Selling a house with fire damage

The aftermath of a fire can be devastating for homeowners, the loss and damage of a property can be daunting on where to start. Do you repair the home or try to sell it? The best way to help make a choice is to look at the damage to the building’s structure and will the insurance compensation help to pay for the repair of the beloved home? If the insurance doesn’t cover the cost you might want to look into other options.

There were over 151 thousand fires attended by the English fire service in 2020-2021 which whilst a large number is actually less than previous years due to COVID and lockdowns resulting in many more people staying at home to keep an eye their houses.

Residential building fires range from small fires that can be extinguished quickly and with a fire extinguisher any causing small cosmetic damage to large fires that spread from room to room and cause strucu4ral damage to the building. This can also affect things like wooden support beams to roof and wall integrity.

What are the main causes of house fires?

• Fat Fires caused by cooking hot fat or oil in the kitchen
• Appliances like ovens, grills & microwaves which combined with fat fires attribute to nearly 50% of all reported fires.
• Portable heats left close to flammable objects (for example a sofa)
• Faulty electronics
• Unattended candles
• Ciggerretes that were not fully put out

The NFCC (National Fire Chief’s Council) says that 48% of domestic house fires are started deliberately.

Fire damaged houses

A house that’s suffered fire damage has far reached problems, aside from the mental/emotional trauma that might have occurred there is problems like what to do next as the property might not be safe anymore. The Red Cross and Government offer some help on what you can do.

Once short term problems have been solved like housing etc. homeowners will need to decide on repairs to the house and when they can think about living in it again as temperate accommodation can be expensive, if repairs are undertaken when selling a house fire damage should be listed with the estate agents and potential property buyers.

Who would buy a fire-damaged house?

If you decided to sell your fire-damaged house because its not worth the effort of repair or is not covered by insurance you may wonder who would want to buy a building that’s suffered from fire damage. Regular and traditional ways to sell like an estate agent or even auction might not be interesting or find it very difficult to sell. Prospective buyers will be concerned with the level or repairs to take our or if any repairs have been done what the quality of them will be.

Quick house sale companies like Speed Property Buyers will be able to buy fire damaged properties. The largest benefit of selling this way is that you can sell your property very quickly to get a move on with your life and away from the trauma of the damaged house. You don’t have to worry about anything as all fees are included in the cash you get when you sell. It might be the best option to sell and move into a new property than suffer through months or years of repairs works.

The scale of damage caused by a house fire.

Heat alone isn’t the only cause of problems from a house fire, smoke damage can be an unseen problem that can heave long term problems as well as an ongoing smell issue. Decorating can be time consuming and expensive and isn’t always covered by insurance.

Severe structural problems might result in the house being so damaged it needs to be condemned. You will need to ensure that your property poses no risks to public safety and you might find you’re required to board up windows to stop squatters and vandals in the short term after a fire. If the fire spreads to neighbouring properties you may also have to deal with the fallout from that including any lawsuits from applicable negligence.

All the responsibility can be overwhelming

There is a vast amount of responsibility organise and overseeing repairs, cataloguing losses from the fire but selling your property to a quick sale company means you do not need to worry about undertaking the repairs works you can move on. We have specialists companies that will help with cleaning and preparing the properties. We do not mind where the location of the fire damaged house is and can quickly agree on a final sale price for you.

Finding peace of mind.

Having a fire in your home is devastating and you can struggle with the aftermath as well as try to move on. If you wanted to sell you might find the best course of action is to use a ‘we buy any house‘ firm like speed property buyers, its a fast and hassle-free service with no obligations, you’ll be guaranteed a cash sale and the form takes less than 30 seconds. Contact us today to find out why we are