Red Flag - House in MLS

[Corazon B.]

I am checking out this house I found in mls , year built was 2017 and it is being sold for a slightly below market value price , something scares me about it though ….i saw “This home currently has an open insurance claim with an open roof permit, and lien for the roof. The open claim, permit, and any liens will be assumed by the buyer at closing.”   Does this mean that there is debt in the roof and it is possible that the house can be taken away if not solved? Is this a red flag? 🚩 

[Manny Vasquez]

Before moving forward with the purchase, find out EXACTLY what is wrong with the roof.  If the Seller has an open claim that he is unwilling to close, find out why.  What happened to the roof? Why is the Seller selling the property before fixing the roof?

To answer your question, NO, the house will NOT be taken away if the problem is not solved.  HOWEVER, the Seller is telling you that the BUYER will assume "...the open claim, permit, and any liens..".  <--This means that YOU, the BUYER will be on the hook for any debt and permitting issues associated with this lien.  Once the issues are solved (i.e. permits are issued, debts are paid off, etc.) the lien goes away.

If you do your due diligence, hire a General Inspector and a Roofing Inspector so that they can give you THEIR assessment of what's going on.  Then have a Roofing contractor go out to the property and tell you how much it will cost to fix the problem. <--This right here could be a point of negotiation to further drive down the price of the property.

I hope this helps and good luck!