of the big selling points of metal roofing here is durability, i can point to another neighbor (3mi down the road) whose house was built sometime in the 30s but is now a more valuable redneck shotgun shack because of the (burgundy) metal roof. Edit: come to think of it, it may have been tin roofing originally; it had been shingled before the metal tho. It sounds like your area is one where the location and the market determine value far more than anything on the land, so treat it as "build to suit" commercial property and assume anything built on it is disposable.