Roof Replacement

Some members of our HOA board want to home owners to replace their roofs. Home Owners not HOAs responsiblity.

The covenants state

Section 2 Residence Each Owner shall maintain his Residence in good condition and repair and all exterior colors and materials, including the exterior walls, trim, doors and roof, shall be retained as close to the original as is reasonable possible.

I am a moderate member and only think the HOA should take action on serious violations, such as someone painting their house some crazy color. I do not think the HOA truly knows the condition of some ones roof. This is in Florida so the roofs do faded due to the strong sun we get in Florida. Maybe due to shingle fading the roof is not close to the originally color so some do not like it.

What do others think and been their experience in this area. Does the HOA have the right to try and get the homeowner to replace their roof?

Are you single family homes? Does everyone own their own home? It's NOT shared roof space is it? If not, then the HOA doesn't pay anything for roofs or their replacement. It's the owner's responsibility.

Here's the deal. IF the HOA is responsible for the roofs, then let those owners know that means EVERYONE would have to pay higher dues or have a special assessment to pay for it. The money in the HOA is divided amongst all the owners just to share in the cost of the operations of the HOA. So if the HOA wants to add roofs as part of their deal that means everyone needs to pay for ALL the roofs. That's not going to settle to well with some but it's the truth.

I say the owners contact their own insurance company and go from there. It is NOT the HOA's responsibiltity unless it is part of their insurnace policy.

That makes more sense to me now. The HOA can make a request to have exterior issues repaired. Example if the siding is falling off a home, the HOA can request the owner repair their home in a proper time limit or the HOA may come in and do it themselves sending the owner the bill. Roofs may fall into this area as well depending on how bad they are. Discolorization may not mean much but could indicate a new roof is needed. I would invite a few roofing experts or even insurance claim adjusters (That way you know they aren't selling you something) and explain good roofs vs bad roof. Sounds like this President must have recently had some work done on their home and is now looking at other people's roofs with the information that was sold to them.

The HOA can make the request but also must be prepared to follow through with it as well. Let her know that if the HOA can afford to do the repairs and then wait for the owner to pay them back, then go for it. Except I don't think your HOA has enough money to cover that. So in the end it's going to be an empty threat. However, the HOA can lien for the repair money if the owner doesn't pay them back. I had an ex-president scumbag con-man who tried this on our HOA so he would get paid either way. So be careful if the president suddenly comes up with a contractor husband/relative in need of work...

dooooooooh

The homes were build in 1984. Assuming the roofs were never replaced they would be around 28 years old. But there is nothing in the HOA docs stating you must replace your roofs every 25 years. Just that they must be maintained.

I think the HOA president does not like it because the older roofs are sun faded and she does not like the way they look. She wants everything to look new.

This thread is a classic case of an HOA that has some vague language in the rules and then has a Board Member who is trying to use the vagueness of the rule to insert her personal aesthetic on the community. This is one of the ways an otherwise decent Board can drift into that *grey area* of the rules. By mandating or insisting that people replace roofs which may be quite functional (just sun faded) at great cost to the owner.

Most people on on tight budgets these days and I am sure some folks plan out roof replacement in their own version of a reserve study (like required of HOA's) for major repairs or upgrades. Got to plan and budget for the repair.

We have a rule that you have to paint your house every 7 years. But in the last decade or so the Paint industry has come out with paint that lasts for 15 years (or more). We had a board member who had her good friend on the ACC (Arch Control Committee) and the two of them started sending out letters to people because they reviewed the old applications (ACC) to check when houses were last painted. They started sending letter which in a couple of cases the board member elevated it to issue fines.

Long story short, a couple of homeowners who kept detailed records opted to have a hearing before the fining. They show the paint specs from the manufacturer and their house after 7 years still looked fantastic.

The board still insisted on making owners paint every 7 years because of the rigid interpretation of the rule by people lacking common sense. oh yeah, our "Actual wording" in the ACC guidelines also stated that this was discretionary if the paint was peeling and shabby looking, then paint. if not, it was ok to wait.

Our MC brought up the fact that this was one of those issues that if the board wanted to go to court, what would common sense indicate (a jury or normal, prudent people). The HOA lawyer suggested the board drop the issue and fall back on the discretionary aspect of our guidelines.

A little too much of a police state if you ask me. When some people resort to going through the old ACC applications to look for things they can write up and cause trouble for owners with, it gets kind of scary. None of the houses were in disrepair of needed a paint job. I have lived here for 11 years and painted my house at year 6. It didn't really need it but we wanted to follow the rules just in case... glad we did...

Just saying, sometimes people can go a little overboard and this is true from members of the board and committees as it is for the general membership.

HOA: Paint your house every 7 years.
Homeowner: But its vinyl
HOA: Doesnt matter, do it or we will fine you

I am stuck on having to replace your own roof in a townhouse.

Each Townhouse section is painted the same and the roof colors are the same. The archtectural committee will only approve same colors. And yes individual homeowners are responsible for their roof and outside maintaince. These are townhouses, not condos.

Actually citizens will insure a roof over 25 years, because they insured mine. I had to go with citizens because the other insurance companies require a 4 point inspection.

And for the other insurance companies as long as you can get a roofing certificate from a licensed roofer stating the roof has 5 years left on it then the insurance companies will accept that.

If a roof is missing shingles and etc. then yes I would agree they needed to be fixed. But An older sun faded roof that is maintained and functional seems to me to enough. The HOA is not hiring roofing inspectors to come out get on people roof and determing condition. They only see what they can see from the sidewalk.

To me this HOA president is crazy about everything. You think we live in some expensive community or historic district. These Townhouse came with flat garage door and when residence started to replace them with metal raised panel doors, she took them to court. Seriously these are the same door on million dollar homes.

And when the t1-11 started to rot and residence wanted to replace that with a hardi board, which is a superior product she refused that to.

And dreaded be if you have any weeds or dead grass in your yard.

This information is from the Florida International Assoc. of Home Inspectors website - http://flnachi.org/insuranceinspections.html

Below are the Citizen’s Roof Eligibilities as they apply to the Roof Condition Certification form.

M. N. Roof Covering Age

Shingle, built up tar and gravel, or other roof coverings that are over 25 years old and tile, slate, clay, concrete or metal roof coverings that are over 50 years old must be replaced / updated to be eligible for coverage (see exception below)*. Documentation of full roof replacement must be submitted with the application or prior to the policy renewal in which the roof covering exceeds the maximum age requirements outlined in the following table (not applicable to HO-4 and HO-6 risks).

Roof Eligibility

Roof Covering
Age

Asphalt, Fiberglass, Composition, or Wood Shake Shingles; Built-up Tar and Gravel; or Other Roof Covering types Not Included Below
Over 25 Years Not Insurable*

Tile, Slate, Clay, Concrete or Metal
Over 50 Years Not Insurable*

*Exception: Risks that do not meet the roof replacement eligibility requirements above may be eligible for coverage by submitting acceptable documentation verifying the roof has at least 3 years remaining useful life (Refer to Properties to Be Submitted to Citizens for Review Prior to Binding). Risks that establish roof eligibility under this exception are not required to provide documentation of full roof replacement until the policy renewal period in which the remaining useful life of the roof covering falls below the 3-year eligibility threshold.
Acceptable documentation includes a copy of a completed roofing contract; a statement from a licensed roofing contractor showing estimated age; condition and remaining useful life; a completed Citizens Roof Condition Certification form; or other acceptable proof of remaining useful life.

Laura, in Florida it is necessary to get a permit to have one's roof replaced. This information is available through the county records. I am not siding with the way the board member is going about this, but I am trying to provide information about the issue of roof replacements. Remember, this is Florida, and hurricanes and wind storms can do a lot of damage.

Our Documents say we must use 40 year shingles. I am selling my house 21 years old, and the buyers inspection says roof has to be replaced. The Insurance company would not insure the roof after 15 years. If I replace my roof with a 30 year shingle, any insurance company will insure me so why do I have to pay an additional $9,000 to have a 40 year vs 30 year only because the Documents say it has to be 40 year shingles?

There are insurance companies in Florida that will insure older homes. You need to check around. Check with Brightway and others. Plus where I am at in Florida, the Real Estate market is a Sellers market with nothing for sale, so you might tell them no on the new roof or increase the price for one.

I agree it is ridiculous the HOA would say 40 year shingles. They put in these insane rules and then decades later they might not even make those shingles. If you are going to put on a new roof you might try and just fill out the Architectural forms with the 30 year old shingles and see if they get approved.

Jeri ... this thread is 4 years old and the original poster was from different state ... you potentially should start your own new thread with your question to receive answers which relate to your State Statues.

When you start a new thread my question would be "If your documents state must use 40 year shingles ... Why is your house only 21 years old requiring the roof to be replaced??? As to your last question ... You have to follow your documents which you agreed to when you purchased your home and agreed to abide by what was stated at time of purchase.