Can you Sell a Fire Damaged House

9/16/2021 (Permalink)

Call SERVPRO of Jacksonville Beach/Ponte Vedra should your home experience fire damage and we'll help you navigate the restoration process.

Living through a house fire can be an extremely traumatic experience. Trying to sell a house after it’s been damaged by a fire can be almost as traumatic, especially if you don’t know the ins and outs of navigating the situation. Here, we offer advice on selling a house after it’s been through a fire.

First, can you sell a fire-damaged home? The answer, in most cases, is yes. Real estate laws don’t prohibit people from selling a house after it’s been damaged by a fire, but they do require the sellers to disclose information to the buyer about the fire.

There are two different ways to go about selling a fire-damaged home:

• Selling a house as-is: If fixing the damages caused by the fire is cost-prohibitive, you might decide to sell the property as-is. This can be challenging, and you won’t get the market value price, though the money from the sale combined with the payout from insurance might get you into a new home. While the average buyer will probably shy away from buying a home that’s experienced a house fire, there are some companies that buy homes “as is” and would be willing to take the chance.
• Restoring the house before selling: Restoring your home to a pre-fire state is expensive (though it may be covered by your homeowner’s insurance), but it will also net you more money- sometimes more than you would have gotten pre-fire. Has your home been assessed to see how much repairing the damage will cost before you decide whether or not it’s worth doing?

If you do decide to sell your home after a house fire, here are some steps you should follow:

• Restore the house to its pre-fire condition. For this, contact a fire remediation company, like us. Fire and smoke damage restoration is not something you should do by yourself, because it requires specific knowledge and equipment.
• Keep all of your restoration documentation. Include photos and paid invoices, so that you can stand up to any scrutiny.
• Disclose information about the fire to the buyers. A property disclosure form is required in most states.
• Be prepared to answer questions. Buyers will want to know what caused the fire, and you’ll need to reassure them that steps have been taken to keep it from happening again.
• Expect it to take a long time. Rushing the process won’t help but being patient could bring you a better price for your home.

If your home has been damaged by a house fire, it’s important to have it professionally cleaned and restored to its pre-fire condition. When you need help restoring your Northeast Florida home, call SERVPRO of Jacksonville Beach/Ponte Vedra for help with smoke damage restoration. Our highly-trained restoration technicians have the experience and equipment to restore your Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, or Ponte Vedra home and get everything back to like-new condition. A trusted leader in the industry, we’ve served our community for more than 40 years. Call (904) 246-6118 or contact us through our website.