What Should Salt Lake County Buyers Ask About an Older Roof, Furnace or Water Heater?

What should Salt Lake County buyers ask about an older roof, furnace or water heater? Ask three things about each one: how old it is, what has been done to maintain it, and what a specialist says about how much life it has left. Those answers tell you whether you are buying a home that is ready to live in or a home with a large bill waiting in the first few years.

Charisse Walker is a real estate agent with Chalker Properties Group in Salt Lake and Davis County, Utah, and a licensed mortgage lender. I walk buyers through these questions before they write an offer, because the roof, the furnace and the water heater are the systems that can turn a good price into an expensive one.

Paint and flooring are cosmetic. You can change them slowly, room by room, and nothing bad happens while you wait. A failing roof, furnace or water heater does not wait. A roof that leaks damages ceilings, insulation and framing. A furnace that quits in January leaves you scrambling to find a technician when every other household is calling too. A water heater that fails can flood a basement.

They are also among the most expensive items a home has to replace. That cost has to come from somewhere, so you want to know about it before the contract is final, not after the keys are in your hand.

Salt Lake County has a wide mix of housing. Older brick homes in established neighborhoods, townhomes from the 1990s and 2000s, and newer builds in the southwest part of the valley each carry different risks. A newer home is not automatically trouble free, and an older home is not automatically a problem. The age of each system is what matters, and that is a fact you can find out.

Start with the easiest sources, then verify them.

• Furnace and air conditioner. The data plate on the unit lists a model and serial number, and the manufacturer's serial number format usually includes the year it was built. An HVAC technician can read it for you in a minute.
• Water heater. The label on the tank carries a serial number with a date code. Many are printed so a layperson can decode them, and your inspector can do it during the visit.
• Roof. There is no stamp on a roof. Ask the seller for the installation date and any receipt, and ask the city or county building department whether a permit was pulled for a re-roof. Permit records are public, and a gap between what a seller recalls and what the record shows is worth a question.
• The seller disclosure. Utah sellers typically complete a property condition disclosure. Read it line by line. Pay attention to answers that say "unknown" and to anything left blank, then ask about it in writing.

Ask for the paperwork. A seller who kept the invoice for a new furnace or a roof warranty usually kept up with other things too.

A general home inspector looks at the condition of what is visible and accessible on the day of the inspection. They can tell you if shingles are curling, if there is staining in the attic, if the furnace runs and heats, if the water heater is venting properly. They can flag age and signs of wear.

What they generally cannot do is predict how many years remain. A twenty-year-old furnace can run for years more, and a ten-year-old one with a cracked heat exchanger can be done. For a real answer on remaining life, you bring in a specialist: a roofer to look at the roof surface and decking, an HVAC technician to test the furnace and inspect the heat exchanger. This is a small cost compared with the repair bill, and the findings give you leverage if something is wrong.

If you want a refresher on how the inspection itself works, I wrote about it in What to Expect at a Home Inspection in Utah.

November through March makes some checks harder and others easier.

Snow or frost on a roof can hide the surface from the ground and from an inspector. If the roof cannot be seen, ask what the inspector did to evaluate it, and consider a follow-up roof inspection when the snow clears. Attics are still accessible in winter, and they are useful: look for staining, frost on the underside of the roof deck, and signs of moisture.

The furnace is the opposite. Winter is when it is under real demand, so an inspection now shows how it performs when it matters. Ask the technician to check airflow, the thermostat response and the condition of the heat exchanger.

The water heater is similar in any season. Look for rust at the base, corrosion on the connections, and any moisture on the floor around it.

1. Before you write an offer, ask the listing agent for the ages of the roof, furnace and water heater and any permits or invoices.
2. Write your offer with a due diligence period long enough to schedule specialists. Under the Utah Real Estate Purchase Contract, the due diligence deadline is where you decide whether to proceed, ask for repairs or credits, or cancel.
3. Order the general inspection first. Let it tell you which systems need a second opinion.
4. Bring in a roofer or HVAC technician for any system that is old, worn or flagged.
5. Get written estimates. A number from a licensed contractor beats a guess every time.
6. Decide how to respond: ask for a repair, a credit, a price change, or walk away.

You have four basic choices. Ask the seller to repair or replace. Ask for a credit toward closing costs. Ask for a price reduction. Or accept the condition as it stands because you have priced it into your plan.

Each has trade-offs. A repair puts the work in the seller's hands, so you want to know who is doing it and that it is permitted. A credit gives you control but is limited by what your loan program allows a seller to contribute, so check with your lender before you ask. A price reduction can change your appraisal picture and your down payment. I walk through this more in How to Negotiate Repairs After an Inspection in Utah.

One more point. Not every old system is a reason to push back. If the furnace is old but sound and the price already reflects the home's age, a better move may be to budget for replacement and ask nothing. Pushing on every item can cost goodwill you need when a bigger issue shows up.

• Assuming a new roof means a good roof. A recent re-roof laid over old layers or with poor flashing can leak. Ask who did it and whether there is a warranty.
• Skipping the specialist because the inspector said "functional." Functional on inspection day is not the same as dependable for ten years.
• Waiting until the last day to schedule. Roofers and HVAC technicians book out. Call as soon as your offer is accepted.
• Forgetting the budget. If a system will need replacement soon, plan for it in your monthly numbers, not only your closing numbers.
• Skipping the water heater and the sewer line. Ask about the sewer line too, especially in older neighborhoods. A scope is a separate inspection.

Here is a typical example, not a specific client. A buyer is touring a brick home built decades ago in an established part of the valley. The listing shows a recently painted interior and updated counters. The seller disclosure says the furnace was "replaced at some point."

The buyer asks for the furnace's data plate. The serial number shows the unit is older than the seller thought. The inspector flags the age and the furnace runs, but an HVAC technician finds a crack in the heat exchanger. The estimate to replace the unit is in hand within days. Because the due diligence period was long enough, the buyer asks for a credit and the seller agrees to part of it. The buyer closes knowing the furnace is on the replacement list and has the money set aside.

Nothing about that story is dramatic. The buyer asked the plain question early, and it became a negotiation instead of a surprise.

Is a home with an older roof a bad purchase? Not by itself. It is a purchase with a known cost. If the price and your budget account for it, it can be a sound decision.

Should I ask the seller to replace the whole roof? You can ask, but sellers are more likely to agree to a documented repair or a credit tied to a contractor's estimate than to a full replacement based on age alone.

Does a home warranty cover these systems? Some plans cover parts of them, with limits and exclusions. Read the contract. A warranty can help with a failure, but it does not replace a pre-purchase evaluation.

Can I find the age of a roof from county records? Sometimes. If a permit was pulled for a re-roof, the building department may have it. Permit history is a clue, not a guarantee.

If you are touring homes and want a second set of eyes on the systems before you write an offer, I will go through the disclosure, the listing details and the questions to send the other side. Contact Charisse here and we will build the checklist for the home you are looking at.