Leaks would be the main reason if the reason for the leak cannot be found in a rental (sometimes a "popped" roofing nail is all that is the cause of the leak).For many landlords, patching a leaking area is often considered before replacement since the cost of patching can be taken off as a repair on taxes which roof replacement is typically depreciated over a number of years.Gail

Occasionally they break and you can patch them, but at the end of the day there is an average life expectancy of a system.Structures on the other hand.....they could potentially last forever if well maintained or if you use the right products.  

@Matt Morgan Im a handyman during my 2 weeks off from the oil patch.

Removing the last section of peal and stick tile I did find a few patches that I am going to have to deal with.  

We decided to get the roof patched for now and got a couple bids from $3k to under $1k, since a new roof was over $10k and we wanted to do all that once after we foreclose with a 100% rehab loan.On top of this, our attorney discovered a release of mortgage was filed in the past, which is what made the homeowner believe there was no money owed.

Instead of replacing the roof I only patched the "really bad" areas and pocked the rest of the money.

But the house is stucco exterior with tons of cracks in the stucco that have to be repaired. 2 stucco Contractor's have quoted us $12k - $15k to sand blast, patch, apply a new "brown coat" and finishing color coat.

It scares away paint and patch investors so there is less competition.

Walls had extensive nail damage/patching, walls were in bad need of painting despite providing paint to tenant multiple times during tenancy.

They're both great imho.Hoboken will be fine in the long run, but your intuition about a soft patch is most likely true.