How To Sell a Fire Damaged House

Disclaimer: Though we are seasoned fire damage house buyers and are considered experts in the real estate industry, we are not giving you any legal, financial, or medical advice. If what you read in any of our articles makes sense to you, please consult with your attorney, financial advisor, or doctor before making any decisions.

After contacting the insurance company, in order to sell a fire-damaged house you have to decide whether to sell the property as is, or whether to carry out restoration works to return it to its pre-fire condition and then look to sell. There are several routes to market when selling a fire-damaged house, and different ways to go about each of these options.

Depending on whether you choose to sell a fire-damaged home as is, or whether you go down the route of repairing fire damage, it will dictate the best and most effective method for selling the property itself.

Once this is decided there are 4 main options to sell which we will look at below.

There are several benefits to simply selling a fire-damaged house as is as opposed to going through the restoration works, however, this could also mean having to sell the property for a heavy discount and losing out on the potential uplift if works were to be carried out.

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

There are several ways to sell a fire-damaged house, and which method of sale you choose does depend on the state of the property at the time of sale. For example, as we will see below certain methods of sale are more suited to selling fire-damaged property in its "burned house" condition, and some methods of sale are more suited to a property that has been restored post-fire damage.

The routes to sale above show that there are several ways to go about selling a house with fire damage, and the final choice will depend on several factors such as closing costs, speed of sale, and whether an actual cash offer is being made.

Below are the benefits and potential drawbacks to each route to market:

The routes to sale above show that there are several ways to go about selling a house with fire damage, and the final choice will depend on several factors such as closing costs, speed of sale, and whether an actual cash offer is being made.

Below are the benefits and potential drawbacks to each route to market:

Selling to a real estate investor be it a local private investor or a larger company such as Fire Cash Buyers is one way to ensure a quick sale with the added benefit of zero closing costs with there being no real estate agent involved in the transaction. This can save several thousand dollars in the overall sale. 

As mentioned above this firm will usually make a cash offer for the property and then due to their experience, they are able to repair fire damage themselves with their own team of contractors. When going down this route you just need to ensure they make a fair cash offer and do not attempt to offer well below what the property is worth even in its fire-damaged state.

This can be a great option if you are looking to carry out all the necessary works to your fire-damaged home and bring it to the open market in an almost brand-new condition. They are then able to help you maximize the newly refurbished state of the property and achieve the best possible price.



However, selling through the traditional method of a real estate agent can be tricky if you are looking to sell your fire-damaged home without carrying out any work as some agents are reluctant to sell a fire-damaged house in its unfinished condition. This is due to the fact that many home buyers on their books are those looking for a "ready to move into" home or one that needs some minor work being carried out but not necessarily to the level of a fire-damaged home.

The other issue with selling "unfinished" fire-damaged houses via a realtor is the price tends to get lowered as experienced home buyers tend to look for further issues with the property and negotiate a lower price. This is where the option of selling at auction can be an excellent option.

Although selling a house with fire damage is not necessarily the easiest task, as works are being completed you can advertise the property yourself with a board outside the property as well as put the word out locally that the house will be available for sale once works are completed. This way home buyers can be notified about an upcoming purchase, which can again save on agent's fees.

Selling to a company that specializes in the purchase of fire-damaged homes is another great option as many of these companies focus on exclusively properties that have been subject to a house fire. Due to their specialty, a company looking to purchase a property with fire damage and even smoke damage and water damage is a normal day in the office for them, and will not put them off purchasing.

They will then look to restore the property themselves and sell on. The benefits here is that the company will make a quick cash offer and can be more reliable than smaller real estate investors due to these firms having larger amounts of liquidity, therefore, reducing the time between offer and closing.

There are several ways to approach selling fire-damaged homes, and the first is to decide whether to sell the home as is, or whether to factor in repair costs and carry out the restoration works caused by a home fire and then sell yourself. This will take the longest and create the most stress.

Which option you choose depends on various factors such as if you want to sell the house fast, if there is significant damage, and whether the insurance company offers a high enough payout to cover the property damage.

For example, if you are in a position where you do not want the stress and hassle of undertaking the works to rectify the fire damage and going into temporary housing, it may be worthwhile selling to an investor or specialist company that buys houses with fire damage and take the work on themselves. Also, if you are not in a position to fund the repair works and just want to sell your house fast this is probably the best option.

However, if you are able to wait a while, have the funds, and are able to take on the works that come with a fire-damaged home, it can be very profitable as you would be restoring the property back to its former glory, achieve a higher price and most importantly, attract the right buyer.