Selling a house can be one of the most challenging tasks you can undertake. When it comes to selling a fire-damaged home, the challenge is even more significant. There are things you need to know before you have your fire-damaged house on the market.
If you don’t know these things, you may find yourself on the wrong side of things. You probably won’t even get the total value for the house – as per the condition. Here are a few things to keep in mind before putting your fire-damaged home on the market.
Clean-Up Will Take Time
You will not skip through the clean-up if you are to get the most out of the sale. First, you need to ensure that all cleaning has been done. This is the first order of business should you look to bring back the house to its former glory.
There are several variables to deal with when cleaning a fire-damaged house. You may not see all of it, and that’s why you may need to hire a professional service. A professional cleaning service would have done the cleaning before, and they’ll know how to handle the process.
Fire leaves behind several harmful substances that only pros will know how to deal with. You also need to note that the process will take time. Be patient about it and let the professionals work well to ensure you have a cleaner house to sell after the fire.
Don’t Skimp on Repairs
You can’t keep your cost of repairs down when you want to repair a house for sale. It would help if you forgot about the costs of it for a minute before kicking on. Going for cheap and poor-quality material or labor will do you no favors for selling the house.
Most buyers can detect poorly done repairs, and they will walk away from the house. You need to understand that most buyers are skeptical about buying the home. Please don’t make it easy for them to walk away from it.
For example, when the buyers can smell smoke damage, they will be put off.
Inform the Buyers About the Fire
You need to disclose to the buyer that there was a fire in the house. As explained by the folks at webuyfiredamagedhouses.com, it would help if you did this regardless of the repair work you put into place after the fire. It isn’t all about a moral issue here; some states require you to inform the buyers of the fire. If the law dictates it, and you don’t follow up, you may land yourself in serious trouble. It would help if you were honest from the get-go and explained how the fire damage was repaired.
Stage the House Correctly
Like any other house, you need to stage the home well if you will sell it. For this to happen, you will need to ensure that the repairs have been done correctly. You will want the house to look even better than it was before.
Since you have cleaned the house and done some repairs on the inside, this should be a perfect start. The outside of the house will then need to get some landscape work done. And the walls need to be repainted for an even better appeal.
Note: when staging a house, you need to get rid of the personal decor and give the house a neutral feel. Let the buyers feel and see themselves in the house.
Use Good Photos
The photos you will use to market the house need to be good. This is one aspect that you may be reluctant about, but you shouldn’t. Take as many photos of the house as possible, and ensure that you only use the good ones to sell the idea to potential buyers.
Great photos are the ones that are taken when there’s enough light – possibly take the photos during the day.
Set a Reasonable Sales Price
Unless the market is in actual demand, don’t make the mistake of overvaluing the house. You will likely sell the house at a lower fee because of the fire, but that shouldn’t deter you. Set a reasonable price within the range of the one without fire damages, and it will sell.
You may need to hire the services of a real estate agent to help you with the process. But be prepared to take a slightly lower value than the house commanded if it were not fire damaged.
Before selling a fire-damaged house, these are some of the things you need to have in mind. They will help you manage expectations, and you will not fall on the wrong side of the law if you adhere to them.
