Are you about to buy a home in the Myrtle Beach area?
Have you considered when a roof replacement may be due as you look for your new home?
Often, home buyers are overwhelmed as they look to purchase a new home in the Myrtle Beach area. Because you’re balancing important factors like location, price, and your unique preferences, it’s easy for the roof to be overlooked, or seen as a problem for another time.
When you’re buying a home, you’re not just buying floors, walls, and windows. You’re also inheriting the responsibility of any elements that may be failing, like the roof. We bring this up because a roof replacement is a significant additional cost that can become an added stressor as you move into a new place. In fact, shingle manufacturers raise their price around 2-3 times per year! Meaning the cost of a roof is only getting bigger.
Here, we’ll go through the elements of our home buying checklist as it pertains to the roof. This way you can focus on the larger tasks at hand and move in confident that your new home has a great roof.
Are you ready to see if the homes you're considering to buy are matching up?
Home Buying Checklist: How to Know How Long Your New Home’s Roof Will Last
There are a couple of important things you’ll want to know about a roof before you sign on the dotted line. These include:
- Roof Age
- Previous Roof Issues
- What SC Code was it Installed to Meet?
- Does the Roof Meet Current Code Requirements
Learning these things can help you make the best financial decision as you move into your new home. The first factor to look into is the age of the roof. This is especially important for homes in the Myrtle Beach area. Though we have beautiful weather a lot of the time, the Myrtle Beach area is also prone to high winds, hail, and even hurricanes. All of which can have a significant impact on a roof over time.
Home Buying Checklist: How to Find Out the Age of a Roof
No matter where you live, a roof has a certain expected lifespan. That timeframe can vary depending on the roof material, but today we’ll focus on asphalt shingles as nearly 90% of our customers choose them during a roof replacement.
Expected Lifespan for Asphalt Shingles
Most asphalt shingle roofs should be replaced around the 15-25 year mark. But depending on the roof material, you may find that a roof replacement is necessary prior to that 15-20 year timeframe.
There are 3 types of asphalt shingles, 3-tab shingles, architectural shingles, and designer shingles. Let’s take a look at the estimated lifespan for each shingle type.
Your first step is finding out which type of asphalt shingles are on the roof. For context, architectural shingles are most popular in the Myrtle Beach area, with around 90% of our customers choosing them during a roof replacement. It’s likely some of the homes you’re interested in have architectural roof shingles.
Once you know the type of shingles on a roof, you’ll want to find out how old the roof is. This will give you an idea of how long the shingles will last before it’s time for a roof replacement on your new home.
How to Find Out the Age of a Roof
There are a few things you can do to discover the age of a roof.
- Ask for Documentation: Start by asking the seller when the roof was installed and request documentation. This documentation should include receipts, warranties, and permit records.
- Check for Physical Signs of Age: It’s best to have a professional roofer perform a roof inspection. Most roofers in the Myrtle Beach area offer free roof inspections. During a roof inspection, a roofer is able to get up close and see things that could be missed from the ground, these things include:
- Algae growth, staining, or streaking
- Excess rock granules from shingles in your gutters
- Curling or missing shingles
- Wind and hail damage
- Search Public Records: In areas like Horry County, you can check online land records to see if a roofing permit was ever pulled for the property.
Simply discovering the age of a roof can give you a good idea of how long you have before it’s time for a roof replacement on a home. But there are a few other determining factors that can impact a roof’s lifespan.
Home Buying Checklist: How to Find Out if a Roof Has Been Damaged
Similar to car buying, it’s always beneficial to know if a roof has been damaged. To find out, ask the seller if there have ever been any issues with the roof or if they’ve ever repaired the roof due to a weather event.
If the seller had a roof repair due to a weather related event, be sure you know who the roofer was that repaired the roof and whether it was completed under an insurance claim.
You’ll also want to look at the ceilings for any signs of past or ongoing roof leaks. This can look like brown water stains, uneven paint, or patches.
If there are no repairs or signs of roof damage, this is a good sign. However, even if a roof isn't leaking, in South Carolina there are specific code requirements that homes in the region are expected to keep up with. This will be the next piece to look into.
Home Buying Checklist: Is the Roof Up to South Carolina Code?
It’s not only important to look at code requirements for your roof, but also for the home in general. As of April 2025, South Carolina is enforcing the 2021 IRC code. Roofing codes change based on events and trends. For example, drip edge became code-required in many areas after repeated roofing issues due to water damage. Codes are updated roughly every 3-6 years under the IRC (International Residential Code).
How to Check Roof Code Compliance:
- Determine the installation year
- Contact local code enforcement to find out what code was active then
- Ask a roofing contractor if the current system would pass inspection today
It’s important to note that some homes, especially older properties, were built to older codes and never updated. This is not unusual, but buyers should weigh it as part of their risk assessment as insurance can threaten to drop coverage if your roof is not up to the current code.
Using our Home Buying Checklist, you can go over each item mentioned in this article so you can be sure that your new home has a safe roof that will last for many years to come.
Ensuring You Buy the Best Home in Myrtle Beach
As a buyer, you’re juggling a few balls up in the air. It can be easy to overlook potential future costs once you move into your new home. And as roofing experts we know, roofs aren’t cheap.
To avoid additional costs and complications after moving in, use this guide to help you weed through your options to find the perfect home. As you work your way to a new place remember to check:
- Roof age
- If the home has had previous roof issues
- What SC code was the roof installed to meet?
- Whether the roof meets current code requirements
And congratulations on your move! It’s an exciting time for you and your family. If you find that you need roofing assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Linta Roofing.
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