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Flipping Houses: Repairing the Roof

With winter coming on, it’s a good time to make sure that your real estate investment has a good roof to keep it safe through all four seasons. While many house flippers choose to have their roofs professionally done, you can save a lot of money by patching up the shingles yourself. Here are a few tips to help you out:

• Bring the right tools for the job. There are many different types of roofs out there, and they each require a specific set of tools to fix them. If you’ve got shingles, you should have a crowbar handy to remove nails, but if you’re using wooden shakes you’re better off with a hacksaw and a chisel.

• Do your prep work. The most important step when repairing your roof is to prepare the work zone beforehand. Both your roof and your supply of shingles and shakes should be dry and free of dust or dirt. Since you’re going to be overlapping that roofing material, any dampness or residue that gets enclosed can turn into mold and end up sinking your property value.

• Keep your layers in order. A roof keeps a home secure and insulated by using carefully overlapped layers of protective tiles on top of a waterproof underlayment. When replacing a damaged tab of shingles or split shakes, make sure to carefully remove all of the nails holding them in place before attempting to remove them – and remember to seal every repair with roofing asphalt or compound.

Repairing or replacing a roof by yourself can be time consuming, especially if you have to re-slot new shingles or shakes, but it will also save you a lot of money when the time comes to sell your real estate investment. As long as you’re thorough and orderly with your work, you’ll see a nice jump in your property value when you list your house on the market.