Buying a home should be an objective decision, to wit, is it a good investment. We all know there is an emotional element that can take over. This is okay so long as you pay attention to the fundamentals such as the condition of the roof.

When it comes to issues related to the roof, most people get those eyes. You know, the glazed over look. Do not make this mistake. There is general and specific information that you can easily get that will tell you a lot about the roof and the home.

The first thing to do is to take a look around you. What are the conditions? Is the roof really good for those conditions? If you are looking at a home in San Diego, a wood shingle roof is a poor choice because of the risk of fires in the area.

Perhaps we should take a step back first. To really grasp the roofing issues, you need to know some things about roofs. There are many types of roofs, but a few are more common than most and likely to be the ones you run into.

The wood shingle roof is the most basic of roofs on the market. Depending on the climatic conditions, it will last between fifteen and thirty years. The cost of replacement depends on the size of the roof. An average home will run in the $9,000 range.

A metal roof may seem like a perfect roof. In some cases it is, but it tends to require a lot of maintenance work. Expect to pay in the eleven to fourteen thousand dollar range to replace it. With good care, it will last thirty five years or so.

At the top of the list these days is the clay tile roof. It has become popular for a couple of reasons. First, fire does not really damage it. Second, water cannot rot it. Throw in a life span of 60 years or more, and the only downside is a replacement cost in the $15,000 range.

Once you start taking a look at the roof from ground level, the first things to look for are broken pieces. These can include tiles, shingles and flashing. A home for sale should not have them. If they appear, the owner has not cared for the home adequately.

If the home has a wood shingle roof, there is a secret you can apply to gauge the condition of the roof. If the wood shingles bend up at the end, it is a bad sign. They are warping, which means the roof has serious problems. Do not buy this home!

Where the roof intersects with other items such as a pole sticking through it, metal flashing is used to keep a water tight seal. If you see flashing pulled away from a surface or just missing, the roof has problems and will also need repairs. Make the seller pay for them.

We have covered the outside of the home, so now head inside into the attic. Your goal here is to look at the underside of the roof. If you see stains, it means there is a leak. It also means water may be migrating under the roof as a whole, a very bad sign.

Even in this nasty housing market, buying a home is a fairly smart idea. In fact, there may be no better time to buy than now given the low prices. Sellers are desperate, so make sure to take a close look at the roofs on homes to figure out what is what.